I haven't tried fly fishing since I was a teenager (never caught a fish).
A friend of mine just called me up outta the blue and ask me to stop by.

He had a bunch of rod tubes and a storage tub waiting. "I'm 85 and I won't be using
this stuff anymore, do what you want with it,,,". Well, I now have a selection of fly rods,
reels, a vest, a very cool wood net, fly boxes full of dry flys, tippet, etc.

Where to from here, I want to learn how to cast well, and more importantly learn how to catch fish!
My friend said he used to fish from Northern California up through British Columbia, and east to Montana.
So that's the kinda gear I have. He's not interested in teaching me, I asked (he's quite frail).

This gear dates from the 70's through about 2000. A few questions:
Do fly lines go bad with age? While older, his gear is in fantastic condition.
The fly rods include fiberglass Fenwick's, and a newer(?) Scott. The reels include 2 Hardy reels, one a 5/6 the
other a 7/8.

I've thought about just heading out and flailing away, but there must be a better way...

When I was just starting out I took an adult ed class at a local library sponsored by the local fly fishing club.
It was well worth the modest cost and I picked up a lot of good intel on the best places to fish as well as learning the casts and about the flies.

I'd be also checking in at local fly fishing shops to see what they offer in the way of courses. They should also know about other local resources like fly fishing clubs that can help you.

Depends on how the reels were stored but the lines may or not be good to go. Peel them off and run them through a wash with a little dish soap and take a look. If they're not filled with cracks and still flexible then go ahead and give them a shot.



Don't minimize the benefits of some flailing There is a difference between fly casting and fly fishing. If you can manage to get 15-20' of line out and where you want it within a foot or so you can catch a lot of fish. Go watch some you tube videos and hit your yard with the rod and see what you can do.

I missed what kind of fishing you might be doing so that's the next thing to think about (stream, lake, cold water or wam etc.)

Orvis (and others) offer a lot of good instructional videos on YouTube:
Orvis - Fly Casting Lessons - The Basic Fly Cast

I'm contacting local fly shops for classes on fly casting.
It seems that the gear that was given to me is top shelf stuff
(at least for it's era).

I plan on doing the No. Cal trout steams and creeks, because
they're close, and because that seems to be what his kit is set-up to do.

I' unspooled the lines on the reels. No cracks. On the
insides of the spools were stickers with the type of line.
Both Cortland, one a 4wt floating line, the other a 7wt
sinking?

Flailing, here I come!

Thanks for the tips!

Depending on where you are, there might be a local club.

Don't pass by warm water fishing if it's close too. Plenty of good learning opportunities to be had in the local farm ponds.

One thing I can tell you for sure. It's a hell of a lot easier to learn to fly cast correctly in the first place than to unlearn a bunch of bad habits. I guided for quite a few years, and participated in a number of fly fishing schools, and the people who had the most difficulty learning to cast were those who spent a lot of time flailing before they got some quality instruction. In fact some of them really never overcame their bad habits. The enjoyment of fly fishing is directly related to ones ability to cast. Don't screw yourself by getting started on the wrong foot.