THE 2018 EXPANDED LTFF Step 2 NOVICE CLASS HAS BEEN FILLED FROM THE WAITLIST AND THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER ADDITIONS TO THIS YEAR'S CLASS. Those club members -- having sufficient prior independent fly angling experience and other qualifications suitable for joining the program in the 2nd year -- who wish to be considered for any openings in next year's class must petition the program director (via email to the contact listed at the bottom of this description) in the fall of 2018 (by the middle of Nov.).
THE FOLLOWING DESCRIPTION OF THIS LTFF NOVICE CLASS DAY 1 HAS BEEN CHANGED AS OF FEBRUARY 7, 2018, TO REFLECT A POTENTIAL DOUBLING OF THE SIZE OF THIS 2018 LTFF STEP 2 (2nd yr) NOVICE CLASS (up to 40 students now) AND OTHER REVISIONS AS NOTED BELOW.
ALL ACCEPTED STUDENTS in the 2018 LTFF Step 2 NOVICE CLASS shall be REGISTERED on THIS specific March 3rd calendar event: "Novice Class Day 1",(regardless of what the title or date suggests otherwise about the class) in order to create a single online class roster for everyone in the 2018 Novice Class. This INCLUDES all those being moved from the waitlist to fill the expanded class size, as well as those approved to be moved now from the Beginner class.
There will be only one (now larger) Novice Class for purposes of class communication and signing up for all scheduled class fish-outs or clinics. However, this Novice Class must be split into 2 separate "Class Sections" for the classroom instruction ONLY due to space constraints in our Anglers Lodge meeting room.
Except for any registrants who may have requested a change of class from Saturdays to Sundays, everyone who already registered for this 2018 LTFF Novice Class prior to Feb. 1, 2018 for this Novice Class Day 1 event will be in Novice "SECTION A" and attend class on the two SATURDAY mornings OF MARCH 3rd & 17th from 12:30pm to 4:00pm each day.
Unless advised otherwise, all those who are added to the expanded 2018 Novice Class FROM THE WAITLIST for this event will now be in Beginners "SECTION B" and attend class on the two SUNDAY mornings of MARCH 4th & 18th from 12:30pm to 4;00pm each day.
Note: GG Angler's Lodge (Board Room) is reserved exclusively for this scheduled event for those registered club members participating in this year's Learn to Fly Fish program.
"LTFF" PROGRAM: This Step 2 "Novice Class" is intended for the second-year fly fisher in the GGACC's 3-yr. long "Learn to Fly Fish" (LTFF) Program, or for those with enough prior fly fishing experience to petition for approved admittance to skip the 1st year. This program offers classroom instruction in each of the first two years, as well as an increasing number each year of mentored or guided fish-outs, with topics in the second year covered more quickly or in more depth, as well as introducing new topics not taught in the first year. In general, this educational program is designed to help the Beginner (1st yr.) or Novice (2nd yr.) fly fisher to transition from the free casting lessons on the club ponds to fly fishing with club mentors (or, in some cases, professional guides) starting on smaller streams and later on lakes and larger rivers. Intermediate (3rd yr) students are offered advanced clinics and exposed to a wide variety of fisheries in both Northern California and beyond. Besides the knowledge to be learned and all the fun we have in this program, it is also a wonderful way to gain new friends and life-long fishing buddies.
This LTFF Program is offered to new or current club members only and, in addition to the membership dues, does require the payment of fees as needed to cover the club's costs for hosting or reserving different events, both for the class and casting instruction as well as the fish-outs. The Novice Class Day cost is $125 total for the two days of classroom instruction and the subsequent specialized casting instruction held on various announced 2nd Saturdays of the month.
Participation in this Learn to Fly Fish program, AS A PREREQUISITE, requires the ability to proficiently make basic casts to at least 35'-40'. This includes both roll casts and overhead casts as taught by the club in the Beginner through Intermediate sections of the monthly free public casting lessons (typ. held every 2nd Saturday of each month, see club calendar to register for these free casting classes). Participants are encouraged to develop their casting skills beyond the prerequisite requirement as quickly as they can by attending as many of these free casting lessons as possible, and by participating in the LTFF Casting Clinics held on some of those same days. The GG casting ponds are open on most days of the year for individual practice when not reserved on the GGACC calendar for club events.
CLASS DAYS: The Novice class days will take a more advanced look at gear, knots, entomology, reading water, and introduce new topics such stream presentation and stillwater fishing. Specialized casting techniques will now be taught in LTFF Casting Clinics in the afternoons on 2nd Saturdays of the month for various months as announced later by emails. Casting instructors will work with you then to help prepare you for the planned "mentored" fish-outs to be offered later in the year.
We will be teaching classes for both the Beginners (1st yr students) and Novices (2nd yr, or by approval) on the same days again this year, with Beginners classes held in the mornings followed by the Novices classes in the afternoon each day. Since each day's instruction is only for the half-day, there will be no lunch provided for the students on class days.
Novices will be spending each class day in the Anglers Lodge from 12:30PM to 4:00PM. If you are not familiar with where this is, please see the map included on our website under the "About us" tab. Please arrive promptly to get a name badge and seat. There is no need to bring anything to class other than paper and pen to take notes with. There will be a quiz on the 2nd class day, and the class days are purposely spaced two weeks apart to give students time to read some of the issued book, study their notes and hand-outs, and to practice tying those knots taught in the first class day.
FISH-OUTS: The cost of the separately posted fish-outs will be listed on their event pages, but typically run from $150-300 depending on the destination and what the program's expenses are for that fish-out. These fees do not cover any equipment costs, guide gratuities, driving expenses, certain meals, and any lodging costs. Only students who have registered for and attend the class days will receive emailed notices of when the Novice fish-outs are first opened for online registration sign-up and payment.
Since there are not enough available weekends to create any additional weekend fish-outs in the program, previous one-day fish-outs on any weekend will be scheduled as two separate one-day fish-outs on that same weekend and two-day weekend fish-outs will become two separate two-day fish-outs on Friday-Sat. and Sunday-Monday. For this reason, all of the fish-outs are now needing to be rescheduled and confirmed before posting on the calendar. You don't need to watch for these postings, however, since the class will be notified by email when your fish-outs are posted and what date and time registration will open for each.
GEAR: The special casting lessons on the dates that LTFF Casting Clinics are offered to the combined Beginners and Novices will generally require you to bring your own gear unless notified otherwise that club rods will be made available or used for these clinics. Unless told differently or asked to bring other gear, bring your own fly rod (we recommend a 9' long 5wt -- but a 4 or 6wt will suffice -- with reel, floating line, and a 0X-3X tapered practice leader that's at least 6' lg), and -- when so requested -- also waders (with wading belt) and wading boots. Owning your own "breathable-fabric, stocking-foot chest waders" and a pair of good wading boots (felt-soled or rubber-soled with cleats) will usually be needed to get the most benefit out of what will generally be "in-pond" specialized casting instruction, and is necessary for most fish-outs. The class instruction will quickly cover all the basic gear you may own now or need to purchase, as well as present other gear options that you may choose to buy, or may need in order to participate in these fish-outs. Fly lines especially will be covered in more detail in this class. Most fish-outs involve group camping in campgrounds (with motels as an added cost option). Buying needed camping equipment (tent, sleeping bag, pad or cot, lantern, stove, etc.) may be another expense.
REGISTRATION: This year's Novice class was mostly pre-filled by the past year's Beginners who are guaranteed a spot in the next year's class upon completing the previous year's class. Also, a prior year's Novice student is allowed to register to repeat the class one time if that person is not ready to advance. In addition, new participants to the LTFF program who have sufficient prior experience fly fishing on their own (i.e., they know how to rig up and fish nymph and dry-dropper set-ups and wade fish small rivers on their own), may petition the program director to skip the first year and register for the few remaining spots in the Novice class each year. Those failing to register for a spot this year and interested in next year's class may sign this event's waitlist to be notified by email next fall of the announced opening date & time of the online registration for the 2019 Novice class. After that, you will need to REGISTER QUICKLY to have a good chance at a spot in this limited class. Class size will generally be limited to the first 40 people to sign up.
Registration Fee for both Novice Class Days plus LTFF Casting Clinics is $125. This fee covers the cost of instructional materials and other miscellaneous class expenses only (all instructor's time is offered free by club volunteers). Registering online and paying for the 1st Class Day covers registration for the 2nd Class Day. Registrants will receive special badges to allow them to participate in the LTFF Casting Clinics.
Additional Notes:
You must be a club member in good standing to BOTH register for and to participate in this program. You can join or renew club membership for the following calendar year anytime after Nov.1 by clicking on the "Join us" tab on the Home Page.
All LTFF participants must be at least 18 years of age before registering for the program, and willing to provide valid proof of age identification if requested.
Due to restrictions for the given destination, river etiquette or other factors, there will usually not be enough spots available for all class students to attend each fish-out. These spots can only be offered on a first come basis, so you are encouraged to sign up quickly upon receiving the emailed announcement of the fish-out registration opening.
Students who have registered for a fish-out and later learn that they can't attend will be solely responsible for finding their own replacement to pay them directly for whatever they can collect, if there is no one on the waitlist willing to take their spot. Since fish-outs must be scheduled months ahead and the program's expenses paid for in advance, club refunds are NOT generally possible.
For further information, contact:
John Murphy, LLTF Program Dir., (jmurphy7599@gmail.com)