I love fishing. I try to go fishing whenever possible, always offering to bring a family member with me . Their response, “No,” doesn’t discourage me in the least. As much as I love fishing, I’m not that good at it. When I was recently invited to attend a one day fly fishing class with Orvis, I was thrilled and cleared my calendar immediately to attend the class.
I attended the recently opened Orvis Store at Pursell Farms in Sylacauga, Alabama. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive from my house, but it’s one of only three Orvis owned stores in Alabama, one of their 30 fishing schools around the country, and presented by experienced fly fisherman Chris Edlin. The class is a mix of classroom education and outdoor hands-on practice. The class began with introductions and a quick explanation of the fly fishing technique. Then we headed outside to began casting. It was a bit tricky at first, but with Chris’s help, I was casting like a pro (or really well for me) within thirty minutes.
After wearing ourselves out in the sun we headed inside for a lesson on the different types of fly lures commonly used by fresh and saltwater fly fishers. Thanks to the instructions, I was familiar with fly lures in no time! I also had a change to learn about some of Orvis’s fly fishing gear, including their fly rod case. It’s durable, portable, and has compartments inside to store lures, line, indicators, and other fly fishing gear. I know what I want for Christmas. Hint, hint, family members.
Other items on my wish list is an Orvis hand made fly rod and fly fishing backpack. The fly rods have a 25 year guarantee, allowing it to be sent in for repairs or replaced if parts are no longer available. The backpack allows storage of all the fly fishing gear, meaning no dragging around a case while wading or hiking. It’s an obvious choice for any serious fly fisher.
Our lunch was provided by a restaurant located on site at Pursell farms. After finishing my gourmet burger and side of tots, it was time for more practice casting. We learned how to roll cast, which is used when you don’t have adequate space to cast, how to “shoot” (or let more) line out, and how to make knots used to attach a lure to the leader. Instruction was given first by video and then by Chris as he guided our knot tying practice. While I was familiar with the fisherman’s knot, I had no experience with the others.
Now that I was familiar with some of the knots commonly used in fly fishing I was ready to hit the water. We loaded up our gear onto a golf cart and headed toward one of the three Pursell farms lakes, stocked with brim, bass, and catfish. The ponds are catch and release only, so there are many large fish available.
We hopped into a motorized flat bottom boat and began fishing along the shores of the lake, trying a few different spots. In no time I had caught a nice sized bluegill. With Chris’s guidance I landed the fish and proceeded to gawk at it. I had never caught a bluegill that large! We moved along down the shore and scouted out different spots where fish might be hiding.
Because we weren’t getting many bites, we learned to switch tactics and use a new lure. We used a popper, which gets its name from the popping sound it makes when pulled through the water. Sure enough, this switch gave me a decent sized bass. I caught four fish total so I’d say the class was effective! (That’s 3 more fish than I usually catch when fishing at home.) I went from never having touched a fly rod to successfully using the rod to catch fish. I feel prepared to match my gear to my target fish.
The class was exciting, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning to fly fish. I learned more in this 9-4pm class than I have with many weeks of practice on my own. To end the day, I received a neat certificate of achievement, a copy of The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing by Tom Rosenbauer, and a magnetic button to show off my Orvis Alumni status.
Have you ever taken an Orvis class before? If you’d like to try it, please contact Orvis Schools Reservations at 866-531-6213, and mention Simply Southern Mom for a 20% discount on your Fly Fishing School registration.
I love fishing. It is one of my favorite outdoor activities in the summer. I like catching crappies and walleyes 😉
My husband is a fisherman but he has never done fly fishing. I imagine that he would get a kick out of it!
I have never been fishing before but my dad has and he said he found it rather boring sat around waiting all the time but when he tried fly fishing he quite enjoyed it. Its someting a bit different, might give it a go one of these days
I have never been fly fishing! It looks like it’d be so fun! Definitely would like to try it one day; your pictures are awesome!
This sounds like so much fun. One of my brothers just started fly fishing recently and he loves it.
How fun. i LOVE fishing. I’ve never been fly fishing though and it looks like it would be a lot of fun!
Oh, what a very wonderful adventure! I want to go to the fishing school too and bring my son there.
I have never heard of a Orvis fishing class before but it sounds interesting and it sounds like you learn a lot in one day. It actually sounds fun. I don’t do much fly fishing but used to go fishing a lot as a kid with my grandfather. Every summer I would take my oldest son until he got to bored doing it. My youngest son never really got into going fishing even with his dad. Fishing has always been something I enjoyed. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I don’t think I’ve tried fly fishing before! It sounds really fun and it’s something that you can do with your husband or with your friends. I’m sure you learned a lot and it would nice to experience this first hand.
My son would absolutely flip over this! He loves fishing!
Wow! I want to go fishing too! Congrats on catching a fish!
Congrats on your catch! I have only been fishing once in my entire life, so I would have a ton to learn at the Orvis class.
Oooo how fun! This is definitely something I never tried before. Fishing does look fun though. Glad y’all had a great time
What a FUN day of fly fishing! I’ve worked with Orvis before, they have awesome clothing too!
I’ve never tried fly fishing but my hubby loves fishing. He kayak fishes in the ocean a few times a month. I think it would love to try this! What a great experience.
We fish all the time…like weekly! But we have not tried fly fishing yet. Going to have to give it a try
I’ve never been fly fishing before, but it sounds like an amazing experience. Would love to try it out one day. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I’ve never tried fly fishing but think it would be super fun to attempt an activity with my husband one that we could learn together and share as a couple. Looks like you had a great time!
This looks like so much fun! I love to go fishing but I’ve never gone fly fishing before!
I have not taken a fishing class of any type. I don’t fish but it’s something my husband loved to do as a boy.
Wow that most certainly looks like a great experience to have. I have not gone fly fishing before.
I’ve never tried fly fishing but it looks like a lot of fun. I always enjoyed fishing when I was younger.
That looks like so much fun! I have never been fly fishing before. I think my family would enjoy that!
This looks like a lot of fun, especially fly-fishing! What a great way to spend time in nature and sounds really relaxing.
How fun. My husband loves to fish, but I’m not sure he has ever been fly-fishing. Looks like a great idea.
No I haven’t taken an Orvis class before but this sounds like a great family activity for my boyfriend and the kids. I think they would really enjoy this.
My son has been begging to do something like this! He’s quite young yet and since I’m not a flyfisherman I probably won’t do that with him but this is a very good idea to do with your family.
I have to admit I am the worlds worst fisher, my Dad absolutely adores it though and I’m sure he would love to give this a try. x
Sounds fun and looks like a worthy class. Growing up we went fishing all the time, but I’ve never been fly fishing.
That is so awesome. I’ve never been fly fishing, but as a person who loves to fish, I’ve always found something romantic about the notion.
I’ve never been fly fishing, but this sounds like a fun experience. I think my daughters would really enjoy this, too. Thanks for sharing your experience.