As a Fly Fishing Instructor on of the greatest joys is being present when someone, for the first time, feels that electrifying thump of a fish on.Today was another one of those days I was giving a fly fishing lesson to Martin and Kieron a farther and son from Gloucester. The aim of the day was twofold, first and probably most important was to get Kieron started on the fly-fishing journey and then secondly help his dad learn to double haul. I decided to get Martin started with a few exercises to get both his hands working together before we moved on to the actual hauling. While Martin was practising I began to show the basics of fly casting to Kieron.

Now I remember being Kierons age myself and to be honest it did not take me very long to get board with stuff and lose interest, so I did not want to spend to long on casting as I know that the student would soon lose interest. As with all my beginners days I think the most important part is not to get the participants casting to perfection, this will come later, the most important thing is to try and get them into a fish. That way they will begin to see the point of the casting practice , after all to a beginner there is little joy in putting out a lovely line, on the other hand the joy of feeling that thump of a fish on for the first time is something that all anglers will remember for the rest of there lives.

You never forget the electrifying thump of the first fish you catch - Click to enlarge