Education

Intermediate Casting Class

Six Monday Evenings

April 9 to May 14

The Overlake Fly Fish Club is pleased to offer an intermediate level casting class to be taught in Bellevue on Monday evenings. The lead instructor for the class is Pat Peterman, a FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor (MCI).  Also teaching will be Todd Somsel, MCI, and Larry Larry Iwafuchi, FFF Certified Casting Instructor (CCI).

To execute the intermediate and advanced presentation methods being taught, participants will expected to be able to cast a tight loop and shoot line.  If you are not somewhat proficient at  the basic casting stroke,  it will be difficult for you learn the more advanced casting skills to be taught in this class.  We will spend the first two sessions tuning up the basic casting stroke if you are a little rusty. This class is intended to improve your overall casting skills, help correct some bad habits, and teach some new casts and aerial mending techniques.  The class will include 6 sessions (rain or shine) meeting weekly on Monday night at 6 pm beginning April 9 and ending May 14.  Participants are encouraged to practice several times between sessions in order to get the most out of the class.

The class is open to OFFC members only and the fee is $25.  Sign-ups are required for this class and the number of participants is limited to 14.  Please email Alan Olson at education@offc.org in order to reserve a place in the class. The class will proceed if at least 8 people register. If fewer than eight sign up, the club will refund payments.

 

Lake Fishing Strategies – An Introduction to Fly Fishing Stillwaters

A class by Bill LaFever

March 6 and March 13, 6 pm to 9 pm, Redmond VFW

A 6 hour class over two evenings will be given on lake fishing strategies by OFFC’s own Bill LaFever.  Topics will include, fishing the depths and surface layers, reading the lake, the life cycle of a trout lake, insects and other trout foods, flies for lakes, casting, floatation crafts and tackle selection, and knots you need to know about.  The class will end with a hands-on exercise on the physics of the fly rod and how to evaluate a new lake.

Participants are encouraged to borrow or buy a copy of “Morris & Chan on Fly Fishing Trout Lakes”, which will be used as a text.  Handouts will be provided.

This stillwater fishing class is free to OFFC members.  Non-members are welcome, but will be required to pay a nominal class fee, amount soon to be determined.  Please let Alan Olson (education@offc.org) if you plan to participate, so we know how many handouts to produce.

 

Steelhead Fishing Techniques – A Seminar by Rob Crandall

February 28, 2012, 1 pm to 5 pm

The OFFC is pleased to announce a steelhead fishing techniques seminar to be led by Rob Crandall, the editor of the Flyfishing and Tying Journal, and a Deschutes River Guide.  The seminar will be held on Tuesday, February 28, from 1 pm to 5 pm at the VFW in Redmond.  Later that evening Rob will be the featured speaker at our monthly general meeting.  Cost of the seminar will be $25.

Terry Sanchez has been instrumental in persuading Rob to teach this seminar and is clearly one of Rob’s biggest fans.  Rob was one of the first guides Terry used when she moved up from Texas in 1996 and quotes him as steelhead being “A fish of a thousand good casts”.   Rob was a source of encouragement to Terry to continue trying even though it took until July 2007 to catch her first steelhead.  For Terry it was the first of many steelhead that she attributes to Rob’s secret techniques, which will be divulged in this seminar.

We need to get a head count, so please email Terry (texasweaver@comcast.net) and cc  Alan Olson (education@offc.org) if you plan to attend or if you have any questions.  You can pay the class fee at the seminar or during the general meeting that evening.

The following is the outline for this 4 hour seminar:

1.  Seasons for Pacific Steelhead

• Summer Run Steelhead
• Top Rivers
• Winter Run Steelhead
• Top Rivers

2.   Locating Steelhead….reading water

• Understanding Steelhead Migration
• River navigation
• Water Conditions….flows and clarity
• How to adjust to changing conditions
• Callin’ it quits
• Angler Pressure
• How to avoid conflict

3.   Methodology…pros and cons

• Traditional Wet Fly Swinging Techniques
• Surface and subsurface
• Indicator “nymphing” Technique
• Workin’ it deep

4.  Equipment and Rigging

• Rods, Reels, Lines….
• Spey, Switch. Single Hand…
• Swinging vs. Indicator

5.  Personal Gear

• What’s Required
• What’s cool to have

6.  Fly Selection

• Wets, Dries, Nymphs, Tubes, Jigs…..

7.  Steelhead Fly Fishing Etiquette

• How close is too close?
• What happens when….

8.  Pep Talk