Who taught you to fish ?

[croozer]

Thought I'd pose this to you guys to see what in fact got you interested in fly fishing in particular and who helped you get started.

I was always a keen angler but a good friend got me started in primary school , so self taught from books etc and I would say in the last two years have taken it much more seriously.

[Rendier]

Walked into Sportmans Warehouse a couple of years back to buy a few bass lures. Saw a fly rod, bought it and that was the start of the addiction.

PS: Was the worst rod I ever casted, but hell, it caught a few bass and a small trout, so I wasn't complaining

[FishWhisperer]

My rents taught me how to catch my first fish when I was about 5: "Take this here pole with the jiggly thing attached and plop in that there river... then you wait" However useless that info my have been, I went ON DAD with a 1kg+ Largemouth Bass and was hooked. That was the extent of my tutelage. I don't know where I got the idea to fly fish but my parents got me a rod when I was about 12/13. Caught my fist fish on fly in a river on Std 5 camp. Have only really got back into it full time for about 2 or so years now. Taught myself pretty much every thing except to tie flies. I used to go to Tim Rolsten's tying classes at Upstream and he taught me the basics.

[Nymph+O-]

I've loved all forms of fishing since my very young childhood. I took up fly fishing as an adult a couple of years ago - I kept on struggling by myself until I met Gael whom showed and exposed me to more then one can learn in a lifetime.

[thrisss]

Went with some mates of mine to Dullstroom for a weekend of relaxation and booze 8 years ago. One of them took FF gear cause he was the only one who fished of the group (first time I saw fly fishing in my life), remember taking up the rod when I was half sloshed for “casting lessons” just cause there wasn’t anything else to do. Also remember think – now this is k@k, don’t want to waste my time doing this. 2 years later only he and another buddy convinced me to go with to Footloose with a borrowed rig, for some reason I (still can’t figure out why) from that day on kept on getting more and more addicted, every year more and more skilled and obviously more gear as well. Funny thing is that was one of the worst cold, overcast and unpleasant days I ever spend outside in nature, didn’t come close to even managing the cast – never mind catching a fish. When I overtook these two buddies in FF knowledge (really got addicted) I had to look for other places to get the knowledge, lots of books and lots and lots of internet..... now they phone me for tips on venues, species, flies, techniques etc etc... funny how it works, I now have to teach them

[Byron]

I learnt with a mate when I was about 8 or 9 in Dullstroom – he was from a family of flyfishers and until that point I had only bait fished in estuaries with my old man.

He gave me a fly rod tied on a fly and then disappeared into the mist at the municipal dam. I stood there not having a clue what to do until the mist cleared enough for me to see how he was doing it. I started mimicking his action and that was it – I learnt to throw a line.

Over the years though I have been given tips and pointers by more fly fishermen than I can remember and each little bit of info is valuable and improves my ability.

[pieterkriel]

My Dad never fished a day in his life, but he did make us move from Kempton to Hartbeespoort when I was about 7, had to try fishing, nagged for a rod and my dad eventually bought me one, and tried to help me with the nothing he knew to get me fishing, he and my mom took me fishing, but I had to more or less figure it out, then my brother in law showed me more, then moved to art lure, and eventually after seeing a movie where fly fishing was made very appealining and getting to a stage where I could affort the equip. got my fly fishing started, went to a clinic, and from that point taught myself, and stole with my eyes from other, reading, researching, trying, and so on

[shector]

Ever since I can remember I've always been keen on fishing, always prospecting any likely looking body of water for signs of anything piscatorial. I think fishing is probably something I inherited form my late father, who was a keen saltwater angler. I was also a scout for 10 years and as a youth loved being outdoors. I can't remember when it was, but the first flyfisherman I saw was on the Eerste river near the hangbrug. I vividly remember he was wearing waders and had a bright reddish flyline. I watched him his flick his fly around and was hypnotised by his casting stroke. In my teen years I forgot about fishing altogether. Later, I wanted my life too slow down and had an epiphany while travelling up country. The epiphany that I had was to take up FF as a hobby as I wanted to get back in touch with nature. I bought my first stick and subsequently taught myself how to fly cast from books. I first started fishing dams and later graduated to fishing dryflies on the Eerste.

[Gerrit Viljoen]

Spent some years in England and came to visit family for about 2 weeks with my Canadian fiancé.

Left the poor old foreign girl with the family all alone and scared and went with my sister's lover(now boet in law)to some joint in the Vaal,can't rem the name,somewhere past Parys,didn't manage jack squat(If rem correctly we tried fishing rapids in winter)

Packed and left and headed for Erina Spa(Barrage) and caught my first ever yellow.

Some days later we went to Belfast(Inyamazane) and caught my first trout on white bread with a flyrod.Couldn't cast,didn't have the patience.Bread was the only way for me back then.

Eversince then I was hook,line and sinkerd.(sorry flied)

[dizzy]

Spent some years in England and came to visit family for about 2 weeks with my Canadian fiancé.

Left the poor old foreign girl with the family all alone and scared and went with my sister's lover(now boet in law)to some joint in the Vaal,can't rem the name,somewhere past Parys,didn't manage jack squat(If rem correctly we tried fishing currents in winter)

Packed and left and headed for Erina Spa(Barrage) and caught my first ever yellow.

Some days later we went to Belfast(Inyamazane) and caught my first trout on white bread with a flyrod.Couldn't cast,didn't have the patience.Bread was the only way for me back then.

Eversince then I was hook,line and sinkerd.(sorry flied)

Been close to 4 years now and absolutely love it.Work and fish,work and fish.

What happened to the Canadian fiance?