I have been fishing all of my life and I have been flyfishing exclusively for the last 38 years. I've finished glass, bamboo and graphite; I am now tending towards the softer rods. I have been teaching flycasting for approximately 10 years and I teach about 800 people per year. I have tied my own flies, built rods and taught people how to fly fish-- I guess I've pretty much done it all. Mel Krieger was my mentor and my friend and in later years became my fishing buddy in Northern California. I was privileged to have substantial flycasting lessons from Mel shortly after I started flyfishing and I was again privileged to teach with him during his last few years. I am a fan of his methodology and his great enthusiasm and love for the sport and his love to see the spark in people's eyes when they learned various facets of our great sport.