Have you ever wanted to become an FFF casting instructor?
- This topic has 29 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated Mar 23, 2010 at 1:49 pm by
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JT I wanted my FFF CCI, so I got numbers together, arranged the MCI’s and sat the test, 3 of us passed the test.
Often you need to run with things for yourself, I don’t know what the availability of testers is over there but one MCI flew in and the other drove near 4 hours each way to test us.
Australia has a small Fly Fishing community but we seem to have a great network of contacts. Peter are you going to Cressy next month? Paul Arden will be there all week.
Yep I’ll be in Cressy Andrew, looking forward to catching up with Paul and as usual everyone else. Are you coming down? I’ll be there on the Wednesday, hope to go chasing southern bluefin the following week, down at Pedra Blanca.
Peter
Yep I’ll be there Monday.
Southern’s… geez I’d like a crack at them, what size are they expecting? The run here has been hard to gauge due to the bad weather. I’m still waiting for my first Tuna trip of the season after a season missed with the damn knee.
They start at around 70 kgs down there……… Needless to say I’ll have my 16 weight and Tibor Pacific with me………..
Sorry about the post hijack – here’s a story on this place in the Southern Ocean. The rock you see in the footage is 35 meters high. A few years ago during a period of calm weather, using a helicopter they dropped some scientists on it to study the lizards that live there. They were meant to spend a couple of days on the rock but were never seen again.
Incredible southern bluefin tuna grounds. I hope we get a window in the weather. No thing else between there and Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica.
http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/benfordham/651973/the-storm-riders
Morsie
Opp’s sorry about the hijack…
Sharks, hmmm, one wonders how big and what kind…
and only 30km off shore, give me a yell if you need a hand 😉
 I had to work with MCCI’s here who are much younger than me and have a fraction of the experience I have, but  they had the determination to become MCCI’s and as a consequence were far better casters than me – but I had to deal with that.
But it was fun wasnt it Morsie!!  🙂
Personally I have found the FFF journey exciting, interesting and a great way to increase your knowledge base and friend base. It is also a humbling experience, as you quickly realise how much you dont know and what you need to learn about in order to improve. And I suppose thats the perspective I like to look at things from – what can I do to get better. For me the FFF process was the thing I could do to improve my own skills.
Looking at this now from a non technical perspective (ie not talking about what the FFF process does for your knowledge, casting and teaching skills) but for me it has opened up a whole world of new friendships. For instance I am now happy to call Morsie a mate and would have absolutely no issue calling him for advice about fishing, because as he quite correctly says he has 35 years of experience in fishing that dwarfs my own, and I am sure it would be right to say that he has forgotten more about fishing than I will will ever know. And I know that some may read as me blowing smoke up his proverbial.. and it pains me to say it  :), but it is true.
I have also met many great people in the USA and in NZ because of my involvement with the FFF, these people I now call friends. For instance 2 years ago I didnt know Dave Barron or John Breslin but now I do, and its been great to hang out with them and have a chat and swap ideas. All of that has been courtesy of involvement with the FFF. I have also met heaps of great guys down here in Australia as part of all of this (ie ‘Wet’/Andrew for one).
Anyway, I thought I would share another side of the FFF journey that a lot of people dont mention, but which to me has and continues to be very important!
On that note, like Morsie mentioned, some of us continue to travel to the FFF conclaves to renew friendships and meet new people and I will be there once again this year in West Yellowstone. So I look forward to saying ‘hi’ and meeting some more keen anglers.
Cheers guys
SimonI would heartily endorse the FFF casting program – it’s not perfect , but it’s been a great help to me (andmore importantly to the anglers I guide and instruct).
I guided for many years and gave hundreds of lessons before going through the certification program. Always thought I did a good job too, but what I learned about casting and instruction has made a magnitude of difference. For example, I no longer say to a client that “you over-powered the cast.” (Honestly now, how many anglers’ casts did you actually improve by telling him he over-powered the cast?). I might say now that your loop did this, and that’s because the rod did this, because your hand did this. Now, try doing this instead.
If you can go out and throw loops that tail for five different reasons, you’ll have some insight. I can now throw a loop that looks just like the student’s, then make a slight change and throw a good loop. The FFF certification helped me develop the ability to look at the loop and see exactly where the problem started. More importantly, it gave me numerous ways to translate the problem to the angler. Not everyone learns the same way, and the input from dozens of instructors who see the same problems gave me a whole “bag of tricks” to help correct the fault with different types of students.
For guiding, it can be maybe more important. Sometimes the difference between catching and not catching is being able to make a particular cast. I can now zero in on just the specifics needed to get the angler making the fish-catching cast.
Already mentioned is the knowledge and feedback available from other instructors. When I have a student with a particular problem, I have a network of experienced instructors I can call for help. Since we speak the same language (thanks to the FFF), I can easily describe the problem and get ideas about how they have helped other “unique individuals” with th same problem.
A side benefit, and one that’s been especially satisfying, is personal – learning the potential of the fly rod. Always thought I was a good (or very good) angler – and I was… casted just fine, caught plenty of fish, and had lots of fun. But now, I see always there’s always more to learn…and it fascinates me.
Kent - FlyFishGA
Great answers to all you fellows…
I’m glad this thread caught on hijacks and all…btw that surf footage was outrageous!
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to thoughtfully respond.
Just an FYI….
Dusty Sprague of the FFF Casting Board of Governors and Eric Cook MCCI will be giving a program at the 2010 Southeastern FFF Fly Fishing Show & Conclave. Here is the info:
CCI Information Seminar – Dusty Sprague & Eric Cook – The CCI information seminar is open to all (up to 20 people) and is like a casting program. It is for people that are interested in working towards there CCI and find out what is expected. Have you thought about becoming a certified casting instructor, but don’t know where to start? Have you started preparation, but don’t know what to expect on test day? This seminar will be an overview of the FFF CCI program. Topics covered will be: resources available to candidates, expectations of examiners, testing procedures, tips on preparation, and demonstration of casting performance requirements. Limit 20 – $25.For more information about the show check out http://www.fffsec.org.
Thanks!
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