Anyone who is interested in finding out how to fly fish can take the first steps to learning the art at the Nelson Trout Fishing Club’s free fly casting clinic at Garin College this Sunday.
But the club’s first female president, Maree Peterson, warns it won’t be easy.
Fly fishing is a much harder than the more popular spin-fishing and Maree says it can take years to master the skill.
“It’s not easy,” Maree, who has been fly fishing for just three years, says. “You lose a lot of flies and get a lot of tangles before you get it right.”
And as club member Ray Day explains, it can be hazardous as well as challenging.
“The first time I went fly fishing I went out with an expert and caught my first fish straight away. I thought then that it was easy, but it wasn’t – it took me another five years to catch my next one.
“But I did catch the trees behind and I even caught my own ear. It’s not easy at the start.”
However, all the club members agree that the benefits of learning to fly fish are worth all the effort because it opens up a whole new world of angling. He says there’s nothing better than walking alongside a river and seeing a trout rising to the surface to feed, and then casting a fly to it and catching it.
“Fly fishing isn’t easy to learn and it has some limitations, but it’s also a lot of fun. It’s a different type of fishing altogether,” Fred says.
Anyone is welcome to attend the fly casting clinic that will be held on the back sports field at Garin from 9am to midday on Sunday. The clinic is free and all rods and equipment will be supplied.
For more information on the clinic and the Nelson Trout Club email Maree at maree@ellisauto.co.nz
