For better or worse, videos are the way many of us learn these days. Of course, there are plenty of fly-fishing videos on YouTube, but they are of uneven quality and may not be reliable tools for learning. Now there’s something better.
The new interactive Orvis Learning Center is a video-based resource that’s free to anyone and available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, to answer your fly-fishing questions.
The meat of the Learning Center is the video lessons, hosted by me and Pete Kutzer. Eventually, there will be 13 different chapters available (the first 7 are up now), each containing about 24 minutes of video, and the chapters include:
- The Basics of Fly Fishing
- Fly Rod Bass Fishing
- Fly Fishing for Pike
- Basic Stream Skills
- Wet Flies and Nymphs
- Dry Flies
- Streamers
- Reading the Water
- Stillwater Trout Fishing
- Steelhead and Salmon Fishing
- All About Flies and How to Match Prey
- Inshore Saltwater Fly Fishing
- Offshore and Near-Shore Saltwater Fly Fishing
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Each chapter starts you off with the basics, and then moves on to special casts, techniques, and skills needed for each aspect of fly fishing. All are in full high definition (HD), and include impressive computer animations to show some of the concepts that are difficult to visualize on video
But beside the rich video lessons, the Orvis Learning Center also contains other helpful references:
- Animated fishing knots, shown in both computer animations and video. It’s an easy way to learn all the basic knots you’ll need.
- Flash Cards to help you learn to identify freshwater fish, saltwater fish, aquatic insects, and basic artificial flies.
- All of Tom Rosenbauer’s Podcasts, over 100 of them, divided into major categories. And each podcast is searchable by keywords, so you can find the topics you’re interested in.
- Quizzes on all the topics covered in the video chapters. Check your knowledge, learn why some answers were wrong, and compare your answers to others.
- A complete fly-fishing glossary for any fly-fishing jargon you don’t understand.
- Articles on many aspects of fly fishing, from small stream trout to steelhead and saltwater species.
- A members’ signup. You don’t have to log in to use all aspects of the Learning Center, but by logging in you can keep track of your quiz scores and save videos and podcasts to your favorites so you can come back and refer to them again.
So if you can’t find the time to go to a fly-fishing school and don’t have a helpful friend who can teach you, it’s now possible to get a solid correspondence course in nearly all aspects of fly fishing on the Orvis Learning Center.
I would like to be on your website
I would like to be on your orvis fly fishing learning center
I have been the victim of fly fishing boots for 25+ years and have suffered through 6-7 pairs, often after making repeated repairs, including the latest BOA Lacing System.
After buying an Orvis pair of Ultralight boots several years ago and having fished them repeatedly, 70 to 80 days, in Alaska to Argentina and many water holes in between, I can tell you they are by far the most comfortable, most durable, best supportive, great traction and lightest weight wading boot I have ever, even dreamed about.
I have tried the boots with the BOA System and would not recommend them unless you had a BOA Factory Repairman in tow. There are several problems, I have encountered, which could put your fishing, hiking out and travel plans in peril. First, the rotary system can become jammed with sand, etc., and become frozen leaving you locked in your boots without having a high grade wire cutter on board to free yourself. I know it happed to me. Ever try to clear the Homeland Security Check Point in pair of waders, with a pair of wading boots locked to your feet. (Just thinking ahead.)
OK, so your on a trip or in the field and you have to cut the cable to get out of the boot, or the cable breaks, what do you fish in the next day?
The cable can be replaced by the user but you have to have a spare available and a spare didn’t come with the boots.
If the cable breaks while fishing, of course at the farthest point from your transportation how to apply a temporary fix to walk out. Ever try to tie this cable material in a knot?
So, at a minimum you need to carry a Grade A pair of wire cutters with you when ever this System is worn to avoid Big Problems.
The conventional lacings may break but, they can be rejoined in the field and your back to normal quicker than it takes to tie a Uniknot. And you can buy several pairs of lacings for the price and shipping of a new cable. I didn’t mention this because it is so obvious, the BOA System costs more!
Orvis should think twice about offering a boot with the BOA, in the end it won’t make any friends.