Fishing on the Spokane River

Fishing on the Spokane River, originally uploaded by drtaxsacto.

The last two days were spent at the Orvis Fishing School in Coeur d'Alene. For thirteen students there were four instructors. We spent a fair amount of time in the classroom learning a lot about fly fishing. But we also spent an equal amount of time practicing technique.

At the end of the second day we spent about three hours on the water in the Spokane river practicing technique. I had several impressions in addition to the fact that it was an interesting couple of days. First, as I think I have commented before - a lot of what you do in fly fishing seems not entirely natural. But the Orvis instructors have a lot of patience. They also had some very good ideas about how to get what at first seems strange to seem logical. And like some of the best guides I have met - they did not have one way to think about a problem but several alternatives that could help me as a student advance. There was a lot of care put into this program and the instructors were well chosen. Second, at the end of the second day my left arm (my casting arm) was tired. There was a lot of practice over the last two days. The second day made me feel pretty lame - a lot of the things I had thought were complete were up for grabs again - unfinished. There is a lot to learn. But time on the water - just like any other sport - seems to help. Third, the course has a couple of manuals which give you a lot of take aways - about knots and bugs and all the other things you need to know to do well in fly fishing. Finally, soemthing bears repeating. There is a lot to learn in this new sport of mine. But while learning you never have to go to ugly places. You also have the chance to meet some pretty interesting people. That sounds like a good deal to me. So was the Orvis school.