An Education In Fly Fishing At Grand Opportunities 2012

Before trout season opened this year, I had convinced myself I would finally make a friend of my fly rod. I had it all last season and only took it out a couple of times. Those outings usually ended with me returning to the truck and swapping the fly rod for my spinning rod.

When trout opener came I was optimistic – until the second day of trout season when I took my fly rod out and became incredibly frustrated with my inability to cast. The fly rod, now my enemy, was put away for a few weeks before I decided the only way I would get better was to practice, and I began pulling it out a couple of nights a week to cast in the yard.

Practicing didn’t seem to improve my casting and I was downright depressed about using my fly rod. When I realized Grand Opportunities was getting closer, I debated whether or not I even wanted to attend the event. Fortunately for me, my stubbornness won out and on Saturday I found myself heading to Belwood Lake.

Grand Opportunities is an annual event hosted by Friends of the Grand River at Belwood Lake Conservation Area.  And yes, to anyone that may read this blog with some regularity, I have spent an awful lot of time at Belwood Lake recently, good thing it’s a great destination.

Billed as a fly fishing celebration, Grand Opportunites provides attendees with the chance to participate in a variety of seminars, pick up some new gear at the used equipment sale, eat a fantastic steak lunch for a really cheap price, meet old friends and make new ones, and support river improvements through raffles and membership sales that help Friends of the Grand River (FOGR) continue their excellent work.

Despite the gloomy looking weather there seemed to be a great turnout as everyone gathered outside for the morning seminars.

The first seminar was with Ken Collins, the owner of Grand River Troutfitters. Ken is a magician with a fly rod. This is the second time I have seen him give an intro to fly casting, and I couldn’t help but be impressed yet again. With his tips and demonstrations and ability to breakdown the cast, Ken can help anyone feel more comfortable about fly casting. I listened as he explained common problems and how to fix them, and I made lots of mental notes about the practice exercises I could do when I got home. I could not agree with him more – the time to practice is not when you are on the water and trying to catch fish.

The second seminar was with Rick Whorwood – you can find him at Rick Whorwood’s Fly Fishing & Fly Casting School. Rick covered more tips on the basic fly cast, and then got into the mechanics behind the single haul and double haul. Another great teacher, Rick demonstrated extreme patience by taking an audience member and going through the steps with him. It was another great seminar and I was madly making more mental notes.

Rick Whorwood

Once the morning seminars were completed it was time to think about getting some food and some new gear.

I don’t know how they do it, but FOGR only charges $10 for a BBQ steak lunch. I’ve paid close to twice that for a steak dinner of this size, and this lunch includes a baked potato, coleslaw, and baked dessert. It’s an incredible lunch and my steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Everyone was raving over the food.

The lunch break also provided time to enter a raffle for a variety of fly fishing gear. The winners of the big prize were a father and son just getting into the sport – what an awesome result! Many attendees took the time to add some new gear to their collection, while others bought club memberships and club shirts. It was a great time to meet fellow fly fishers and talk about all things fishing.

The raffle winners.

After lunch was the part of the day I had been waiting for. There were many seminars available and I had signed up for the Women’s Learn To Fly Fish course – I couldn’t wait to take part in this.

The course is presented by Sherri Steele and Heather Jones – identical twins that have an absolute knack for getting women interested in, and excited about, fly fishing. They grew up with fly fishing obsessed parents and carry on their mother’s legacy of teaching these seminars.

This was the highlight of my day.

Beginning with pictures of various fly fishing trips – the girls and their parents in different situations, with different catches – and adding memories and funny stories along the way, Sherri and Heather took us through the basics of the gear, knot tying, fly casting and bug identification, in a way that kept everyone interested and involved.

I learned so much from them that afternoon. I can now tie my own tippet on – yay! That knot wasn’t near as hard as I thought it might be and, following their advice, I’ve been practicing it at home.

And for casting? They made the single most helpful suggestion I needed to hear to improve my casting – think of the rhythm as 3/4 time in music.  After many years of playing in school bands, 3/4 time is ingrained into me. This suggestion took my casting to a whole new level. When we actually went outside to practice our casting, I felt a whole new level of comfort as I repeated 1, 2, 3 – 1, 2, 3, just as my music teacher had taught me.

Having a go at fly casting.

There were also discussions about making future plans for everyone to meet up and fish the river. I’m lucky that I have a live-in fishing buddy, but it would sure be nice to head out with other women sometimes. I find it really hard to find women to fish with in my area – few of my friends are willing to join me.

The enthusiasm and fondness that Heather and Sherri have for this sport is obvious, and it passes on to those around them. They are fantastic ambassadors of the sport and I’m thrilled to have had the chance to learn from them.

Grand Opportunities turned out to be an amazing opportunity for me. I have been practicing with my fly rod frequently and am hoping that I will no longer consider it an enemy. I’m actually looking forward to taking it out on the river next time I get the chance.

Thanks to Friends of the Grand River for a fantastic day and all they do to support this wonderful fishery and fishing community.

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argosgirl

Sporadic blogger and sometimes podcaster who loves fishing, the outdoors, hanging with her animals, gardening, and reading manga.

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argosgirl

Sporadic blogger and sometimes podcaster who loves fishing, the outdoors, hanging with her animals, gardening, and reading manga.

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4 Responses

  1. Anthony says:

    Good to hear that you no longer are battling the fly rod. A great way to ease into fly fishing is going after panfish. They’ll fun to catch and will hit anything!

    • argosgirl says:

      The battle does seem to be over. I spent some time on the river last night and actually felt comfortable with the fly rod. I could even cast to specific fish – I just couldn’t tempt them to bite 🙂 I’ll definitely take it with me next time I go for panfish – it would make my day to actually catch something on the fly rod!

  2. John says:

    I agree with Anthony, panfish are the way to go, just remember to give your expectations a break and have fun with it. Farther down The Grand is the town of Caledonia where there’s an incredible fishery perfect for a fly fisher. Pike ,musky, walleye, channel cats, drum,GAR,bass, and of course …panfish galore.

    • argosgirl says:

      Hahaha, yes John, I do need to remember to give my expectations a break! It’s a lot easier to have fun that way. I’ve never fished the Caledonia area but it sounds like a great place to head, I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks!

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