Do you have a hard time picking the right dry fly when you’re on the water? Are you more comfortable with nymphs? Or streamers? Do you struggle to tell a good dry fly pattern from a not-so-good dry fly pattern?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions then you might want to participate in an upcoming first from The School of Trout.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, The School of Trout is debuting online video classes. If you’re not already familiar with the School of Trout, it is normally an in-person-only affair held twice per year on Idaho’s famed Henry’s Fork, where a small group of anglers gather with some of fly fishing’s most respected and accomplished instructors—folks like Tom Rosenbauer, Kirk Deeter, Jeff Currier, Craig Matthews, John Juracek and many more—to hone their angling skills and immerse themselves in the sport.

The School of Trout is expecting to hold these new online classes regularly, but will be limiting each to 10 anglers per class—giving participants the opportunity to ask detailed questions and interact with the instructors, much like they would in an in-person class (or, at least as much like it as is possible under the current circumstances).

Though participation in this first class is free, future classes will run you $179 each—which is a bit of a steal if you consider that a week at The School of Trout’s in-person classes runs around $8,000.

Three respected School of Trout instructors — John Juracek, Pat McCabe and Todd Tanner — will host the School of Trout’s first-ever online video class, Essential Dry Flies, on Saturday, April 11th. John, Pat and Todd, who share a combined 124 years of fly fishing experience, will discuss some of their favorite dry flies, point out what makes them so effective, and then take questions from the students.

If you want to participate in the class, all you need to do is tell us, in 75 words or less, why Hatch Magazine should pick you as opposed to someone else. That’s it. Just head to our contact form and tell us why you should sit in on the class on Saturday. Students will need access to a viable computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, along with a reliable WiFi connection. (See note below.)

In addition to the instructors mentioned above, other instructors that have shared their skills and expertise at the School of Trout include Hilary Hutcheson, Bob White, Tim Romano, Karlie Roland, Steve McFarland, and the school’s founder, Todd Tanner.

While future classes will typically feature one instructor, and will run for 90 minutes, this particular class will be about an hour. To learn more, or to browse the upcoming classes, visit SchoolOfTrout.com.

Class: Essential Dry Flies
Instructors: John Juracek, Pat McCabe, Todd Tanner
Length: 1 Hour (+/-)
Students: 10 Maximum
Date: Saturday, April 11
Time: 2 PM Eastern/11 AM Pacific
Cost: Free
Platform: Zoom

Editor's note: The April 11 "Essential Dry Flies" class is now complete. If you missed your chance to participate, fear not — you can now watch the full class online for free, below.