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Beginners Advice, Fly Fishing Lessons & Fishing Guides

Fishing Lessons and Courses with Sportfish

From Beginner to Advanced

Our experienced team of instructors is on hand at the Game Fishing Centre seven days a week to deliver the very best in fly casting instruction and game fishing tuition. Whether you are an absolute beginner, an improver or an experienced angler looking to sharpen up before a trip, we can tailor a lesson to your exact requirements, from single and double-handed disciplines to advanced techniques and boat fishing.

As well as hourly lessons and group tuition we provide beginner's stillwater days and introduction to, and improver fly tying courses. We also offer tailored junior tuition on our new Kingfisher Pond as well as one day courses on chalkstreams, rivers and lakes throughout the year.

We also offer a varied portfolio of day and residential courses throughout the UK and, in conjunction with Farlows Travel, across the globe. These are designed to be fun and to allow you to hone existing skills and learn new ones in great company and great surroundings – with a chance of catching some great fish too!

Try Before You Buy

This is where we really stand out! The ability to try rods on our lake is a fantastic facility and with tackle becoming ever more expensive it avoids purchasing mistakes before they happen - you'll probably get a few tips along the way too! We also part exchange rods and reels to ensure you can always keep up with the latest developments in the sport.

For more information or to place a booking please call us on 0118 930 3860

A Beginner Starting Their Fly Fishing JourneyA Beginner Starting Their Fly Fishing Journey

Welcome to the wonderful world of fly fishing. We hope it will be something that brings you many years of enjoyment, as it has done for all of us here at Sportfish. It’s not all about catching fish - if it was many of us would have given up a long time ago.

Most of us fly fish because of how it makes us feel. The anticipation before a day’s fishing, the thrill of outwitting a hard to catch fish with a perfectly executed cast, the joy as you watch it safely released back into the water, the wellbeing benefits from being in nature, the challenge and satisfaction of learning new things, its ability to focus the mind to such an extent that for a while you forget everything else, the new places it takes you and the new friends you make, this is why we do it.

From Beginner to Advanced

Like any sport, fly fishing can seem overly complex at first. Not only is there an abundance of different types of tackle and gear (rods, reels, lines, flies, clothing), but there is also a multitude of techniques to apply to different fish species (trout, sea trout, salmon, pike grayling, carp, perch etc.) and multiple water types (chalkstreams, freestone rivers, small stillwaters, reservoirs, saltwater). It even has its own technical language. No one expects to be able to drive the first time they get behind the wheel of a car and the same is true with fly fishing. Learn the basics, master the techniques over time, have patience and practice.

We’ve tried to put together here everything we think might be useful as you start your fly fishing journey, and as you continue it. Perhaps the single most important thing as a beginner is learning how to cast properly. Nothing beats having casting lessons with a qualified professional (like you would with a driving instructor). If that’s not possible, then you can teach yourself with our series of how to cast videos (and a lot of practice). Once you’ve mastered casting (and that takes all of us a bit of time to do), the rest is all about learning as much as you can from every available resource, getting out there putting it into practice and improving. One of the joys of fly fishing is that there’s always more you can learn, and that no two fishing trips are the same.

Try Before You Buy

Fishing tackle doesn’t have to be expensive and at Sportfish you’ll find the ultimate range of quality tackle to suit every budget. If after reading our guides in this section you’re still unsure about something, then give our friendly team a call on 01544 327 111. We love nothing more than talking about fishing and offering advice.

If you're near our Berkshire or Herefordshire store - you can also pop in to discuss your requirements and get a feel for the tackle, before you buy! The ability to try rods in our casting areas or on our lake is a fantastic facility... and with tackle becoming ever more expensive it avoids purchasing mistakes before they happen - you'll probably get a few tips along the way too. We also part exchange rods and reels via our tackle trade in service to ensure you can always keep up with the latest developments in the sport.

Sportfish. By those who fish. For those who fish.