SCHOOLS & INSTRUCTION

CrossCurrents Fly Fishing Schools

We offer a fantastic way to get started in the wonderful, lifetime hobby of Fly Fishing - our multi-day, Fly Fishing Schools. Although we start at the very beginning in these schools, we cover so much of the sport that even an angler with a year or three of experience will gain new insights and skills.

What’s covered in the School?

Just about every aspect of fly fishing is taught in our 3 day schools.  Topics we will delve into include: *Fly Fishing Theory,  *Equipment & Gadgets,  *Fly Casting (hands-on experience with one-on-one instruction),  *Knots to Know,  *Entomology as it relates to fly selection (slide-show indoors and on the stream collecting and studying),  *Flies & Fly Selection (dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, emergers, streamers and more),  *Reading Water,  *Trout Behavior,  *Fishing Techniques with Dries, Nymphs & Streamers,  *Wading and River Safety,  *Stream Etiquette,  *How to Play, Land & Release your fish!

How long does each School run?

Our 3-day schools will meet for two, evening class from 6pm to ~9pm during the week for fly casting, slide show, knots & other classroom work.  They will meet again for an all-day session on a local river for more instruction and putting into practice what you’ve learned (and hopefully even catching a fish!).  (A Montana fishing license is required.) 

When are the Schools offered?

All Classes start in April and will run weekly through August as weather & streamflows allows.

What are the class sizes and who is the instructor?

Four to seven students will be in each class.  The minimum age for participation is 11 years old and those under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.  The head instructor is Jim Stein, CrossCurrents Staff Member and Instructor for many of our Fly Tying Classes and was an Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing & Bird Hunting Guide for many years.  Jim guided and taught at the Orvis Fly Fishing School in Evergreen, Colorado for over 8 years.  Jim moved up to Helena in 2002 and started CrossCurrents‘ Fly Fishing School in 2006.  His extensive knowledge, calm patience and infectious enthusiasm make for a wonderfully fun learning experience!

How Much do they cost?

$195, which covers all the instruction, hand-outs and demo rods/reels & waders used during the class.

Special Classes

We hold special, “Women’s Only” and “Parent-Child Only” classes.  Stop by either shop, give us a call or e-mail if you are interested in attending one of these classes. These are very popular and since they are offered on a limited basis, they fill up quickly. We keep an "Interested List" and a "Waiting List" in the shop for these classes so it's never too early or late in the year to contact us to at least get your name on one of these lists.

Sounds fantastic!  How Do I Attend?

Pre-registration & a 50% deposit are required to reserve your spot in one of our schools so please stop by and sign up at CrossCurrents or give us a call or drop us an e-mail from this website.  Although we run these schools only in the Spring and Summer, you may contact us at any time of the year to get your name on our "Interested List."  We will then contact you when we schedule our classes for the season.

I don’t live in Helena or Montana, can I still attend?

We love to share our knowledge with anyone who is interested.  We have special discounts on our lodging for out-of-town students.  You'll receive 10% off of our lodging in Craig (CrossCurrents Cottage, The Fishin' Shack & The Fish Inn Motel).  We can even set up a special school for an entire family or corporate group.  What a great office retreat or family vacation! We also have special packages on our School-Guiding-Lodging.  (Come out to Montana, stay with us, attend our school and then spend two or three days with one of our guides putting to practice what you just learned on our local rivers!)

These classes make for a great gift!

More Photos of the School, click here for our > Photo Galleries < page.

Jim imparting great fly fishing wisdom.

Classroom Entomology.

On Stream Entomology.

Theory into practice – success & FUN!

CrossCurrents can help you get started on the right felt-soled foot with professional fly casting lessons.  We offer private & group fly casting lessons.  We also help out intermediates and advanced casters as well.

CrossCurrents’ Private Lessons are only $35/hour for 1 on 1 instruction. There is a $10/hour extra charge for each extra student and we do have special pricing for large groups.  We can perform the lessons either in Helena or in Craig.  Private Lessons also make a great gift for someone who is just getting started.  No equipment is needed as we are happy to provide you with a top quality Orvis rod, reel & line.

Lessons aren't just for beginners.  We have highly qualified instructors that can help take the intermediate caster to the next level.  Interested in learning to double haul?  Have a saltwater trip coming up and want some help with your 9 or 10 weight rod?  How about learning to cast a two-handed Spey or Switch Rod?  Or do you just want to tweak your basic technique?  Then get a private lesson with our professionals and really get going with confidence on the water.

PRIVATE FLY CASTING LESSONS

Start Dates:1 to 2 Classes Starting in February.

Time:  6:30-~8:00 pm on the Monday start date.  Then we will arrange a time best suited to everyone for the following Sunday or the second Sunday.  (This is because we will need to allow time for each students components to arrive should we have to order any.)

How long:  We will have a short meeting on the start date and then an all day meeting on a Sunday to build the rods.  Usually we meet with students individually to finish the rods.  So if all goes well we meet three or four times over two or three weeks.

What’s covered:  We teach about the entire process of building a fly rod - from raw blanks and parts to customizing.  The students will learn why some rods costs $50 while others cost $500.  The instructors will be building rods along with the students so everyone will see first hand what each step of the process entails.  We will talk about all the components of a rod and the use of rod building tools.  We also show how to do accent thread wraps and inlays to make each rod truly one-of-a-kind.  When we finish the class you will have a custom made fly rod!

Class Size and Instructors:  We allow a maximum of 6 students in the class.  The main instructors are Chris Strainer, Owner/Manager & Orvis-Endorsed Guide of CrossCurrents.

Cost:  $75 which covers all the instruction, some of the materials (rod building epoxy and silver or gold metallic accent thread) and tools (burnishing tool, butane lighter/torch, heat gun, Dremmel tool, drill and cork reamer) and the use of CrossCurrents’ rod wrappers and rod turners.

What do the students need to buy?:  Each student will need to get a fly rod blank (we have several manufacturers to choose from with prices ranging from $75 to over $300),  reel seat and handle components, guide set and hook keeper, thread, exacto knife or razor blades, and the thread wrap epoxy.

The Discount:  All students receive a 10% discount on anything rod building related (tools, components, materials, books & videos) for the duration of the class.  Plus, the discount will apply if they wish to purchase components for another rod within 3 months of the class.

Custom rod feather inlay by Chris Strainer.

ROD BUILDING CLASSES

FLY FISHING SCHOOLS, FLY TYING CLASSES, ROD BUILDING CLASSES, and PRIVATE LESSONS Reservation/Cancellation/Refund Policy

Fly Fishing Schools, Fly Tying Classes,  Rod Building Classes and Private Lessons require a 50% deposit to confirm your reservation.  If cancellation is made more than 15 days before your school/class start date, a full refund of your deposit less a $4 service fee will be returned to you.  If cancellations are made within 15 days of your school/class your deposit less the service fee will be refunded, providing the reservation can be filled immediately, otherwise the entire deposit will be forfeited and paid in part to the scheduled instructor(s) in lieu of lost wages and expenses incurred.  Failure to show or failure to cancel in a timely manner will result in your being liable for the entire cost of the class and our resultant collection of that amount from you.

If we are unable to provide the scheduled school, class or lesson due to unforeseen events, we will try to reschedule your school/class/lesson or we will refund your entire deposit, whichever you prefer.

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Can’t wait to learn more about fly fishing?  Click on the photo of the fly to the left for some good information from our friends at Orvis.  Learn the fly fishin’ lingo with the ‘Glossary’ or ‘How to choose your tippet size’ and a lot more helpful stuff.  And then, sign up for our Fly Fishing School!

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We don’t have any fun in our Fly Tying Classes!  (Are those Mai Tai’s or Mattarelli whip finishers in their hands?!)

Dr. Lechner working on a Jerry Wilkerson Streamer.

Intermediate Fly Tying

Start Dates:  One class offered starting on Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

How long: Each class meets the same night every week for 5 weeks.

Time:  6:15 to 8:45 in the evening.

What’s covered:  Assuming that all the students have a solid knowledge of the use of standard tools and materials we delve into more advanced tying techniques using various specialty tools and materials.  We want the students to perfect the basics and learn new concepts and patterns that takes their tying “to the next level.”  Some take the class to learn new patterns, others grasp new tying concepts to apply to their own flies and still others are there because it’s just plain fun!

We set up the classes based on flies, techniques and or concepts that the students want to learn.  For example someone wants to learn to spin deer hair.  We would then select patterns that work on those techniques.  Other examples include glass beads, mayfly emergers, fly patterns for the MO in July, etc., etc.  No two classes are the same, which is why many of our students take the class year after year.  (Or maybe it’s just because it gets them out of the house in the middle of winter for one night a week!)

Class Size and Instructors: We allow a maximum of 8 students in the class giving us a 4 to 1 student to instructor ratio.  The main instructors are Chris Strainer, Owner/Manager & Orvis-Endorsed Guide and Steve Lane, Shop Staff, Guide Fly Casting Instructor.  We will also have other highly qualified instructors come in to show their “specialty” -whether it be a specific pattern or a unique technique.

Cost:  $75, which covers all the instruction and materials during the class.  We provide all the materials for the flies we will tie in the class.  We just ask that students have their own tools.

The Discount:  All students receive a 10% discount on anything tying related (tools, materials, books & videos) for the 5 weeks of class plus one extra week after the class!

Beginner Fly Tying

Start Dates:  Beginner Class #1 - Thursday, January 12, 2012 -FULL

                              Beginner Class #2 - Wednesday, February 15, 2012  -FULL

                              Beginner Class #3 - Thursday, February 16, 2012  -FULL

                              Beginner Class #4 - Wednesday, March 21, 2012  -FULL

                                Please stop by, call or e-mail us if you are interested in signing up for one of the classes.

How long: One a week for 5 weeks.

Time:  6:00 to 8:30 in the evening.

What’s covered:  We teach about the tools, materials and techniques for tying most major flies.  When a student “graduates” after the five weeks he/she has a good enough base of knowledge on fly tying to pick up almost any fly and be able to identify all the materials in it and the steps and techniques to tie one for themselves.

Flies tied in class:  *Woolly Bugger,  *Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear Nymph,  *Pheasant Tail Nymph,  *Prince Nymph,  *Parachute Adams,  *Elk Hair Caddis,  *Stimulator  and  *Royal Wulff.  See our Fly Tying Videos Homepage for handouts on instructions for each fly tied, a list of materials needed, and information on hooks, hairs and feathers.

Class Size and Instructors:  A minimum of 4 students to a maximum of 8 students in each class to keep the student to instructor ratio low.  The main instructors are Jim Stein, Shop Staff Member, Head Fly Tying & Fly Fishing School Instructor and long-time Orvis-Endorsed Guide and Chris Strainer, Owner/Manager and Orvis-Endorsed Guide.

Cost:  $75, which covers all the instruction and materials during the class.  We provide all the materials for the flies we will tie in the class.  We just ask that students have their own tools.  (If you don’t have tools, or are not sure what you want to get, we will let you demo our tools.  That way by trying a couple of different ones you will be able to make a more informed choice on what works best for you.)

The Discount: All students receive a 10% discount on anything tying related (tools, materials, books & videos/DVD’s) for the 5 weeks of class plus one extra week after the class!

FLY TYING CLASSES