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Ocean Reef, Florida - Fly Fishing School
Our renowned fly fishing lessons will give you all the skills you need to enjoy fishing more.
Sign up for an Orvis Fly Fishing School and bring a friend for half price
Make reservations for two people for the same school location on the same date, and save! Discount will be reflected in your order total at checkout.
Offer expires December 31, 2010.
Make reservations for two people for the same school location on the same date, and save! Discount will be reflected in your order total at checkout.
Offer expires December 31, 2010.
- Details
- Fishing the flats for tarpon, bonefish, and permit can be some of the most fun you've ever had with a fly rod. The Ocean Reef Club - encompassing 4,000 lush, tropical acres on Key Largo - is an ideal location to master saltwater flats fly fishing. Lessons with our expert instructors will quickly get you up to speed - no matter your experience level - and get you hooked up in no time. The fly fishing lessons cover everything from setting up your fly rod, to fly selection and knots, to how to safely release your catch
All aspects of fly fishing are covered at The Ocean Reef Club lessons:
- Fly casting techniques
- Essential knots
- How to choose your gear and tackle
- Saltwater food forms and their imitations
- Proper fly selection
- How to read water and currents
- How to play, land, and safely release fish
For more information about Orvis Fly Fishing Lessons, call Toll Free 866-531-6213.
Note: Because of the heavier tackle used in the Orvis Key Largo Fly Fishing School we strongly recommend that students be at least 12 years old. - Itinerary
Fly Fishing School Class Program
Ocean Reef, FloridaDAY ONE Time Activity & Description 9:00 am Student registration at the Orvis Store. 9:30 Introductions and discussion of fly fishing school class program. 9:45 Classroom presentation on lines, rods, and reels. 10:30 The Orvis Progressive Method to Teaching Fly Casting part one; video on the basic flycasting stroke.
10:45 Report to casting area for demonstration on the basic casting stroke; student fly casting lessons. 12:00pm LUNCH (catered to school) 1:00 Classroom presentation on leaders, and hands-on knot tying. 2:15 The Orvis Progressive Method to Teaching Fly Casting part two; video on shooting line, false casting, and roll casting. 2:30 Report to casting area for demonstration on shooting line, false casting, and roll casting; students casting. Video tape student fly casting lessons. 4:00 Classroom presentation on fly fishing equipment and accessories. 4:30 End of first day.
DAY TWO Time Activity & Description 9:00 am Classroom presentation on saltwater food forms, fly selection and how to fish flies. Tips on how to handle, photograph and release fish.
10:00 Video analysis. 10:30 The Orvis Progressive Method to Teaching Fly Casting part three; video on the double haul. 10:45 Report to casting area for demonstration on double hauling, and casting techniques for windy conditions; students casting.
12:00 pm LUNCH (catered to school) 1:00 Orvis-Endorsed fishing trips, and tips on fishing with guides. 1:15 Report to casting area for demonstration on hook-setting and fish fighting techniques. 1:30 Discussion and demonstration on the teamwork between the fly fishing guide and angler while fishing from a flats skiff. 2:00 Demonstration on casting to sighted fish (targets will be set-up); students practicing fly casting to targets. Students practicing simulating hook-setting and fish fighting. 4:00 Return to classroom for closing statements and fly fishing school graduation certificates. End of school. - Dates
Orvis Fly Fishing - Ocean Reef, Florida
2010 School Dates
January 2010 2-3 Saturday-Sunday 4-5 Monday-Tuesday 7-8 Thursday-Friday 9-10 Saturday-Sunday 14-15 Thursday-Friday 16-17 Saturday-Sunday 21-22 Thursday-Friday 23-24 Saturday-Sunday 25 Monday Advanced Casting 28-29 Thursday-Friday 30-31 Saturday-Sunday February 2010 1-2 Monday-Tuesday 4-5 Thursday-Friday 6-7 Saturday-Sunday 11-12 Thursday-Friday 13-14 Saturday-Sunday 15-16 Monday-Tuesday 18-19 Thursday-Friday 20-21 Saturday-Sunday 22 Monday Advanced Casting 25-26 Thursday-Friday 27-28 Saturday-Sunday March 2010 4-5 Thursday-Friday 6-7 Saturday-Sunday 11-12 Thursday-Friday 13-14 Saturday-Sunday 18-19 Thursday-Friday 20-21 Saturday-Sunday 22 Monday Advanced Casting 25-26 Thursday-Friday 27-28 Saturday-Sunday 29-30 Monday-Tuesday - Lodging/Reservations
Lodging & Reservation Informatiion
Key Largo, Florida
Please contact the Inn at Ocean Reef for lodging and reservations:
Inn at Ocean Reef
201 Ocean Reef Drive
Key Largo, Fl. 33037
www.oceanreef.com
877-734-8439
Please mention you will be attending the Orvis Fly Fishing School.
- Why Attend?
Reasons to Attend The Orvis Fly Fishing Schools
Over the years, I have had many students tell me how “attending the fly fishing school has eliminated what would have been countless hours of frustration on learning how to fly cast on my own.” Students who have gone through the school with some fly fishing experience have commented, “I wish I had gone through the school years ago. I learned more in two days than in two or three years on my own.”
In the Orvis Fly-Fishing Schools, you will learn and participate in:
- The Orvis Progressive Method to Fly Casting – A time-tested method of
learning how to fly cast that is adaptable to most any type of fly fishing - Technical information on lines, rods and reels
- Hands-on knot tying
- Fly selection
- How to choose and fish flies
- How to safely handle and release fish
- Hook-setting and fish-fighting techniques
- Video analysis
- Reading water
Fly fishing is a wonderful sport that gives you a lifetime of enjoyment and takes you to the most beautiful places in the world. Whether you are a total beginner or have been fly fishing for many years, the Orvis Fly-Fishing Schools can handle all levels of experience. With a 4:1 student to instructor ratio, you are assured of plenty individual, specialized attention. Let the pros at the Orvis Fly-Fishing Schools teach you skills for a lifetime that will take you to the beautiful places.
Truel Myers
Head Fly-Fishing Instructor- The Orvis Progressive Method to Fly Casting – A time-tested method of
- History
The Orvis Story
Fly Fishing Schools from OrvisTo one who has not acquired the art of fishing with a fly, let me suggest that a day or two with an expert will save much time and trouble. There are many little things that cannot well be described, and would take a long time to find out by experience, that can be learned very quickly when seen. It is not easy to tell one exactly how to fib with the fly.
-Charles Orvis
The Need for Teaching
A student who earns a diploma from the Orvis fishing school learns the values and ethics of good sportsmanship.
Leigh Perkins, the chairman of The Orvis Company since 1965, was convinced there had to be a lot of people out there who were just waiting to fall in love with the sport of fly fishing. Whatever their reason for holding back, whether intimidation by experts who made it sound too difficult, bewilderment at the vast array of gear available, or fear of just looking foolish, Perkins suspected that they wouldn't need much prodding to be "converted". He approached long-time Orvis employee Dick Finlay and another Orvis employee and expert fisherman, Bill Cairns, about overseeing a fly fishing school. Finlay was and experienced ski instructor and Cairns a gifted angler - a good combination for a school - so in 1966 Orvis announced the opening of the country's first fly fishing school.
Perkins later recalled that they hoped to get about twenty students for that class. But 150 people signed up, and the fly fishing school was an instant success. Orvis had identified a completely unknown market among American sportsmen, who craved the opportunity to learn from experts about this exciting sport. Orvis was hardly prepared for the result. As Perkins said, he practically had to dose down our rod-manufacturing shop to recruit temporary instructors until full-time fly-fishing school staff could be hired.
Fishi (second director of the fishing school), and Ben Upson, instructors at the fishing school in the late 1970s. Tom Rosenbauer, Ace Manley, Bruce Bowlen, Tony Skilton (second director of the fishing school), and Ben Upson, instructors at the fishing school in the late 1970s.
Comprehensive Fly Fishing Lessons
The fly fishing school was an all-expenses-paid weekend of casting lessons, knotting lessons, lectures on choosing flies and reading the water, and, of course, some actual fishing. Though nobody goes from tyro to old pro in three days, students were given a thorough introduction to the sport, including more than a few moments spent on conservation, natural history and stream etiquette.
A few minutes casting under the watchful eye of a skilled instructor can save the new fly fisher countless hours of confusion later, and prevent the development of many bad habits.
More than 10,000 students graduated in the first fourteen years alone. As the school program expanded, with the Manchester school eventually being joined by the trout-fishing schools in Missouri, Michigan, Virginia, and Idaho, and a school on Capt Cod focusing on striper and bluefish fishing, the total number of graduates had passed 39,000 by 2005. In 2006, Orvis hosted students at seven fly-fishing schools and three shooting schools, and projected the addition of twelve fishing and six shooting schools by 2008.
The Legacy Continues
The rise of fly fishing and shooting schools is an intriguing phenomenon in American sporting history. The school phenomenon that Orvis launched in the United States revealed yet another way in which American sport was evolving. Several generations ago, in much of America shooting and fishing were simply part of growing up. As a steadily increasing proportion of the population became urban, some traditional experiences were lost. Rather than learn fishing and shooting from parents, other relatives, and friends, modern people came to these sports at all stages of life, and from many backgrounds. With no other source of first-hand information than what they could read (the schools were established before the proliferation of video and DVD instruction), the new sportsmen needed answers to countless questions, and they needed a thoughtful, patient hand to guide them through the intricacies. The schools were above all else hospitable, with courteous, good-humored instructors and the most -- pleasant imaginable setting for instruction.
Instructor Ben Upson coaching a young fly fisher at the Orvis Ponds.
From a purely commercial viewpoint, Perkins and his Orvis team knew that the more people who were attracted to the fly fishing schools, the better Orvis business would be. But in less immediately tangible terms the schools were (and still are) also important. They represented the formalization -- to an extent previously rare and often nonexistent -- of an American sporting style. Judging from the response of the Orvis customers, it is dear that there are a great many people very interested in just such a style.
The following story is from the "A Sporting Education" chapter of The Orvis Story by Paul Schullery. This book is available on our website and covers 150 years of the history of The Orvis Company.- Reviews
- Q & A
- Stories
