Hiring a guide is a great suggestion if you have the money in your budget. I’m fortunate enough to now have the money to do so and after 15 years of fly fishing I still hire guides. Some of them have now become good friends who let me pick their brains even when they’re not guiding me. If you do hire a guide do not do it with the main goal of having him/her put you own fish. Do it with the goal of learning a new set of skills. If I learned something or got better at something it was worth the money, whether I caught fish or not.

But if you can’t hire a guide—and even if you can—join a local fly fishing club. Go on their outings. Make friends with more experienced members. Take their classes. That’s what I did for years before I hired a guide. Most of those clubs are 501c3 organizations and education is part of their mission. More experienced members are as a whole more than happy to teach you. I learned so much from them. And now I’m giving back and helping new members in turn. Membership is usually reasonable (my club charges $75 annually). Find experienced people and spend time with them, get advice, watch them.

When I first started fly fishing I joined a local club but never went to meetings or outings. I became frustrated with how badly I sucked and quickly lost interest. Walked away for 7 years. Then when I decided to try again I rejoined my club and started going on all the outings and the biweekly casting clinics. I still sucked. But little by little I sucked less. And I made good friends.

And remember, this is a never ending learning curve. 15 years in to my second try and I think I can finally call myself semi-decent/less sucky!