[simon z]

Just on Chris’s comment, I agree – that realistic and correct shipping amounts can make all the difference (I live in Australia as well).

For instance I often shop on line and the reason I would buy from one store over another is whether they have accurate known shipping amounts published for the item you want to buy. Ie if some Simms wading boots are $179 then the odds of finding them cheaper as between stores is pretty remote, the real question for me is who has the most competitive/accurate shipping calculations (ie the shipping costs reflect the actual shipping/post charge).

One shop I often buy from gives you the choice of three different speeds of shipping and then the amounts next to each preference do seem pretty reasonable (ie reflective of the actual shipping cost for the level of shipping service you want.) Hence I keep going back.

Also, another thing to think about is a safe and reliable payment method. For instance PayPal seems to be becoming pretty universal and they seem trusted, and so personally I would rather pay using PayPal rather than some payment method just used by the individual store.

Hope that helps, and obviously just my 2 cents.

Cheers
Simon

[simon z]

John
Some good advice from Karsten above about contacting Kerry to discuss tapers etc. I would second that.

Not to hijack the thread but if you ever need any tips etc on NZ just let me know.

Cheers
Simon

[simon z]

HI John

I have 2 of them, a 6wt and a 5wt. I had the 5wt made for me by Josh Markvan. They are very nice rods. Obviously it can be hard to describe their action using words as what I think is fast or slow you might not.

I would rate both rods as medium fast. What I do like about them is that the very tip section of the rod (say the last 6 inches of the top section) is a little bit more robust then say my loomis rods. Meaning that the rod will flex a little further down the blank.

Very nice rods
Very happy with mine.

Cheers
Simon

[simon z]

Is tipping expected? I know it is up to the individual and probably never scoffed at by the recipient. Maybe some of you who provide casting instruction can chime in.

HI Shane
Tipping is not an Australian concept and so it rarely arises over here, but what I would say is that if I had a choice between a tip or that person ‘investing in themselves’ by going and doing some practice after a lesson,  I would much prefer they did that.

To me the ultimate reward is to find a student that is committed to the learning process and then goes and practices after a lesson. From an instructor’s perspective I find it so much more rewarding to give a lesson then see that person a little while later and see that they have been practising as their casting has improved. That to me is reward enough.

Just on that and looking at some of the other posts, given that experience has shown me that very few students actually go and do the practice afterwards, I have an approach of not trying to rebuild someone’s style or mechanics because more often than not they dont do the practice required to then cement the new changes, and end up in limbo, casting worse than they did before the lesson and not really understanding or getting the new style/stroke/mechanics.

A personal view is that I like to identify no more than 2 things for someone to work on and just concentrate on that.

I hope this post doesnt sound pessimistic but its more an observation, after seeing casters over a couple of years, and seeing no discernable improvement. So long story short… dont tip, but heres a tip.. ‘go practice’!

🙂

Cheers
Simon

[simon z]

 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
Simon

[simon z]

Thanks Guys for the input. Plenty of options for me to look at – still a little undecided but have plenty of things to think about.
🙂

Dave good to hear from you mate, will send you an email.

Cheers
Simon

[simon z]

Thanks Phil, appreciate the info, will jump on the website you mention and have a look around.

Cheers
Simon

[simon z]

Thanks guys for the information. Most appreciated.

[simon z]

Will, Steve and Tradd

Thanks very much for the response guys. I did speak with Cameron on the phone and he seems like a good bloke. So I will be booking the trip.

The whole concept of a pack trip is pretty novel for me, and also the wilderness will be unique – not much of that scenery here in Australia! Should be great fun.

Thanks once again.

Cheers
Simon

[simon z]

Scott – I remember you.  🙂 Sorry for sounding a little vague in my first post I met a few people on my trip and sometimes its a little hard to put a face to the name. Thanks for the compliment, I did work hard for the test and so any tips I can give I would be happy to. I really enjoyed the FFF Conclave and meeting blokes like yourself, John and Dave. In fact I plan to be back next year.

It was also my first trip to America and I had a great time. You guys have a great country. I loved fly fishing in Montana it was fantastic. Drift boat fishing took a bit of getting used to though, which i had never done. A fly caught in the top of my ear and another one in my mate Randall’s throat was testament to this!  🙂 Not my finest casting display… least that happened before the masters test!  😉 In my limited defence, the wind was gusting pretty hard, but still….

The trip was pretty varied as a week later I was heading up town on the ‘E’ train in New York city. Man thats a great city. I have to say though.. whats the go with the size of the serves of food? Unbelievable… One morning we had breakfast at a small diner in Dillon Montana, just two of us and out comes enough food to feed a small Ethiopian village for a week. Dont worry though… we ate it all.

Andrew, thanks for the welcome and good stuff about the pre testing with Mick. He is a great bloke and a top instructor you will breeze through the test. Look forward to meeting one day.

Ralph, mate I am happy to share some experiences, I can knock something up… should I post it here or start a new thread?

Cheers
Simon

Ps – do i have to click some button or something to get smilies to appear properly??

[simon z]

As for those who want to test for the Master’s.  Most seem to fail on their first attempt.  The conclave had 5 CCI’s go for their Master’s.  One of the 5 passed.  It seems most don’t clearly grasp the mechanics of casting or are able to easily articulate it while teaching.  The best advice I have been given while in my pursuit of the MCCI is to KNOW you are ready to pass the test and remember, while perfect casting is a part of the test, the larger part is demonstrating you know how to effectively teach.

Hi guys,
I have only just joined the forum (only found out about this site a little while ago – its great  🙂 ). Anyway I realise this thread might be dead but just thought I would say hi as I am the one referred to in the quote who passed the MCI test at the Conclave.

Scott I would have been in the same class at the Conclave that Gordy gave, so I would recognise your face and so I  just thought I would say hi. I took that class after doing the test as I thought it would be a good way to learn about how to prepare other CCIs for their Masters test. And it was a great way to learn. Wish I had done one of those before my test.

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