|
Walter & Group...
[GH] Additional thoughts from John Till :
Dear group
It seems to me that as a result of this great string, another issue is raised. I have already provided an answer wherein I explained what in my opinion was a WELL prepared candidate. I concur with the thoughts of Gary Eaton. It seems to me that the greater issue is, "do we really expect a candidate to be WELL prepared?" I think that it would be invaluable to MCI people if we had some more thoughts in connection with what MCI's are expecting of CI candidates. I find myself having to usually gear back my expectations because of other MCI or BOG people with whom I have tested.
[I have been fishing all of my life. I took my first fly-casting lessons in 1978 and was immediately hooked on the sport. And yes, I had read every fly casting book that I could get my hands on and watched every VHS or DVD that I could buy before I took my CI and my MCI tests.}
I am concerned with the apparent inconsistency of what we feel is a WELL prepared candidate. If the string is correct, are we generally passing people who are not WELL prepared? Mel Krieger was my mentor and I was fortunate enough to go fishing with him on several occasions and to teach with him. He was of the opinion, that an instructor should know the basic styles including the basic components, for example tournament style casting at an almost vertical angle, a slight tip of the Rod, all the way down to the Kreh, Fernandez, and Jaworowski side arm styles of casting.
The FFF website provides very little guidance for the candidate. As I recall the website refers the candidate to the Borger 15 fault tape and one of Mel's tapes. There is also a reference to the "fly fishing instructors handbook" of the FFF. Unless the CI candidate has been around fly fishing game for quite a few years, she is left with an overwhelming list of videos and books with no real direction. Unfortunately, some of the books are out of print and impossible to buy, for example, Jason’s Nature of Flycasting; the same is true of the videos.
In closing, I believe that it is important for CI candidates to know the styles of the various casters and schools of thought. Certainly the Kyte and Moran studies, Al articles and Al Kyte's Orvis casting book are a good place to start for a CI to obtain an overall view of the various styles. At some later time, I would really be interested in having a thread dealing with what we really do or should expect of CI candidates so that some of us are not too tough or too lenient. Perhaps my concerns could be solved by a more definitive list on the FFF website. Thank you for your time, John
John C. Till
Casting Chairperson Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club
FFF Master Certified Instructor
|