Jerry Petras, third from right, instructs a group of students during a fly fishing course at Keystone College last fall. Petras will again host the class sometime this spring.
BY KEVIN WOODRUFF
Keystone College will host a four-part beginners fly fishing course this spring as a part of its adult education program.
The classes will be taught by Lackawanna Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited member Jerry Petras, who taught the course last fall, and will take place on four consecutive Saturdays.
Dates for the course are not yet available because of river and weather conditions. However, Petras said that he believes the classes will take place in late April and early May.
Petras said that the course will focus on getting people interested in fly fishing and teaching them the basics of the sport.
“Most of the course will be on-stream instruction,” Petras said. “We want to get people out there and teach them how to cast.”
Petras decided to first teach the course after being a fly fisherman for his entire life, and said that he has been seeing a growing popularity in the sport.
“I think there is a lot of new interest in the area,” Petras said. “Especially with the Lackawanna River. It’s one of the premier places to fly fish in the area.”
Petras believes it’s a worthwhile sport, and something that people will be able to enjoy for most of their lives.
He said that the class will teach people about casting, tying knots and choosing flies.
“Getting the casting right is the toughest part for beginners,” Petras said. “Once they have that down, tying knots and choosing the right flies isn’t that difficult.”
Petras noted that he will teach the overhead cast as the primary cast in the class.
“I think that people will come out of the class pretty confident,” Petras said.
He said that one advantage of taking the course at Keystone is that all of the gear is supplied for those in the class giving a chance to try out the sport before investing in a ton of gear.
The group for the class will be limited to about 15 or 20, to sign up for the course, call Nancy Allan at 945-8156.
Cost will be $15 for the four sessions with scholarships available for those who cannot afford to pay. The course is funded through the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
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