Intersperse your efforts to catch pickier fish, like trout, with fishing for more aggressive "easier' fish like panfish. They call it fishing, but it is nice to be catching.

If you are learning fly fishing to add to your survival skill arsenal, consider what kind of fish your survival efforts might target and be sure to spend some time going after them.

You might not want to spend too much time with purists who may have the elevated nose syndrome, but check them out to see what they have to teach. It does not matter to the fish if you use a refined trout technique on bluegill.

I started my buddy out with roll casting on a smooth lake on a windless day. That seems to have given him a good sense of line weight, rod springiness and timing before he tried to false cast overhead. Helped a lot that the fish were willing to be caught.

Sometimes good fly fishing IS as easy as roll casting :-)

You can do roll casting with a tree branch in a survival situation. Handy to know how to do.

Some rambling thoughts on the topic:
I second Scafool's and other's advice (though the 11-to-1 can change a bit with different lines/rods and wind). When I have been away from fly fishing for a while and need to get my cast back, I find it helps to look back and watch for the line to just about straighten out behind you and then start the forward motion.

I would also say to practice in places where back-snags won't drive you nuts before you even get to a stream.

Beyond taking a lesson, I'd say go fishing with a guide. You'll get the casting lesson plus a lot more and it will be more enteraining than just a casting lesson. Of course, it can cost a lot.

As far as books, along time ago, there used to be a book -_ actually it was almost a comic book -- called the Curtis Creek Manifesto. It is fantastic. It's still available on Amazon for $10 and doubtless can be found used for less. This book covered all the basics in a funny easy to understand way.

On a more intermediate level than Curtis Creek Manifesto, I would suggest Prospecting for Trout by Tom Rosenbauer.

I've also read Tactics on Trout by Ray Ovington and it was good but it's for someone who wants to approach each possible boulder or riffle with a complete plan of attack. Still, it can be educational even if you just read a couple of chapters.

Finally, while I haven't seen it, as I was looking to see if Curtis Creek Manifesto was still around, I noticed on Amazon "Joan Wulff's Dynamics of Casting... (DVD) for $22. It seems highly rated...

Fly casting is actually a pretty simple skill to learn. Like anything, the basics are simple enough, but then it takes practice.

You can learn from a qualified instructor, just about anyplace. Find a fly shop: if they don't have an FFF-certified casting instructor on staff, they'll know where you can find one. Or you can find a local club. You don't need a certified instructor to learn the basics.

You *can* learn fly casting from books and videos. The problem is, you get conflicting info from various sources who have different takes on how it works. Best to stick to one video and nail it. Doug Swisher has a good video on fly casting, put out by 3M/Scientific Anglers on DVD. (No affiliation; I just happen to know that one.)

Fly fishing is a deadly way to catch fish in shallow water. As long as you have the appropriate flies, you can take trout, panfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass, carp, pike ... just about anything.

And it's fun.

Ditto on going to a fly fishing school.

It's far better to learn to do it the proper way than to sort of figure it out on your own and then have to unlearn all of your bad habits as you improve.

....not that I am speaking from experience or anything.

It is really quite simple and easy to do - just like hitting a golf ball (ha!).

Famous last words! I've been trying to fly fish since I was 5 years old and still get yelled at from my dad cause i'm doing something wrong! He's old school.

My advice, make sure the beer is on ice and the stories will come... who cares if they are true!

Learning should be easy enough. The hard part is keeping yourself from buying all the toys when you decide to start tying your own. It can be just as addicting as getting your EDC, BOB, and BOV all set up. One thing leads to another, ad nuaseum.

See if you have a local Trout Unlimited chapter in the area. They often host fishing clinics. After you learn to cast you can attend one of their fly tying classes.

And Izzy, go back and try largemouth on a fly. Use a big deer hair popper. They'll hit it so hard that you'll get splashed. It's a blast.

Warren

And the problem is?

First check out the local community colleges and Recreation Centers to see if they have an into to flyfishing class. There is so much more to flyfishing then just casting. If not maybe a local flyfishing shop offers a class. There there are guides. But just learn to cast is just a start.
I like Lefty Kher's books and videos, check out the local library to see if they have any videos.
Well GL with your endeveor. Let me know if you have any more questions.
cheers