Fly Fishers International is a global organization that focuses on fly fishing education and conservation. FFI administers a number of certifications for fly casting instruction each aimed at providing accreditation for instructors at different levels. Recently, Region Ambassador George Sylvestre completed the Certified Casting Instructor (CCI) level certification using a prototype of the new Region 7 weight rod. The exam was given by two Master Casting Instructors (MCI), spanning nearly five hours of testing that included a written, oral, and practical casting sections.
Going Through The Course
The practical casting section covered more than 20 specific casting tasks, with both demonstrations of proper casting techniques in different scenarios and instructional tasks. After months of preparation under several MCIs, George traveled to Maine to the home of the lead instructor of the LL Bean fly fishing school for the test.
How the Region Rod helped me pass (Alternative Header: Benefits of using a Region Rod for FFI Certification)
One critical piece of advice George received from one of his mentors in preparation for the test was to be sure to prepare and take the test on the best available fly rod. Candidates are free to choose the rod and line weight for the test, though neither could exceed a 7 weight set up. This prompted a call to Mark Yamasaki who offered a prototype of the new Region 7 weight rod (available soon). Once the rod was in hand, George practiced 5 – 7 days a week for several months to be sure he could master the tasks on the CCI exam.
The rod performed flawlessly. Case in point is the distance cast task which requires the candidate to land a 70 foot (minimum) cast inside a 3 foot circle. The Region 7 weight landed an 75 foot cast in the middle of the target on the first attempt.
The bottom line.
“I’m glad I didn’t know how hard the test was going to be before I took it” George said, “but I’m very grateful I had the right tool for the job on test day”.