Pre & Post Test

If you are a novice, use these questions to determine areas that you will need to spend the most time. If you are teaching a child, be somewhat selective based on their age and how much they have been exposed to fly fishing.

Step 1: Identification of Equipment

1. If someone gave you just a rod, how would you determine what weight fly line to use with it?
2. What is the most versatile weight fly line for trout fishing?
3. True / False: Rod bend or flex is subjective and based on how slow or fast one's preference is in casting.
4. Although seldom used on small streams, the drag adjustment on a single action reel is valuable under what conditions?
5. Briefly discuss the advantage of a double tapered fly line and a weight forward line.
6. What is a leader butt used for? On a piece of paper, draw a leader but and identify each of the knots used.
7. What is a tippet?
8. What is fly dressing?
9. What use does a fly fisher have ofhemostats?
10. Which is the most common leader length?
    3-5 ft
    4-6 ft
    7-9 ft
    12-14 ft
    
11. What is the advantage of using Polaroid sun glasses?
12. If you are fishing with a floating fly line, and then you decide to tie on a nymph and fish the sub-surface or the bottom of the stream, what techniques can you employ without changing your fly line?
13. What two knots do you have to choose from to tie at the end of a leader butt?
14. Why would your dentist highly recommend that you carry fingernail clippers with you when you go fishing?

Step 2: Basic Set Up

1. Name the four critical specifications found on all AFTMA fly lines.
2. Rods are designed to cast a particular weighted fly line. The lines are numbered 1 - 12. Which line(s) would be most practical for the majority of your fishing waters? Briefly explain your reasons.
3. Why is it both practical and potentially useful to first add braided backing to your reel?

Step 3: Necessary Knots: Name each of the knots pictured.

Step 4: Casting

Place a large plate, a hoola-hoop or a pizza box out on the lawn at a distance of 20 feet. Cast your fly so it lands within a foot with three attempts. ( Be sure to remove the hook portion of the fly. You may also just tie on a little piece of yarn.) Cast your fly at a plate at thirty feet so that it lands within two feet of the plate with three attempts.

Multiple Choice and True/False Questions:

1. A fly fishing rod, reel and line is said to be balanced when:
   1. the line weight matches the recommended rod weight
   2. the outfit is color coordinated
   3. you can balance or hold the rod level on an extended finger with the balance point usually close to where the grip stops and the rod begins.
2. T/F The forward cast is more important than the back cast for distance and presentation.
3. Generally, when casting, the caster wants:
   1. an open loop
   2. a swing loop
   3. a tight loop
   4. no loop. Explain your reasoning, or make a fun guess!
4. When a caster does not let the line land on the water and continues casting overhead, forward and backward, he or she is said to be:
   1. Shadow darting
   2. False casting
   3. air line
   4. wasting time
5. What are three useful reasons for the answer to question 4?
6. Viewing the caster from behind, which is the better cast and why?
7. Line drag spooks the fish and frustrates the caster when the faster current pushes the belly or mid-section of the line downstream. This causes an unnatural drag or acceleration of the fly. This constant factor is the fly fisher's greatest challenge to over come. Trout are creatures of habit, and they are conditioned by their environment. Viewing an artificial fly pattern zoom by their lie will not trigger a strike, as it is an unnatural phenomenon; therefore, the fly fisher has to cast in such a manner so as to drift the fly in a natural float. Describe two types of casts or casting technique that may be used to counter this problem of line drag?
8. Which is more important in casting, distance or presentation?
9. A steeple cast or a roll cast is most useful under what conditions?
10. The basic power stroke or casting arc can be illustrated on the following clock. Draw two lines connecting the large dot with the smaller dot or number which will demonstrate where the rod stops on the back cast and forward cast.
11. Which lettered illustration depicts the proper pick up of line off the water prior to starting into your back cast? A, B or C?
12. Which is the best loop for casting?
13. What is a "wind knot" and how is it caused?
14. You find your fly splashing on the water behind you or catching on the grass. What two correction should you make?
15. What forward casting adjustment could you make if you see your fly smashing onto the water with a splat?
16. If on your forward cast, your fly line and leader drift back towards you dropping into an unsightly pile, what forward cast adjustment do you need to make?
17. If you snap your fly off in mid air on a "crack-the-whip" cast, what forward cast adjustment do you need to make?
18. If on your forward cast, your line hits another part of the line or the rod during the cast, you will want to make an adjustment by _____________ your rod.
19. Most fish are caught on casts of __________
    1. 5-10 feet
    2. 20-40 feet
    3. 40-50 feet
    4. 50-70 feet
20. How would you compensate for the wind while casting?

Begin Step 1: Identification and Function of Equipment

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