Gordy,
This
weekend Gary Davidson and others of Al?s students (now all CCI) held a clinic Al
had wanted to teach in.
At
this clinic we ask for ideas to help improve it. One of the students
asked, " how do you practice as instructors
?"
I
think this might be a valid thing to gather from Your group combine it into a
useable form and share it with others.
I
will combine all the different ways we practice and put it in a usable
form if any or all of our group will e-mail their practice routine to me address
below. Please include if you place a rope or line on the ground.? Do
you practice on water? Which cast you practice most? Anything you do to
keep your skills sharp. How do you practice a new skill? Any
favorite thing you do to help your students learn new skills in your
classes.
I
will do my best to make a useful tool for the group. I will benefit from
all these ideas coming in more the most but when you stop to consider how you
practice it will help you go back to some routines you need to reacquaint
yourself with.
I
thank the group for its? help now.
Yours,
Jim.
Jim
Bass
FFF Certified fly Casting
Instructor
E-mail:
jbass3223@xxxxxxx
C:
682-429-8413
H:
817-577-5578
Website:
metroplexflyfisher.com
ntflyfishingschool.net
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I
will be away from my MailList Controller and therefore from our Group messages
for approximately the next three weeks starting Wednesday as we'll be fishing up
on Long Island for the striper run. So go right ahead, as Jim requested
and take the time to send your messages directly to him at his address,
above.
I'll place mine,
below.
Gordy
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Jim...
I
teach fly casting at every opportunity. It gives me a hard to explain HIGH
as I see the results.
Of course, I spend many hours with our own Group
messages. Once in a while, I'll help Al with messages to him, "behind the
scenes" as I review the entries to his CCI Group. I answer several
messages each day privately with casting questions from candidates who don't
want them aired via the Group.
I
make no income teaching, which is my election. If I give private lessons,
I tell my student(s) that I will charge $100.00 per hour unless they show me
that they have joined the FFF. I actually keep the applications at
hand.
Most of my students are reasonably good fly casters
who come to learn salt water fly casting techniques, tackle, and fly
fishing.
My most common activity is
coaching CCI or MCCI
candidates.
I teach Workshops at the
Conclaves, usually as part of a well rehearsed
team.
I
use methods too numerous to cite, here.... though I can tell you some of
them :-
1.) I keep the fly rod in the student's hand
almost all the time. When I demo, I'll sometimes ask for the
student's rod. This allows me to quickly know if their tackle is
balanced. After doing that once, I always use my own tackle for
that.
2.) Even when dealing with accomplished
casters, I start by reviewing basics. This usually goes quickly if the
student really is at a level which allows this.
3.) I do use ground casting teaching
techniques. My way of doing this is to use two hi viz ropes on the ground
starting with them parallel and about 7' apart. As we do the loop control
exercises, I move them ever closer together until they are about 18" apart for
nice tight loops. In a series of steps, I have them "go airborne" with
these loops.
4.) When teaching distance casting, I use a
simplified modification of the technique employed by Bill Gammel in his video,
TEACHING YOURSELF TO FLY
CAST. Works well for me.
Two things which I emphasize are the length of
line which each caster is capable of handling and the method of improving
the back cast and timing by having them watch each back cast until perfection is
achieved ..... and going back to this when and if the loops begin to
suffer.
5.) When teaching, I don't lock the student to
any particular style. With Master candidates, however, I make sure they
know the most common styles and can use them when indicated by the casting or
fishing circumstances. I make no changes to a student's style unless there
is something that he/she can't do well with that one. For those who come
to learn to fish in the salt and who are not accustomed to handling the heavier
outfits, I do have them learn Lefty Kreh's
low-elbow-on-the-shelf-off-vertical-rod plane technique. I have them
practice with lighter outfits and then gradually take up the heavier ones to
avoid injuries.
6.) I do use Bruce Richards' 6 step method of
correcting faults, and do so by correcting only one fault at a time starting
with the one most detrimintal to the cast.
7.) Positive reinforcement and staying away from
negative comments has helped my teaching..... EXCEPT sometimes when coaching
MCCI candidates who might well need a "Kick in the
XXXX".
8.) When introducing casts new to the student, I like
to have them use only about 30' of line out of the rod
tip.
9.) The use of lots of "alone time" has been very
effective. I'll occasionally pretend to "disappear" while the student
practices for a while though I'm watching from an unseen vantage
point.
10.) I learned and use Tom White's concept of "USING
A BIG CRAYON" for explanations, especially with early
students.
11.) I often use pantomime. Also "casts"
made with an unstrung rod.
12.) Many of the folks who come to me want to
learn salt water tackle rigging. I spend lots of time with them on this,
particularly with respect to leader theory and
construction.
13.) Often, I'll have the student "listen to
the cast". Tom taught me that ......"If you can hear it, you are using
too much force ...."
14.) Frequently, I have the student close the
eyes to maximize the feel of a particular cast. For a new
student, I'll use a heavier line to help do
that.
15.) When I coach CCI candidates, I always take
the time to give them a Workshop before going out and casting together.
Then I advise them to take another just prior to their exam. We then go
out and accomplish all the tasks on the casting part of the exam. When
doing that, I critique each cast, sometimes offering different ways of
accomplishing them. I'll often do this with differing wind
directions.
With these folks, I concentrate on methods of
practice for each task.
(I did a CCI prep coaching and trial exam which took
the whole day, yesterday.)
16.) I give a really TOUGH oral exam during the
mock (trial) exams when coaching MCCI candidates. I critique each answer
as to : a. Content (Did the candidate listen to the question ?
Was the answer directed at the meat of the question ? Did he/she give a
correct answer .... but to a different question ? ), b.
Brevity, c. Accuracy d. Technique of delivery, e. How to
handle the question the answer to which he/she doesn't have. (Sometimes I
even teach the technique of leading the examiners carefully to ask a question
the answer to which they do know.)
Then we go out in the field and go through the entire
MCCI casting exam with the setup exactly as we'd do it if it were the real
thing. I concentrate on the expectations. After accomplishing each
task, I have the candidate teach it to me as though I were the
student.
I
spend time with the cause and correction of faults. With the most common ones, I
have the candidate show me several different ways of
correction.
We take breaks, have lunch, etc., etc.
However, this may well take several hours or even most of the day. I have
even done this over the course of two days.
My rewards are multiple. First, I learn a great
deal. Then there is the great feeling I get when the candidate calls me
after being successful.
I
finish by having the candidate understand that when the real test is taken, that
both of us are being examined !
Gordy
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PLEASE HELP JIM AND AL
WITH YOUR FEEDBACK, EVEN IF BRIEF !
GORDY
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