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Walter & Group....
[GH] We have more answers to our lesson plan quiz. ( Note : PULD = Pick-up and Lay-down) As you go through them please note A. The similarities, B. The differences. We'll discuss all this when I return after a few days away :
>From John Bilotta:-
QUIZ
QUESTIONS : -
1.) Do you teach the roll cast as one of the very first tasks for your new fly casting students ?
No, not in a one hour class.
2.) Briefly, tell us why.
Too many students, too short of time.
3.) Do you teach the PICK-UP-&-LAY-DOWN to your new students ?
Yes
4.) Briefly, support your decision.
Keep is simple. I think in an hour long lesson it is what students expect to learn how to do. It means I would talk less and the students would practice more.
5.) Include a brief outline of your lesson plan for the tasks described by Robin.
I wouldn’t teach both in an hour, at least with the expectation that these students could now do both casts. I don’t think you do either cast justice and some of the students would be confused. If I only had an hour I would explain and demo both casts, and then say today we are going to focus on the basic pick up and lay down cast.
My goal is that I want them to begin to move the rod tip in a relatively straight line, and to be able to stop the rod and see a loop form on the forward cast that is somewhat smaller than a minivan.
If your answered NO to 1.) and/or 3.) then submit an alternative lesson plan outline for your "brand new"students.
Include time (minutes devoted to each event.
1. 00-10:00 - Intro we are going to learn to make a basic pick up lay down. Why used? How are they done? Quick mechanics on how to hold the rod, stance, the casting stroke, power snap, stop and pause.
2. 10-20:00 – Class practice pantomime basics casting stroke.
3. 20-35:00- - Class spreads out and practices on grass, instructor works with individual students.
4. 35-40:00 – Quick mini-review/demo on the good, bad and ugly.
5. 40-50:00 - Practice continues
6. 50-60:00 -- Wrap up, final questions, and where to learn more.
6.) Add commentary on how you would actually teach the subjects in your outline. Try to be brief and to the point.
Gordy
John
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[GH] From Bob Stouffer :
QUESTIONS : -
1.) Do you teach the roll cast as one of the very first tasks for your new fly casting students ? No.
2.) Briefly, tell us why.
Back cast movements first - Then Roll Cast - Then PULD. It is sequential learning (linear).
3.) Do you teach the PICK-UP-&-LAY-DOWN to your new students ? Third exercise - assuming that the first two are OK. Not perfect, but OK.
4.) Briefly, support your decision.
Back cast is foundation and first movement (in isolation) in a casting cycle. Teach this first. Roll cast (in isolation) is foreward cast movement. PULD is the link which completes the casting cycle.
5.) Include a brief outline of your lesson plan for the tasks described by Robin.
Get two other casting instructors to assist you. Break the session into thirds. Concentrate on the body movements reqired to do Back Cast, Roll Cast and PULD. Isolate the movements required to make the Back Cast and the Roll Cast from any other casting activity for this first session. Get permission for and use "hands-on" continuously (the other two or three students in each group will have plenty of time to practice on their own). Maintain the discipline required for the the movements when you go to PULD.
Back Cast: Fifteen minutes. Use a "pipe rod" to introduce the arm and hand movements. Begin the cast very slowly. Limit the wrist movement, initially, to wrist forward. high stop with butt of pipe rod contacting wrist. Look to the student's casting hand side to make sure that reel is level with the eye at the stop. Reinforce straight line path of thumbnail. Finish the stop with "thumb touching ear" (or similar). Switch to rod and line. Rod-tip down with organized line. Concentrate on beginning the cast slowly with constant acceleration. Back cast the length of line, turn, back-up until the fly moves, repeat.
Roll Cast: Twenty Minutes. Use a pipe rod to introduce the arm and hand movements. Begin at ending position (key position) of the back cast. Begin the movement slowly. Reinforce a straight-line path of the thumbnail using constant acceleration to a stop. Add rod and line. Organize line on the water or grass and turn so that the lee side is where the D loop will be formed. Draw the line in slowly, tilt rod out, coming to rest in the key position. Straight line path of the hand concentrating on beginning slowly and using constant acceleration to a stop. Reinforce a high stop.
Review: Five Minutes - relax and take questions. Review both Back Cast and Roll Cast with demonstration.
Introduction of PULD: Two minutes. Demonstrate rod tip down, remove slack, beginning slowly, straight line path of the hand to high stop, hold for pause, beginning slowly, straight line path of the hand to high forward stop, pause while the beautiful loop is unrolling and then drop to a fishing position.
PULD: Twenty Minutes. Begin with pipe rod. Reinforce each step in the isolated exercises (above). After five minutes, switch to rod and line. Enjoy yourself and help them enjoy the last fifteen minutes.
The missing three minutes - make sure you get the money.
If your answered NO to 1.) and/or 3.) then submit an alternative lesson plan outline for your "brand new"students.
Include time (minutes devoted to each event.
6.) Add commentary on how you would actually teach the subjects in your outline. Try to be brief and to the point.
Embedded in the outline. (should have read ahead). Don't look nervous. My favorite thing to do is to just jump into the fundamental movements. No preliminaries or demonstrations unless or until needed during the course of the session. Have the equipment ready before the start of the session.
Gordy
Bob Stouffer
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[GH] Michael Heritage's answers :
QUESTIONS : -
1.) Do you teach the roll cast as one of the very first tasks for your new fly casting students ?
No
2.) Briefly, tell us why.
For me, the essence of fly casting is loop formation and keeping a line in the air. I generally bring the roll cast in later and nearly always as a way for them to remove slack line below the rod tip so their pick up is taut.
3.) Do you teach the PICK-UP-&-LAY-DOWN to your new students ?
Not as a first task.
4.) Briefly, support your decision.
I have a better method, for absolute beginners.
5.) Include a brief outline of your lesson plan for the tasks described by Robin.
10 students for one hour is spreading yourself a bit thinly and is, arguably, not fair on the students, so #1 would be to try and involve another instructor, if possible.
#2 a brief discussion on safety.
#3 I would demo and describe the casts.
#4 while the group was close together, I might get them to pantomime the stroke for a couple of minutes.
#5 get them casting and gradually put the better ones with the slower ones until I had two or three manageable groups.
#6 move between each group, encouraging them to help each other.
#7 Thank them for attending. Tell them they were the best group you have ever had the pleasure of teaching but would they mind booking as individuals or pairs next time 'cos I'm getting too old for all this running around.
If your answered NO to 1.) and/or 3.) then submit an alternative lesson plan outline for your "brand new"students.
This is difficult for me as I tend to teach one to one or two to one. The student(s) may or may not know what they want from the lesson. The reply I hear most often to my question 'what do you want to get out of the lesson' is I just want to cast better. I can't make any judgement until I have actually seen them cast. I don't allocate any specific time to each event. I have had two students for two hours and at the end of the time one is double hauling and shooting line to sixty feet while the other is still struggling to master the pick up and lay down.
Include time (minutes devoted to each event.
6.) Add commentary on how you would actually teach the subjects in your outline. Try to be brief and to the point.
Gordy, I can't be brief. I first have to explain a couple of things. My teaching to beginners is based on two things. One is a 'no fault concept' ( Mark Surtees will have to explain that one, it's his idea) and the other is a method Lee Cummings first introduced to a group of us a couple of years ago. Lee's method is so jaw droppingly simple we were left almost speechless after he had demo'ed it to us. With this method we can have an absolute beginner false casting 25' to 35' of line in less than fifteen minutes. All this with fantastic loops and good timing. I actually teach the pick up and lay down to give their arms a rest. I teach the roll cast to remove the slack they may have created during the pick up and lay down.
Lee really should be part of this group, he is an FFF Master. I will email him the address
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[GH] Mike...
Why don't you describe this method ? I, for one, would like to know it.
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[GH] From Mark Milkovitch :
1.) Do you teach the roll cast as one of the very first tasks for your new fly casting students ?
No
2.) Briefly, tell us why.
See #4 below
3.) Do you teach the PICK-UP-&-LAY-DOWN to your new students ?
Yes, before teaching the roll cast for several student groups: Students in an intro Casting Lesson, 1st Time Anglers on a ¾ day guide trip, and when possible Wounded Warriors using fly fishing as Recreational Therapy.
4.) Briefly, support your decision.
Casting Students so often cast with that “wristy”, continuous motion, open loop fashion that it occurred to me that they might think that is exactly what they are supposed to be doing. I now take just a minute at the start of the class for a demo/quiz. I show them open vs. narrow loops (on the ground & then in the air) and two casting “styles”: #1 - the “wristy”, convex tip path open loop, continuous motion false casts (I do make this version look rhythmic and appealing, not farcical) vs. #2 - the firm wrist, SLP narrow loop, Pause and Wait false casting. The quiz question is: “Which of these two is “really” fly casting? Whether it’s because I’ve “sold” it or because it’s what they believe, the students choose Style #1 every time. This simple exercise allows me to give the students: a clear idea of what we want them to learn in the lesson, a clear contrast of the two “styles”, and a quick understanding of the key variables that makes them different.
In summer Sun Valley hosts many vacationing couples and “conferencing” professionals who include a brief (+ 6 hour) fly fishing experience as part of their stay. After getting the guests licensed & fit for waders and boots, I maximize time on the water by doing a brief pick up & lay down lesson on dry ground. I make a point to get a scenic photo of them casting a nice loop on the river. After the trip I e-mail them with low resolution copies and invite them to choose any images they would like in high resolution. If I was able to get one, the casting shot is always selected; nothing says “I went fly fishing” like a casting photo.
Each summer Sun Valley Adaptive Sports hosts at no cost to the participants a week long fly fishing recreational therapy program for Wounded Warriors recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and typically an additional physical disability. For the participants who are able to learn and perform the Pick Up and Lay Down cast rather than those who can only perform a Roll Cast, there are some therapeutic advantages. The more complex and greater range of motion help the participants regain more of the physical and cognitive ability they lost as a result of their injuries. Importantly the calming effect of false casting, even on dry ground, is a effective tool they can use at home for the stress and other frustration related issues which stem from their injuries.
Gordy, if I may, when Warriors leave Sun Valley and wish to pursue fly fishing they receive equipment appropriate to their home waters and we try to get them involved with their local Healing Waters program or find them a mentor in their home area. At the moment I am looking for mentors for Warriors in: Buckley, WA.; Alexandria, LA; Dallas, TX.; and Springville, NY. This mentoring can require a fair amount of time and patience because these Warriors are “learning to re-learn” what they once new very well how to do. If any of our group are interested or know others who would like to work with these individuals, I would appreciate hearing at: mark@xxxxxxxxxxx, please put Wounded Warrior in the subject line in case it goes to my junk mail.
5.) Include a brief outline of your lesson plan for the tasks described by Robin. If your answered NO to 1.) and/or 3.) then submit an alternative lesson plan outline for your "brand new" students. Include time (minutes devoted to each event.
1. Demo Quiz in #4 above.
2. Grip and Stance (L.E.G.S.) & Instructor Back Cast Demo. (Steps 1 & 2 combined < 10 min.)
3. Only Back Casts (15 min for all students)
4. Only Forward Casts (10 – 15 min depending on ability)
5. Pick Up & Lay Down Casts (as much time as needed depending on ability)
6. Roll Cast (up to 15 min for those who progressed smoothly)
Time at task does vary with student ability.
6.) Add commentary on how you would actually teach the subjects in your outline. Try to be brief and to the point.
1. The general approach for this lesson is detailed in Gary Borger’s Summer 1997 Loop article “Only Back Casts, Only Forward Casts”.
2. Steps 1 & 2 presented to all students at the same time.
3. The Only Back Casts sessions last just a few minutes apiece with a break. Beginning in the first short session I will begin pairing students according to ability and using them to spot/coach their partner. Ten students is a lot for individual attention. I typically prepare 4x6 cards for students to use in class and take away which provide memory aids and list key ideas. For example, the grip and stance info is “Get your L.E.G.S”: L.E. (line extended tip down) G. (grip is key grip) S. (stance - feet shoulder width apart. front foot faces forward, back foot ½ step back with toes pointed out for balance). The students who are doing better strip off more line for gradually longer back casts.
4. All students start the Only Forward Casts sessions at the same time with a short line. The more adept students are allowed to make longer casts earlier and are the first to be encouraged to put the forward and back casts together.
5. At a minimum, I want all the students to make the pick up and lay down cast even if it is a short one. Some students will not be introduced to the roll cast. The more advanced students will already know a good grip & stance position as well as a good position to begin the forward cast. They must simply learn how to create the D loop in order to make the roll cast.
Thanks Gordy,
Mark
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[GH] Mark, While your answer to 4.) was anything but brief, I found it worth the read.
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