Wild Trout Safaris Alaska Trips

We had a very fun group in this years Spring Advanced Class, 2007. Lots of friendships were made, the hallmark of the class. Oh, yes, we caught a few fish too.
      Many people think they are not qualified to be in the Advanced Class. That is so not true. Yes, I make you take a beginning class first. But that is only because so many come to me without some skills that we rely on in our fishing style. Those I have let in to the class in the past, without having taken a beginning class, were not just getting out-fished, they were really quite un-help-able because they were too far apart from our system. For one thing, many could not tie flies. If you don't tie your own flies, in truth, you are only a beginner.
        However, if you have had the beginning class, you are qualified. Some students fear the class because of the title; "Advanced Class!" They say that they "need to practice first." Not true. The Advanced class is practice. I should just call the Advanced Class more practice or the second part of the beginning class or just the, "B class." And the first one instead of the beginning class call it the "A class."
         I do 80% of all the teaching I do in the "A" classes. In the Advanced Class or "B" class I just give you opportunities to apply your new techniques and catch fish. Yes, the locations are different, better than the Weber River, possibly more technical, but still just fishing. In the Advanced Class you are in with the same students that were in the beginning class with a few repeats mixed in.(Everyone should take the Advanced class more than once. Also both the Spring and the Fall class fore they are so different.) Not "more skilled," students, but rather students with the same skill level. We are all on the same page here.
       With the new fishing destinations, the focus of the class is the friendships that are being formed and the new rivers, and so on. It's the travel that facilitates those friendships. (By the way, if you think you made friends in the Advanced Class, try the Extreme Class. There, you become buddies for life!)
     Thru fishing every weekend, together in amazing fishing destinations, your skill level climbs. All the fishing we do, combined with each other's help, lowers that learning curve and your skill climbs fast, very fast! I watch you guys grow in technique. It's cool to see everyone become quite accomplished in such a short amount of time.
     It's all locked in the miles, it's the hours on the river that does it, not me. I just show you the great spots and fish with you. Unlike the beginning classes where I don't fish, in the Advanced Class, I fish right next to you. You watch me and each other and the designated helper that week and you get better. And have fun too.

Tight lines, mike.

This Class is for you! The Advanced class is not for Advanced Fly Fishermen. It is for students who have completed one of the beginning classes. It not only is the key to becoming a truly accomplished fly fisherman, it is a blast! This is when fly fishing really gets fun. It is hard to really show you what can be accomplished in the beginning classes. Don't get me wrong, the beginning classes are great, but what you need after you have taken the beginning class, is new fishing locations, fishing time and fishing support. That is what you get in the Advanced Class, fishing time. I will be there with you and so will your class mates from the beginning class.
The best advice I can give you after you have completed the beginning class is to keep going! I know you don't feel confident about your fishing prowess yet, but you will. You just need time to see that is was not luck that caused you to catch fish in the beginning class. Don't wait, come fish with me and us and then you will be a fly fishermen.
What you will get in the Advanced Class beside many, large fish on a fly rod will be beautiful destinations and best of all; fishing buddies! This class is not over your head nor do you have to practice to qualify. This class is that, practice. I know the Weber, or where ever we fished in the beginning was good, but it was not great or anywhere close to as good as the destinations in the Advanced Class.
My point is, do not put the class off until, "next year."
Now is when you do the Advanced Class. You are finally at a place where you are the most teachable. There is much more then what you have completed already, the style you have learned is not the only way to fly fish. Let me show you some more. -mike