Teaching? It's always a learning experience

FLY FISHING

One of the greatest pleasures in my life is teaching people how to enjoy themselves.

As a fly fishing and fly tying instructor I take folks out

of their comfort zone to experience not only the great outdoors, but something that will exhilarate, absorb, and ultimately bring satisfaction and a sense of calm in this sometimes fraught and troubling world.

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Over the last five years I have had the pleasure of running the residential fly fishing course at the Malham Tarn Field Studies Centre. The plan is that I take eight students and in the course of seven days I turn them in to proficient anglers.

On the Friday before the course starts I do my preparation, getting the lectures ready and doing a final check on the equipment I have brought. Last year on the Friday afternoon I was approached by two extremely well-dressed ladies, each looking as if they were about to take afternoon tea at Betty's. Introducing myself, I learned that both ladies were on my course. One, called June, was in her middle seventies and the other, Carol, was nearing seventy. Here I have to be perfectly frank and admit that my heart sank a little as I had not anticipated two ladies of that age wanting to take up fishing. But they quickly informed me that they had been fishing for a few years, having both been widowed, and they were on the course to improve.

During the course I take my students to various waters to fish. On one particular day we were at Bolton Abbey on the Wharfe. Eight students spread over a couple of miles of water take some watching, but having got them nicely spread out I could concentrate on individuals.

June was well positioned by a large pool casting a gold head nymph and was perfectly happy in her Nora Batty waders just enjoying the day. She already had a lovely brown trout out and requested that I leave her to get on with it. Next was Carol, up to her thighs in water, expertly casting a team of North Country Spiders downstream and sporting a big grin. Below Carol was Pat. She had also been widowed a couple of years before and was a complete novice.

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She too had a team of spiders on and had a couple of pulls on her line. As I approached Pat turned to me, her eyes were red, and tears glistened in the sun.

I asked her what was wrong, thinking that perhaps she had missed so many fish it had upset her. But she replied that she was overcome by the sense of peace she had found in this beautiful place and had finally found something that could help to heal the grief following the death of her husband. I turned away, the sun on the water making my eyes water too.

Boat fishing at any venue is a gamble as to which fly to use. One day my boat partner Harvey asked me if he should use a Muddler Minnow. I screwed up my face and said "not today, the waves are too high". "Okay," was the reply, "you are the expert." Some time later, without any fish, I might add, we came within hailing distance of one of the other boats and noticed that a fight with a fish was in progress. Finally a five pound brownie was landed.

"What did you catch it on?" I shouted.

"Muddler Minnow!" was the reply. I felt my face going red – that bloomin' sun!

Fly by Stephen Cheetham. 0113 2507244. www.fishingwithstyle.co.uk

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