If you’re relatively new to the sport, you can learn a fair amount about fly fishing from articles and videos, and from books like “The Little Black Book of Fly Fishing.” Anyone with the patience to sit down and read, or to sift through articles and videos on the web, can access a tremendous amount of angling information.

The problem, of course, is that not all of that online information is accurate. There’s a ton of sketchy info the internet, and it’s not always easy to tell whether the advice you’re hearing is good, bad or mediocre.

Maybe that’s why fishing schools, where new or less-experienced anglers can immerse themselves in the sport for a day or a week, have enjoyed a major resurgence over the last few years. It’s a serious advantage to learn fly fishing from actual experts. It’s also helpful if there’s an instructor who can demonstrate a particular technique several times and then answer all your questions. And there are certain skills, like fly casting, that simply lend themselves to in-person instruction.

With the 2023 fishing season coming into focus, the world’s most acclaimed fly fishing school, the School of Trout, has announced its 2023 schedule. SOT will hold two classes which are open to the general public this year; one in August and one in September.

DRY FLY CLASS

The School of Trout’s “Dry Fly” class will take place at TroutHunter on the Henry’s Fork, near Yellowstone National Park, from Sunday, August 20th through Friday, August 25th. As the name implies, the class delves into every aspect of the dry fly experience. The instructors — John Juracek, Pat McCabe, Brant Oswald, Steve “Mac” McFarland and Todd Tanner — are exceptionally talented, and the class is limited to 10 participants.

TAO OF TROUT

SOT will also host its foundational “The Tao of Trout” class on the legendary Railroad Ranch section of Henry’s Fork from Sunday, September 24th to Saturday, September 30th. Students will stay at the Scovel Center and learn every element of fly fishing for trout, including fly casting, knots, entomology, fly choice and presentation, from an All-Star list of instructors and presenters that includes Craig Mathews, Tom Rosenbauer, Hilary Hutcheson, Kirk Deeter, Brant Oswald, Tim Romano, Karlie Roland, Pat McCabe, Steve McFarland and Todd Tanner. As always, fly casting guru John Juracek will oversee the fly casting instruction. “The Tao of Trout” class is limited to 12 participants.

To quote blues icon B.B. King, “The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.” When someone learn something, it’s theirs forever — and that’s true whether the subject is music, business or fly fishing.

For those who attend, the School of Trout’s unique classes can help unleash a lifetime of tremendous angling and adventure.

Want a sneak peek at The School of Trout? Join us Wednesday, March 15 for a Facebook live event where we discuss all things dry fly fishing with the School of Trout instructors.