NWCTU has been teaching Fly Fishing for several years. Our course is affordable, requires no special skills, and is held on weekday evenings over the course of six weeks. Classes are held near Peoples State Forest, in Barkhamsted, CT on the Farmington River. We use this public park because the area is clean, the lawn is taken care of, and restrooms are available. The Farmington River is nearby so we can point out strategic areas and use the river to teach.
New For 2024
Teens can learn at 1/2 price. That’s right! New for 2024, any teen that is yours (13-19) will be eligible for the class as long as there’s mom or dad there with them, however only at a 1:1 ratio. Got two teens? We’ll need two adults, otherwise one pays full price. If you don’t have any teens of your own but see one or two hanging around all the time, confuse them and bring them with you. Remember the ratio, one to one, and you’ll only pay 1.5 times.
You must pre-register using the form below first. We cannot admit folks who show up at the door without going through the registration process first.
Students receive:
A Cortland Fairplay 8ft 5/6wt Medium – Action Fly Rod and Reel, preloaded with backing and a weight-forward floating fly-line ($99.95 Value)
- A set of tools including high-strength nippers for cutting tippets, a set of hemostats for tightening knots, safely removing hooks from a fish’s mouth, selecting really small flies from your fly-box, and assisting you in tying knots. A “zinger” keeps a tool on a short leash. The leather-looking thing is a line cleaner/straightener. A $29.95 value.
- A ‘zinger’ retractable line for easy access to your tools, and a dual-sided line cleaning pad – making cleaning your line an easy chore.
An excellent fly box that holds 110 flies, and still fits in a typical vest pocket! We’ll start you out with a selection of some of the most popular flies used in Connecticut Freshwater rivers and streams., guaranteed to catch fish and tied by some of our local fly-tying instructors. $12 value.
- Login Credentials to our Fly-Fishing School Homework Assignments & videos on this website. (Only past/present students can sign up for free. All others pay the normal signup fee of $50 + $36 annual fee.
- 55 feet of assorted tippet material -practice tying knots used in fly-fishing ($10 value)
- One Handmade Practice Leader ($4.99 value)
- One 7.5′ 4X Presentation Leader($4.99 value)
- One Stainless-Steel 2.5mm tippet ring
Our next class begins on April 3rd, 2024, and runs on consecutive Wednesday Evenings, from 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM, on April 10th, 17th, 24th, May 1st, and May 8th. As of February 29th, 2024, the class has been sold out. Please visit us as early as June each year to sign up for our beginner class.
Registration for 2024 is now closed and sold out. The 2024 Class size is limited to fifteen students. Registration is open until all 15 student slots have been filled or March 27th, whichever comes 1st. We will not be holding a 2nd group class later during the year. Registration for the Wednesday evening 2024 class has been completely filled and no cancellations are expected. To register after February 29th 2024 in case of a cancellation, contact Ken Ludwig @ nwctu.com (until March 3rd, 2024)
All communication, including weekly homework assignments, is by way of Constant Contact newsletters. Please add ken.ludwig@nwctu.com to your contacts so all the email gets sent to your inbox.
Our casting instructors are long-time fly anglers, certified by us at our instructor certification school, who donate their time to the chapter. All instructors are volunteers.
- You don’t have to be in top physical shape to fly fish, and you don’t have to be a certain age. Once out on the water, you’re bound to see anglers from all over the world, folks from cities, and others from remote parts of the world, aged from 9 to 90.
Fly casting has been proven to help in rebuilding muscle tone, which is why it’s used in hospitals and care centers worldwide, and used by organizations such as “Project Healing Waters” (disabled veterans) and “Casting For Recovery” (breast cancer survivors) both of which we (NWCTU) are involved in.
Fly fishing is a unisex sport. There are no prejudices, it is an equal-opportunity sport and a chance to learn something about nature every time you go. Thinking of having your kids in the class with you? Our minimum age for boys is 14 and for girls, 13. Both need parental supervision. Our class is fast-paced. As soon as everyone is at the same pace we either begin practice or move on to the next subject.
During our course, you’ll learn to:
Roll Cast – If you were to only learn one fly-fishing cast, that cast should be the Roll Cast. The roll cast is an easy-to-learn cast that requires virtually no room for a backcast, so if right behind you there’s a bunch of trees or a building blocking you, the roll cast is a way to use the water to your side and in front of you to propel the line. The roll cast is also a great cast to use when you want to adjust the area you’re casting to by a few degrees at a time.
Overhead Cast – When the wind isn’t an issue, this is an excellent cast, beneficial when sight-casting (seeing a fish and casting to it).
Side Cast – Not only an excellent tool in your pocket for casting on windy days, but the side cast is also useful when you want to place your fly on or in the water without tangling on branches or other obstructions above.
Mend your line – no, not cutting and fixing it, this is a term to describe repositioning up or downstream to reduce drag caused by the current. The result is that your fly looks more natural to the prey, and may have a longer time in play on the water before another cast is needed.
Tie The Three Most Essential Knots in Fly Fishing
We teach you the three essential knots you need to know as a Fly Angler. The Double/Triple Surgeon’s Knot, the Clinch/Improved Clinch Knot, and the Perfection Loop.
We’ll also teach you how to find great waters to fish in your local area; the safe playing, landing, and handling of fish in case you want to toss them back in; tips for catching more fish than the average angler out there; fly-fishing etiquette, and even a way to determine if the area you’re looking to cast in is worth your time, or how to find the best areas where fish might be holding – this is called reading water. Reading water like a pro takes a lifetime, but we’ll teach you the basics!
Our class consists of one evening of heated indoor classroom instruction and five evenings of outdoor instruction. You may have heard that fly fishing is hard to learn, If you can tie your shoes, you can learn to cast with a fly rod with our instruction.
You may have heard that fly fishing is dangerous. In our class, you’ll be at least two rod- -lengths (16 feet) away from the next student, and in classroom situations, you may be as close as six feet from the next student, however, you can don a mask whenever you wish. Hooks/flies are not attached to lines while you learn to cast.
You should bring insect repellent as the class is held outdoors, comfortable clothing, a hat to keep the sun out of your eyes, and a pair of polarized sunglasses. Brown is the best color for polarized sunglass lenses (to see through the water) Please do not wear perfume, after-shave, or cologne, because it attracts mosquitoes.
Class Registration and Payments
The cost of the class is $140 for adults and $70 for a teen with an adult. We had to remove the credit card payment option because it wasn’t recording student information. So, download or make a registration form to sign up for the form.
Pay By Check
If you are accessing this website from a computer with a printer, click the down arrow (on the bottom right of the window below to download the class registration form. You’ll see it in the folder on your computer where downloads are. Open it, Print it out on your printer, complete it, and mail it to us.
If you’d like to print the form and find you’re unable to do so, you can make your own and send it with your check.
If you need us to answer questions before you sign up, please write to ken.ludwig@nwctu.com and ask . You will receive a reply within 48 hours.
As of Feb 29th, we’ve just filled our last vacancy for the class.
Don’t forget to check out our Fly-Tying class! Click here for more info!
Sign up for our general information newsletter!
Sign-up to receive our newsletter, which contains news for anglers, upcoming events, fishing reports, and more!
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact