Often I hear the question from those who want to learn, “Is it difficult to learn fly fishing?” While it may look difficult to the person that has never tried it before, with a good casting instructor it is not hard to learn the basics.

Many comment that when they have watched a skilled angler fly casting, the word “beautiful” came to mind. When properly done, fishing with a fly rod certainly can be considered a form of art. But the truth is, it is not difficult to learn at all. They key though is in learning from a good instructor.

The hardest part of learning to fly cast is in getting the timing right. With guidance from a fly casting teacher, you will be less likely to develop bad habits which will be hard to fix later.

The roll cast is probably the first technique you should master. You will want to get this cast down and mastered before moving on to more difficult techniques – and it is a very useful cast to know how to perform. Ian Scott writes that “this is an essential cast to learn and perfect.” The roll cast is often the cast that is employed when before beginning the back and forward cast. Where a back cast cannot be made, it is helpful to be skilled with the roll cast in order to be able to still get your fly to where the fish are.

The back cast can be learned after, and this sets up the forward cast in conventional fly fishing. A lot of fly anglers that don’t know any better will make several “false casts” in order to increase the length of line off the reel, however it is usually not required to do this.

The are other advanced fly casting techniques that are included in what is called “spey casting” which you may want to learn after you’ve got a solid grasp of the basics. You will though, need to make sure you are very confident with performing a basic roll cast in order to advance at spey casting.

The sport of fly fishing is no longer dominated by men. More and more women are heading out to the water with their fly rods. Even children can learn to cast fly rods with some good instruction and patience. Often, those who learn to fly fish will discover that they also enjoy fly tying.

You can learn more about this sport at this fly fishing page.

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