Fly Fishing Schools

The schools are designed to cover skill levels ranging from the pure novice to the “I’ve tried it, I liked it, but I do not know what I’m doing!” Under the watchful eye of our instructors, you will lay a solid foundation for your life long adventure in fly fishing. Upon completion of this comprehensive full day school, you will be skilled and confident enough to pack up your fly fishing gear and head out to enjoy a trip on the water of your choosing.

Your D&H Fly Fishing Instructors
Our instructors have a fly rod in their hands many times a month. We are keen on helping beginner fly fishermen get started. We strives to make fly fishing as simple and straightforward as possible for new anglers.  If you have any particular needs for your group, feel free to contact the shop.

Brian Barnard has served as an instructor since Delamere & Hopkins first introduced fly fishing schools in 1995. Brian has over 37 years of fly fishing experience and has completed his professional certification through the Federation of Fly Fishers.

The Curriculum
Some of the topics that will be addressed are:
Equipment: How to select appropriate tackle for a given fishing situation; line weights and rod actions. Knots to get you started. Selecting the proper leader to match the fly and the fishing situation. Understanding the leader and tippet relationship.
Casting: You will learn the fundamentals and how to apply them to advanced casting techniques.
Fishing: An afternoon of fishing and perfecting techniques learned earlier in the day. All fishing is done on a catch and release basis.

The schools are comprised of two sessions: In-The-Field and Classroom.
In-The-Field
We are blessed to have several convenient parks that border The Little Miami River, one of our best local waterways. The day will start with all participants meeting at the park at 9am. After a full day of instruction, lunch and fishing, the school will end at 3pm.
The parks have a lot of room (great for casting), clean restroom facilities, and picnic shelters so we can enjoy our lunch. The first portion of our day is spent at a park learning how to cast and covering the other critical fundamentals of the sport. After lunch, we will migrate our learning to water and have the option of fishing the Little Miami or a local bass pond. Weather and water conditions will dictate where we spend the afternoon.

Classroom
This portion of the school will be a two-hour session held at Delamere & Hopkins.  Each student will coordinate the date of their session with the shop for a date after the In-The-Field portion of the school. Although we have a list of topics we want to cover during this session, we find that this is a valuable time for students to ask questions to fully understand an aspect of the angler’s gear.

When

2023 Fly Fishing School Dates:

September 16  full

September 9   Private School booked

August 27     full

August 26    full

August 13    full

August 11   Private School booked

July 29        full

July 22        Private School booked

July 15        full

July 12        Private School booked

July 8          Private School booked

July 5          Private School booked

July 4          Private School booked

July 2          Private School booked

June 25       completed

June 17       Private School booked

June 10        full

June 3          full

May 27       Private School booked

May 13        full

May 7          Private School booked

May 6           full

April 23        full

April 22        full

April 15        full

March 26      Private School booked

March 25     full

March 19      Private School booked

Many customers opt for a Private School for themselves or their group. Please contact the shop if you would like to set up something for you, your group or your corporate event. 513-871-FISH

Cost & Payment

Group School
$195 per student, includes all angling equipment. There needs to be at least two students for the school to take place. The maximum number of students for a group school is five.

Private School
$450 to book the day for one student.  Each additional student is $100.  Maximum number of students is five.  You and the instructor pick a date; during the week is fine.

To reserve a slot for an upcoming school or for more information, feel free to contact the shop, 513-871-3474 or email at [email protected].

Additional Information

All equipment for the In-The-Field portion of the school is provided. This includes rod, reel, flies and leaders. If you have your own equipment, please bring along for evaluation and usage, if appropriate. Water will be available all day.