Happy New Year!

western idaho fly fishing expoOnce again DreamCastIdaho.com  will be at the 2013 Western Idaho FlyFishing Expo!

We always look forward to the Expo. It is a time to kick off our new season, meet past students, and answer questions for those wanting to begin, or advance their skills. We will be introducing a few new programs this year. “The Complete Angler” is a workshop to fine tune, and develop casting skill you will need on your guided fly-fishing trip.

We will be expanding our “Casting the Spey workshops by introducing an “Intermediate Casting Skills, and Techniques” class.   We have also developed our “On-Line Fly Shop” Giving our students and angler’s visiting our website options to purchase the gear they need through our “Advertisers”

So stop by our Booth “#57″ and say hello. We’d love to introduce ourselves.  Workshop dates will be posted and class sign-ups will be available soon.   If you have not been to our facebook page, please visit us at DreamCastIdaho.com and like our page.

It’s only $5 to get into the expo for adults and kids under 13 are free!

See you soon.

 

2012 Year in Review

WOW what a year it has been for www.DreamCastIdaho.com.  Not only did we get some fishing in, we were able to travel to Northern Idaho to fish some water I had fished 20 years ago with my wife, Patti.

We fulfilled many of the goals we set last year. Some of the highlights were completing a two-year journey becoming a Certified Casting Instructor through the Federation of Fly Fishers. I will be taking my Two-Hand Certified Instructors exam this spring.

I would like to thank the 200 plus students we taught this year for their help in my journey to becoming a better casting instructor. With this certification we will be adding several new programs into our teaching format in 2013.

We published several videos on fly fishing knots which have been viewed almost 200,000 times. We will be adding many more helpful videos this coming year.

I also completed a 9 month, 2 days a week School of Ministry Course. Not sure where this will lead m, however,  the Lord prepares and guides. I have a tab on our website for those of you interested in this journey.  Matt 4:19

We are working on several new ideas for 2013 and would like to keep you posted on their progress so I am inviting you visit and “LIKE” our Facebook page DreamCastIdaho.com.

Hello from Michael & Patti

 

Michael and I were able to meet with our web designer a few days ago. She has motivated us (hopefully) to update are website and facebook page on a more regular basis. Here is my first attempt at publication.

Michael’s fly fishing workshops have been going very well this year. Even with his expanded calendar, the beginning classes have had an average of 6 students per weekend. Some classes have been overflowing with 14 students and others have been a little more intimate with 2-3 students. We are very thankful as it has been a very prosperous year for DreamCastIdaho. com . Combine those with his intermediate classes on Sunday afternoons and Spey classes on Monday and Friday nights it has been an extremely busy summer for Michael.

On the few occasions that Michael has had a day or two to himself we have enjoyed a few hours of fly fishing on our local waters. I am still looking forward to the first time I out fish Michael, however, I believe that day is right over the horizon. I have to say the learning process has been a lot of fun. Luckily Michael has been blessed with an abundance of patience and understanding. I look forward to the day I develop that ever absent “finesse”!So for all those developing fly fisherman just remember “DreamCastIdaho.com” can help you too!
My wife is so funny, she is always a joy to fish with as it takes me back to my first years.  We hope to see you on the river!
Michael and Patti

2012 Casting the Spey Video Trailer

Just a little teaser showing some of the Spey Casting Techniques we  teach in our two classes. Often when watching Spey videos our eye wants to follow the line, missing the basic hand, body movements that make the cast. Here are some close-ups of the key movements. The water is the second phase of our classes, we start learning the movements on the grass first.

For a full program format see “Casting the Spey ” Page.

 

Fly Fishing Casting Classes for Idaho 2012

Fly Fishing Class IdahoWe’ve just posted our Fly Fishing Casting Classes for the year of 2012 on our Registration Page.

If you have been thinking about taking a Fly Fishing Casting class here in Idaho, now’s the time to get signed up.

Remember, classes are limited to a handful of students and can fill up quickly. If you have any questions, feel free to visit our Contact page and we’ll get back to you asap.

Time and Location Details are on our Registration Page. 

The 2012 Fly Fishing Classes Schedule: 

BEGINNING                               INTERMEDIATE                         SPEY
MARCH 24, 31                             MARCH 25                               MARCH 26 & 30
APRIL 14, 21, 28                         APRIL 1, 15, 22, 29                APRIL 2 & 6 / 16 & 20
                                                                                                               23 & 27 / 30 & MAY 4
MAY 12, 19, 26                            MAY 6, 20, 27                           MAY 7 & 11 / 14 & 18
                                                                                                                21 & 25 / 28 & JUNE 1
JUNE 2, 16, 23, 30                     JUNE 3, 24                               JUNE 11 & 15 / 18 & 22
                                                                                                               25 & 29
JULY 7, 21, 28                            JULY 1, 8, 22, 29                     JULY 2 & 6 / 16 & 20
                                                                                                               23 & 27 / 30 & AUGUST 3
AUGUST 4, 11, 18                      AUGUST 5, 12, 19                   AUGUST 6 & 10 / 13 & 17
                                                                                                                27 & 31
LOOKS LIKE 2012 IS GOING TO BE BUSY and FUN for DreamCast Idaho! 

Thank you from DreamCastIdaho.

We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for supporting DreamCastIdaho.com in 2011. We truly enjoyed meeting everyone at the events we hosted and attended.
Here are a few highlights:
In January we exhibited our booth at the Boise Valley Fly Fishers Expo, good job.  Look for us again this year. We kicked off our season with our OPEN HOUSE EVENT held at Cabela’s in May.  A special thank you to Cabela’s for hosting our classes and workshops. We especially enjoyed the opportunity to give featured presentations to the local fly fishing clubs in Boise and in the surrounding area. Our Outreach Programs were very successful this year for companies holding their corporate meetings and events in the community. The Henkel Corporation and The Bayer CropSicences Division enjoyed the Fly fishing Team Building events they booked with DCI. Thank you to our team of casting Instructors that enjoyed themselves as well.  We couldn’t offer the quality or individual instruction without their assistance.
We were also able to share our expertise with several men’s ministry groups in the local area.  The Solid Rock Outfitters are a large group of outdoor enthusiast who enjoy fly fishing and the Life Church Men’s Ministry Man Camp Event held in Cascade, Idaho were all able to enhance their casting skills.
My wife and I were blessed to be able to attend  the FFF Federation of Fly Fishers Conclave in West Yellowstone in August. I am currently going through their certification program and have really enjoyed the adventure. In conjunction to the seminars and events we experienced, I was fortunate enough to co-instruct a single-hand spey casting workshop with Carl Zarelli.
We will be expanding our workshops, classes, and events this year due to the ever increasing response of fly fishing interests locally, in the valley, and outside the state. Along with our continued Beginning Fly Fishing and Casting Classes, our Intermediate Fly Fishing and Casting Classes, Advanced Single-hand and Single-hand Spey Classes, and Casting the Spey Classes, we will be introducing our Complete Angler’s School. We will be posting this on the website early this spring. We are planning many events this year and you can follow us on our website, as well as Facebook for upcoming events in 2012.
Our year will start out in January at the Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo January 13 & 14, 2012.  The Beginning Fly Tying Classes will start the first of January.
We are looking forward to 2012. Hope to see you along the way or on the river.

FLY FISHING FOR STEELHEAD TIPS AND STREAM STRATEGIES

Michael Bantam of DreamCastIdaho.com will be giving a seminar hosted by Cabela’s of Boise Idaho, on November 19th at 2 pm to 3 pm. on “How to Catch Steelhead with a Fly Rod – Tips and Stream Strategies”.

Topics of discussion will be rods, reels, lines, flies, and casting techniques used for single hand fly rods. We will cover fishing strategies, i.e. swinging flies, nymphing techniques, and skating flies, along with the types of water to look for and how to fish them. We will discuss the use of sink tips, shooting heads, and weighted flies, and when to use them.

If you are interested in catching steelhead with a fly rod this will be a great opportunity to have your questions answered

Please call Cabela’s at 208-672-7900 to register for this seminar.

ARE YOU WANTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT SPEY CASTING AND FISHING FOR STEELHEAD?

Michael Bantam of DreamCastIdaho.com will be giving a seminar on how to select the right gear to get started. Topics of discussion will be selecting the right rod, matching up a reel, and how to select a line based on the style, and type of fishing you will be doing (i.e. Skagit, Scandi, or Traditional techniques). Each casting style will be discussed to help you determine the right setup that will get you started out right. Then we will be addressing what a Spey cast is, how it works, and the advantages of learning these wonderful casting techniques. We will introduce you to the basic casts (i.e. Switch Cast, Double Spey, Snap “T”, and Snake Roll) to help you get started on your own.

Cabela’s of Boise Idaho will be hosting this seminar on the 19th of November 2011 in the Sawtooth Conference Room at 3 pm until 4 pm. This will be a great opportunity to ask your questions and find out more information before you make that choice in a spey rod, reel, and line.Please call Cabela’s at 208-672-7900 to register.

Tying The Blood Knot

Tying the Blood Knot.

For a comprehensive look at how all the knots come together, click here to download the Knot Connection Chart .

The Double Surgeon’s Knot

Attaching tippet to leader using the Double Surgeon’s Knot.

For a comprehensive look at how all the knots come together, click here to download the Knot Connection Chart .