newbie fly caster ?s

well ive been wanting to learn to fly fish for years now but it was very expensive to get started so i never took the plunge, luckly i have an uncle whos a die hard fishermen from bass to trout hes like me he LOVES TO FISH, he just got into fly fishing a year ago so when i saw a rod and reel on craigslist i called and asked him if it was a good deal fair price good brand and he told me dont buy anything to stop by his house when i got a chance, SCORE!!  so wheni went to his house for his 50th b-day he hands me an orvis backpack in it contained a 7 piece 8 1/2 foot 4wt orvis rod as well as a nice orvis reel and a bunch of flys and odds and  ends that ill need to fly fish. WHAT A SCORE!!!


now i got a few ?s were would i go to take possible lessons to learn how to cast, and where is a good place to learn and possibly catch a few fish i plan on just messing around withit on sunfday at chabot but id love to try a small stream or river with or without the yak and my last ? is is there a good book i should pick up? i got one called the essence of fly casting great book are there any others i should grab?

thanks guys

is is there a good book i should pick up?

Congrats on the bug wand purchase. There's a book that was recommended to me by a few fly fishers and it's well worth getting. It's called "The Curtis Creek Manifesto." Looks kind of silly at first glance but filled with very useful info and no excess mumbo jumbo.

Z

 Check out Lefty Kreh's books on knot tying and casting. Once you know the basics it's just practice, practice, practice which happily includes fishing.
 
Also check to see if there is a local club. Golden Gate Angling club in SF is one of the oldest fly fishing clubs. Large facility with great casting practice pond and club house. Going just to watch could teach you a lot. It's the home of many champion casters.http://www.ggacc.org/pano/
 

Also try claybaker.com, I met this guy last week on the Russian River, and he gives free fly lessons.  He had all Orvis stuff that looked very nice.  Look at the web site and make your our decision.

The best book for you BY FAR is called 'The Curtis Creek Manifesto'.
I have a TON of fly fishing books and IMO this is THE #1 book for newbies and every flyfisher person should read it.
Just go in your backyard and practice after reading a bit. You will get the hang of it if you pay attention to what you read. Have fun.

Also, as you learn to cast, don't worry too much if you don't look like a scene from "A River Runs Through It." Fly casting takes practice but it isn't rocket science. It can be frustrating at times, but start out with short casts and work your way up. I almost gave up on fly fishing when I first started years ago because I had gotten it in my head that I needed to have 30' of line in the air every time I casted, and I felt like every cast needed to be perfect. Once I let go of that "postcard fly fisherman" image I was stuck on, I had a lot more fun, and I caught a lot more fish. In fact, I'd say that while trout fishing I've caught at least 75% of my fish within 15' of me, and very few fish at the end of a 45' cast.

Good luck, and have fun! 

There's a forum here for kayak fly fishing that includes a list of local clubs:
 
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,11261.0.html
 
 
There are some great fly fishing clubs in the bay area and I think all of them offer casting classes.  If they don't, no doubt they know where to send you for just what you need.  Here in the south bay, the San Jose Flycasters offer a real bargain on classes (something like $45 for about six hours of group instruction vs. double that per hour for one-on-one instruction at some shops).
 
Fly fishing doesn't have to be expensive.  My best largemouth bass came on a twenty dollar fly rod from WalMart.  Yeah, it's not a great rod by any stretch of the imagination but the fish don't care....it just changes the casting action and with a little practice, it's all good.
 
Some of the clubs have raffles and other forms of fundraisers where you can get great deals on rods if you're lucky (or a little aggressive during silent auctions).
 
If you know what you want, you can also find some great discounts at Sierra Trading Post...just keep watching until what you want shows up.  I've seen big-name rods for up to 70% list price (as well as deals on reels, lines, float tubes, flies, etc).
 

  If you don't mind driving to Sacramento for a day, American Fly Fishing has a series of fly-fishing classes at reasonable prices. This year's schedule doesn't appear to include Mel Krieger, at least not so far, but he taught there last year - a very entertaining teacher, and one who knows what he's doing.

http://www.americanflyfishing.com/Classes+and+Clinics

FishFirst in Albany offers classes too. So does my fly club at irregular intervals for free. It's http://www.grizzlypeakflyfishers.org in Kensington. Oakland fly casting club gives free lessons every Saturday in Oakland.

Essence of Fly Casting by Mel Krieger is almost the textbook of how to flycast. Great book! Mel used to hang around the casting ponds at Golden Gate Park. I think he even still lives in San Francisco.