Beginner Fly Fishing Schools

Your D&H Fly Fishing Instructors

Brian Barnard has a fly rod in his hand many times a week. If you have any particular needs for your group, feel free to contact Brian. He is particularly interested in helping beginner fly fishermen get started. He strives to make fly fishing as simple and straightforward as possible for new anglers.

Brian Barnard has served as an instructor since Delamere & Hopkins first introduced fly fishing schools in 1995. Brian has over 35 years of fly fishing experience and has completed his professional certification through the Federation of Fly Fishers.

Manuel Gibson has been a fly fishing guide for more than 30 years, both in Montana and in the Cincinnati area. He loves teaching and demystifying the art of fly fishing and simplifying the process of pursuing fish on a fly rod. The challenge of catching big fish on light tackle brings him great enjoyment. He is always excited and grateful to educate others in the art of pursuing fish on fly tackle.

The Curriculum

Some of the topics that will be addressed are: Equipment: How to select appropriate tackle for a given fishing situation; line weights and rod actions. Knots to get you started. Selecting the proper leader to match the fly and the fishing situation. Understanding the leader and tippet relationship. Casting: You will learn the fundamentals and how to apply them to advanced casting techniques. Fishing: An afternoon of fishing and perfecting techniques learned earlier in the day. All fishing is done on a catch and release basis.

The schools are comprised of two sessions: In-The-Field and Classroom.

In-The-Field

We are blessed to have several convenient parks that border The Little Miami River, one of our best local waterways. The day will start with all participants meeting at the park at 9am. After a full day of instruction, lunch and fishing, the school will end at 3pm.

The parks have a lot of room (great for casting), clean restroom facilities, and picnic shelters so we can enjoy our lunch. The first portion of our day is spent at a park learning how to cast and covering the other critical fundamentals of the sport. After lunch, we will migrate our learning to water and have the option of fishing the Little Miami or a local bass pond. Weather and water conditions will dictate where we spend the afternoon.

Classroom

This portion of the school will be a two-hour session held at Delamere & Hopkins. Each student will coordinate the date of their session with the shop for a date after the In-The-Field portion of the school. Although we have a list of topics we want to cover during this session, we find that this is a valuable time for students to ask questions to fully understand an aspect of the angler’s gear.

When

2026 Fly Fishing School Dates:

Many customers opt for a Private School for themselves or their group. Please contact the shop if you would like to set up something for you, your group or your corporate event. 513-871-FISH

The minimum age for a student in the Group School is 13. If you have a youth that would like to take a school we can talk to you about setting up a Private School for you and the youth. There must be an adult that is responsible for the youth student present for the entire Private School.

If a student is 13 or older, they have to have their own transportation or an adult that is with them the entire day. You are not allowed to "drop off" a student for the day.

Cost & Payment

Additional Information

All equipment for the In-The-Field portion of the school is provided. This includes rod, reel, flies and leaders. If you have your own equipment, please bring along for evaluation and usage, if appropriate. Water will be available all day.