People need to understand fly fishing is like any other sport. You do not have to be good at it to enjoy it. In fact, I would make the argument that the novice fly fisher enjoys it more than the expert.

I've been fly fishing for about 55 years. Until this year I never spent more than $20 dollars on a fly rod.

This year I introduced my 10 year old grandson to fly fishing, again using a $20 Walmart rod (5wt 8' 6"), an old reel I had and some new line. The line cost twice as much as the rod. He learned to cast for both distance and accuracy in about 15 minutes.

This year I bought two St Croix Imperial rods (2wt 6' and 4wt 8' 6") just to see what the difference was between 'better' rods and my dirt cheap rods. The answer is 'not much'. In fact, the cork on the $20 rods is better than the Imperials.

I'm fortunate to live near a sporting goods store that stocks just about any fly rod/reel you can name. They'll also let you try them out in an open space behind the store. The expensive stores look nice, are well finished, and feel good. But not 25 to 40 times as good as the cheap rods.

If I had to make a guess about why it's so hard to get young people interested, I'd say that part of it is rod/reel reviews that talk about 'cheap' rods that cost upwards of $200.

I'd love to see a 'shootout' among rods in the $20 to $50 range. I think it would be very enlightening and would give a lot of beginners valuable info about getting started.

Sayfu, I'll take your above statements with a glass of that elitist cool-aid you drink too much of. Look at it as a family activity, they can spin fish cheaper than fly fish, period. You don't learn to drive on that $200k car like you mentioned above. What brings folks to fly fishing, strangers don't walk in on the streets to learn it like they do spin fisherman chucking bait. I take folks fishing, I always have, spinning and fly fishing. I just had to ask the question when I read about "how to grow the sport" from other publications and blogs. I see folks with money hiring guides and getting into it from that angle, but the run of the mill dude at work who has an interest isn't going to drop $350 on a half day of fishing with a guide when that feeds his family for a month. I don't see or hear of too many folks walking into a fly shop and just getting lessons there, so where do they come from? I can see where the "rich guy" image comes into play when you look at the money people drop in order to participate. What really can anyone do to gather more interest in fly fishing?

People can think of excuses for everything. I can tell you as a fairly new fly angler on a very tight budget it really isn't hard to get into. If you want to learn how to cast youtube can pretty much show you how to do anything these days. I had no fly fishing mentor, a family friend gave me a rod as a gift now i have 3 and never paid over $200 for any of them. spuddog, you can be successful with a $100 outfit and simple box of flies that's exactly what I did when I started. At a local lake I've had people say to me "I wish I could learn how to fish like that, I just don't have time", or "I don't know anyone who does that" neither did I. My point is if you really want to start fly fishing your biggest limitation are your own excuses.

Lots of valid comments. I’ll add my 2 cents.

As far as fly fishing is concerned I would say 80% of the resources revolve around trout. Fly shops, are in trout country. As a result that is where you will find your classes, guides, and instruction. That leaves out a large part of the country with limited resources to even try fly fishing without making an investment to see if they like it.

Want to get more people to try fly fishing? The industry will need shops in warm water country on par with what you will find in trout country, doing the same things you will find in trout country . Problem is nobody can make any money as a start up in these area’s .

Earlier this summer I was catching crappie on a steady pace with the fly rod. This got the interest of a spin fisherman trying to do the same thing. Before you know it we were talking and he was casting my gear. After 45 minutes I was referring him to the local Cabela’s as they are the only game in town, and not a good one at that.

Just last night I went out a few hours for some bass action. I did not expect any top water action but that’s what I was in the mood for and as a result the fly I was using. My sixth fish to hand in about 30 minutes got the attention of 2 men in a high dollar bass boat that were not having much luck. They were slowly trolling over to my “hot area” as is frequently the case when people see me get on fish. They were casting to my area and almost getting close enough to piss me off. It was getting late and I figured one more take and I’ll leave. I did my best double haul and put the top water deer hair popper about 25 yards off their boat on the edge of a weed line they were quickly closing in on. Just then a 20” fish exploded and put up a fight making a few leaps. When I got him to hand the men in the boat yelled out nice one.

The next question… What does it take to get into fly fishing? There we stood, me in waist high water, them on their boat talking till dark. Where I once again referred them to the local Cabela’s

My point? People need to see and feel this sport before making an investment. Anybody can pick up a cheap spin casting outfit and a bucket of worms and with no instruction can “figure it out”. Cabela’s is not out there pushing warm water fly customers through their doors fisherman in the field are. Maybe shops in cold water country, Cabela’s and manufacturers should have a few “reps” or “guides” in area’s that cannot support a fly shop.

Sayfu - "Class envy problem"

Ohhhh, this is going to get good!

Buck..good discussion because a declining membership in flyfishing has been going on for quite some time now, and you guys have given me the pleasure of thinking about it for hours upon end since this discussion started. I have been a big promoter of fly angling with youth over a lot of years, and here is a new perspective. When it comes to the numbers, it is a Yuppie sport. Dad generally has a good paying job, can travel to neat itineraries, and the offspring naturally follow, but not always. I'm talking the numbers. Just look at the business guides get, lodges get, flyshops get. These are generally not low income earners. When I talk to a young fellow that fly fishes as to why, it is generally "dad and I go to AK, or some distant place to flyfish." They even stop me and tell me where they are going, and the discussion begins. Second, and it is a biggie that few want to talk about, but the Yuppie often considers it a sense of failure in life to bring fish home as if there was a need for him to be a food gatherer. He can afford to eat out, buy his food, and he accepts catch and release as a religion almost. When they told fly anglers on my river they had better kill the rainbows that were adversely effecting the native cutts..kill them, or your river could be shutdown they still wouldn't do it!!And another new point. The wife at home can be a deterent. I've seen this numerous times. She tells the husband "bring some fish home, or find something else to do." I've taken guys who sheepishly tell me once in the boat.."if I catch a legal to kill fish I'd like to bring it home. My wife wants me to bring it home." One guy I took, that had a lot of money, he took his last trip with me because of it. Embarrassing to get out of the boat at the ramp with outher fly anglers there who had a good day on the water, and NO one harvested a trout, and your buddy is dragging one to the car. But it doesn't have to be a yuppie thing. When I lived on the river on the West Coast, a bum I will call him. He lived in a cheap appt. down on the waterfront in Seattle had enough money to take a bus out to my river, and flyfish for steelhead. I don't think he had a friend on the river accept me. I'd go out of my way to stop and talk to the guy. Bdut that is an acception rather than the rule.

Forget the rich guy thing. That's a bogus contention. Fly angling is one of the cheapest forms of recreation that can be had. Are you not going to drive a car because you saw a rich guy driving a $200,000 fancy car? It takes a dedication. It is challenging to put it all together..from the bugs to the casting/presentation. There are easier forms to catch fish..fortunately not all of the time, and the majority of folks fall into the "let's do it the easy way." It is an academic pursuit if you want to make it that way, and I sure enjoy making it that way, adding new info, and approaches to my fly angling. Not for everyone, and I am thankful for that as well.

Koldkut....I'll just take your opening bit of misinformation. First off it is a lack of commitment. If the person said they wanted to be a flyfisher person they'd buy a decent combo for around $100, or a little more. A box of flies, and off they go. The kid will say he wants to be a skier, or a dirt biker, or say a golfer, and he spends way more money than he needs to for fly fishing..even his skateboard he spends more on. He plays video games, and walks around with a phone in his ear, and spends way more money doing that. I work with these kids. I read the thoughts young people have on thisthread...embarrassing the little money they want to spend on fly fishing gear, or anything really in the way of fishing. They want guns for cheap. Of all the folks I've taught to cast in my lifetime, and it also involves a little bit of presentation, the bugs, etc. I'll bet not one out of five pursue flyfishing, maybe less than that. Too much of a commitment. They want to do it the easiest way, and immediate gratification. That is why less than 10% of the fishing industry involves fly fishing. And like I said, that is sure fine with me.

It's a combination of all of the mentioned perceptions, valid or not. Those of us who embrace flyfishing dismiss these concerns held by novices, but that's because we've taken it up already, through whatever means. But if a fella enjoys spinner fishing and has since he was a kid, it's just easier to use all that knowledge and gear than teach the old dog (even if the dog is relatively young) a new trick. How many of us have some aspect of fishing we've thought of pursuing that we don't; saltwater, new baits, ice, etc.? I also believe most folks perceive flyfishing as a trout-specific pursuit that requires the right water in the right season rather than something you can head out to a lake with poppers or creek in the summer with buggers and enjoy. Final thought, while many of us would like to think the flyfishing community we're a part of isn't the group arogant, nose up, gentlemen it's sometimes painted to be; we've all seen them on the stream and it can only take that one bad encounter with Dr. Orvis the Entomologist to intimidate a newbie.

Koldkut and I have had this conversation for a very long time, with respect to the whole 'elitest' mentality. To me, there is a bit of elitest in every single post above, even yours buddy! The argument is that you can't go fly fishing for as cheap as you could with bait chuckin'. I call BS! When I first started, I didn't have a $100 tied up into everything including waders, boots, rod, reel, flies, vest, etc... So the next argument is with respect to how folks on the river react to you showing up into the fly fishing world with gear that doesn't say Sage, Orvis, Scott, Winston, etc... To me, who gives a crap. It's fishing people! It's not like you are out there walking the catwalk, well, maybe some are.

But to call out the sport by saying that you can not do it unless you show up with the best of the best is nothing but elitest BS! And that is the problem with the sport I have come to love. Yes, I have multiple-thousands tied up into my gear but that is because I want the best the industry has. Sure, I could still use cheaper stuff, but given I have the income to support my desires I elect to use the best out there. Does this make me an elitest, no. It makes me the same person I was when I was fishing Walmart gear. To correlate; is a bait chucker that carries $400 reels, $1000 sticks, a bass boat, etc... considered elitest - not from what I have seen. They consider him God because he has a boat. Everyone needs to step back and think about that one. As Koldkut can vouch, I haven't touched my bait chuck'in gear in about four years. That is my choice because what I have found in fly fishing, over other types, is purity - for me. I enjoy making my own flies, matching the hatch, and everything else this sport gives me. Some call me an elitest and I couldn't care less because at the end of the day, the fight is between me and the fellas at the end of my line. That's just the way I choose to do it.

In summary:
So you can bait chuck cheaper - horse crap! It's all relative and every one on here knows it. I can walk into walmart right now and pick up a rod/reel combo for about 20 bucks, line and a couple lures. I can do the same thing with a fly rod setup. You don't need waders and you don't need boots. Either stay on the bank, which can easily be done or put on an old pair of shoes and get after it. So this whole argument is baseless and we need to get to the original question that Kirk wrote about - how are newbs brought into this sport and why.

Give me a kid with the $100 outfit, a few flies that I WILL GIVE them, and if they have the incentive to flyfish: if they see the added fun they get from doing it, I will take them and they will catch fish. Has to be the right time of year, like now, but my feeling is they have to catch fish. Seeing others catch fish on a worm, and they fling the fly around and do not catch anything wears off real quick. I thought about it a lot last nite, and basically it is a class of people thing. Dad that has disposable income, and wants his kid to be like him...to show him that having money can mean having fun travelling, and going to great fly fishing venues really helps. Many that I see can be 30's type people that have the means, have a good job, and they can travel, and go to nice places. OUt my way, folks flock to expensive places like Jackson, Wy. then take float trips down the SF of the Canyon. Everyday, from the beginning of July to now, and I can get on my webcam, and look at the canyon parking lot, it is packed full of trailors floating the canyon. Fee?..$500 a day, and they can afford it. There are 3 main lots in that section, and all 3 lots are full most every day in the Summer. From that standpoint it is a class thing. Those kind of folks don't care discussing it with others...they do the flyshop thing, and hang out with the crowd they run with, and others can do their thing. And by the way, we are seeing that division in our society increasing all the time. That's the way it is in Europe, and we are headed that direction.

To answer the question "What keeps people from learning to fly fish?"

For the cowboy in the photo above....his big leather gloves.

Seriously though, fly fishing can seem complex and a 'mentor' will help tremendously. Fly fishing, like golf, takes some time to learn in more than one outing, but with good coaching one can find success quickly. Once someone sees it's not truly difficult, but offers challenges, the chances are they'll come back to it.

Good food for thought Kirk, and lively discussion.

I've been a casting instructor at a local event for several years now. I see the same children come back, year after year, many with stories of the one that got away or of the new fly rod, or of a recent fishing trip. I can tell by the enthusiasm of these children the future of fly fishing is alive and well within them. Now consider this. I live in Ohio. One of the worst fishing states in the lower 48. None of these kids have quality tackle, yet they enjoy what they do and have absorbed a passion for fly fishing. They have no expectations, sense of money or grand ideas of tarpon fishing in Florida. To me this shows that fly fishing, in it's simplest form and basic skill level, is an enjoyable sport.

As I'm sure many have already posted. THe reasons more people dont fly fishing is

A) Lack of teacher/mentor

B) It is more difficult and takes way more patience that spin casting or bait casting. People are comfortable inside their boxes

C) it can get to be expensive.

I dont mind that most people dont flyfish. In fact, I think i prefer it that way.

for all of you posting that flyfising is for elite rich people. My buddies and I dirt bagged it all the way through college using second hand gear and scrapping together what we had to buy gas to fish when we could. The best flyfishermen that I know barely make ends meet but they have the passion.

Buck..And the guy in the pic looks like a bad ass wearing gloves? lol! His hands were cold maybe? Maybe he wades the river on horseback. I'm not buying your notion that the novice has as much fun. It is no fun being frustrated sitting on the bank trying to untangle your line/leader, or busting off flies you paid money for. Those kinda guys take the spin gear along with them, and put up the fly gear. Everyone has to start out at some point, but they have to appreciate the end game, and what their goal is. If they can work through that, then the novice can enjoy himself.

Nikonman7...All fine, and my point exactly, accept for the point about the fly angler not wanting you there. I don't go into fine restraunts, sit down, open up the menu, and only look at meals that are $50 and up. There are many examples like that. There are just a lot of folks that have a lot of disposable income, and do things I can not do. But I can flyfish, and I can perform with the best of them, and fish with folks that have a lot more money than I have. It is the problem of the person with the less disposable income that sees the problem with flyshops, talks as if they are snobish. I have never seen that happen. Anyone can walk into the shop, and ask for information, and spend their money if they want. But many have a pre-conceived notion before they walk in to the shop, and come out of the shop spinning a story about someone looking funny at them. The ave. dude wants to talk about the Orvis looking guy on the water. So what? I'm happy the guy bought all of that expensive stuff, and supported folks that needed a job! He's not going to laugh at you because you bought your stuff at K-Mart! My point, one of the many I made, is you CAN get outfitted today at a fraction of the cost you had to pay 3 decades ago!!! That is cheap!

I've read a lot of the comments. I'm ready to start fly fishing again, as soon as I retire and can return to a daytime life. That will be soon. I fly fished in my youth and totally enjoyed it. Self taught. Snapped many a hook off the leader or lost it in a tree, but learned. Caught many fish.
There are many ways to fly fish. Casting or just dabbling a fly from behind a rock.
There's nothing like the feeling of playing the fish.
I've got the "Fly Shop" here and really an interesting place to go into. I always tied my own flies and plan on continuing, until my eyes let me down.

Coop. That keeps folks from fly fishing? That treble didn't come off a #18 Blue-winged Olive pattern. That is what turns folks to fly fishing. Just had a fly guy I know take a lure guy fishing with him. Put the boat in the river, down they go, and anchor up. The guy casts out a Panther Martin spinner. My friend says, "Nice fish, here I'll net it for you" as he puts down his flyrod. The guys says, "NO, I can get it OK" as he reaches over the side of the boat, and brings up a handfull of treble hook. That ended their fishing right off the get-go.

spuddog. How can I read all of your guys post when you start out with a bogus statement? Of course you can't start out and be successful, BUT YOU CAN GET OUTFITTED TO GO!! At least to start! Again, it is a willingness to want to get good at it. When it comes down to catching fish, or learning how, most anglers grab their can of worms, and their spinning outfit. One of the greatest, most exciting experiences in all of fishing is to take a trout size outfit, swing a modest sized fly on the surface, and see the big swirl, have your flyrod bend double, and then play and land a 8-10 lb steelhead on a flyrod. Very few have experienced it. I can brag and say I could take a rookie, a newbie, and if he could hit the water just a modest distance away, I could provide them that experience. I'd bet on it, and have done it many times. But you have to see the added thrill, the excitement, your accomplishment, and the challenge rather than see fishing as something to do, and sit on the dock of the bay fishing a worm. Both are fine. I'm not criticizing the spinning appraoch. But the topic asked "WHY" Why don't they want to learn, and I am telling you. Believe what you want.

you dont need lessons from a pro to lean to cast a fly rod. I have never taken a lesson and am very capable at casting a fly rod. I read, studied and cast until i could do it properly. I fished and fished, failed and adjusted, read some more. I studied hydrology, how it react with fly line and how to best present a fly all through practice. I studied the ecology of the drainage systems i was fishing. I studied etymology etc etc. That is what sets true flyfishermen apart from spin casters. It is the desire to get into the nitty gritty details about the waters we fish. flyfishing is simply a better and more sporting way of catching fish. I would rather catch one trout on a fly that ive tied and presented than 15 trout on maggots and marshmallows, mealworms, spoons, god forbid powebait or anything of the like. Flyifshing is simply better than the latter.