Long Beach Casting Club

Ever wanted to know what it is like to fly fish ?
I got bit by the fly fever when I had my first experience fishing on the famous Russian River in the Kenai peninsula in AK.
This place has the best, friendly, and enthusiastic group of members and non members at this city owned property.
The folks are always there — morning, noon, evening. It has become the fly angler hangout for Southern California.
Their pond is amazing — distance end to end is what I am trying to cast to…
Met some wonderful folks — most of them are single handed fly anglers — some are 2 handed.
Club president: Yash is wonderful to chat with — he will tell you all the best places to fish! He will show you around and let you into their beautiful club house too!
I have had experience with single hand casting and found it to be tiring after half an hour. Recently, discovered there is a 2 handed fly angling and found the strain on the arms and shoulder less fatiguing. I can 2 hand fly fish for hours before tiring out.
There are many certified and master fly fishing instructors here — the most prominent is the International Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF) and I was lucky to find a great instructor.
At first when I started 2 handed fly fishing I thought well how hard is that to learn when I know single handed? Well let me tell you — 2 handed fly casting is much different and requires a different technique and unlearning the single handed muscle memory.
For a month I struggled to properly cast a 2 handed rod which is frustrating to say the least for someone who can cast single hand…
Meet: John Vanderhoos — FFF THCI (two handed casting instructor) — he is a member and has the ability to teach a newbie to 2 handed casting in one lesson!
First, and most important is selecting the proper line. John has thousands of dollars of lines to choose — he has them all for all types of 2 handed angling (traditional spey, skagit, scandanavian). When he found the line for me, it was a night and day difference! I actually cast with little effort!
A little insider info: Weekday lunch hour (11a-​1pm) are the informal group of 2 handed casters which come out and practice, try each other’s rods, and chat with everyone.
Next on my list is to go on club outings — I just finished the Los Alamitos Bay salt fishing which is an excellent place to learn on calm waters.
Future trips will include Northern California steelhead, Colorado bull trout, Utah brown & golden trout fishing…
Must go — stop by on their club casting evenings and say hi!
They even host the Boy Scouts of America for Eagle projects — they were building a new sign information bulletin outside the club house.

The Long Beach Casting Club is surrounded by The Recreation Golf Course, both 9 and 18 hole courses and next to the Recreation Dog Park. The Driveway off of 7^th Street is easy to miss, as the sign is small.
I’ve been fishing the Ocean and Freshwater for many years. I started fly fishing about two years ago, but only gone two trips. Well, I thought I was fly fishing just fine and catching fish during my yearly backpacking trips in the Eastern Sierras. A co-​worker had taken beginner’s casting lessons and had recommended for me to take the classes to improve on my casting. I had visited the facility on the night during a club competition. I saw the fun and camaraderie the fly casters were having.
I located the beginners casting class in Long Beach Casting Club’s website. The club is the home to many local Master Fly Casting and FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructors. On premises are a casting pond and the club house. Stadium style lights are usually on Tuesday and Thursdays evenings.
Class starts with lecture and videos inside the club house, then they are divided into four groups and each group has several instructors to help students with their casting for the evening at the casting pond. The classes run about five weeks, and each week they teach a different cast. Classes start 7pm sharp, so if you are late, you will miss the 15 minutes of lecture and videos. Each week, you will have the same group of instructors who will help you with your casting and any questions you may have. The first night they go over with suggestions on proper equipments, Fly Rod, Fly Reel, Fly Line, Fly Line Backing and Tapered Leader.
Class suggest that you have your own equipment, 9ft 5/​6wt balance outfit as I brought my lightweight 7.5ft 3wt outfit that I use for my backpacking trips. If you need assistance in assembling the rod, reel, and/​or fly line, the instructors will help you, just bring them in at least 30 – 40 minutes before the class starts. They teach the proper rod grip, Pick up and Lay Down,
False Cast, Roll Cast, Shooting Line, Off Shoulder Casts and Line Mending. I thought I knew how to cast a fly line, but I was amazed how much I improved after each class. Anyone can attend these classes, men and women, if you have a desire to learn. I am happy that I had taken the classes at Long Beach Casting Club. I now have more confidence to tackle the Eastern Sierras, Lakes, streams and maybe Bone fish on a fly during my next vacation.
The Long Beach Casting club also has rod building, fly tying, on-​the-​water outings and intermediate fly casting classes. If you are a seasoned caster, but need any help, stop by as previously mentioned, they have instructor or advanced students that can help.