A question that I frequently come across includes "How hard is it to learn how to fly fish and cast?" If one seeks out a competent instructor, they can learn the basics of fly casting in a very short time.
When you've been on the side of a river and observed a good fly fisher casting, you likely thought to yourself that it was a peaceful and beautiful thing. Indeed, when properly done, fly casting is something of an art form. Although it may look difficult, it's not hard to learn. A competent instructor will be very helpful to you however.
Probably the biggest challenge new fly anglers face is getting the timing right in their casting. With a casting instructor, you will be able to catch mistakes and errors before they become bad habits.
Although you might be in a rush to learn more advanced casting methods, you should first master the basic roll cast. It might not be as pretty as other casting strokes, but it is one you need to learn first. Ian Scott writes that "this is an essential cast to learn and perfect." Just before starting the back and forward casting strokes, the roll cast is employed in order to lay a sufficient length of line onto the water. It is a very useful cast as well in bushy areas along a river where a back cast cannot be performed.
The back cast can be learned after, and this sets up the forward cast in conventional fly fishing. In most situations, "false casting" is really not necessary if you have perfected your back and forward cast.
Once you have mastered the the roll and then back and forward cast, you can go on to more challenging techniques like spey casting. Perfection with the basic roll cast is essential for spey casting as it is the basic building block for the combination of casts that you will learn.
Today, not only is fly fishing enjoyed by men, but more and more women are taking up the sport. With some patience from the instructor, even young children can be taught to cast a fly rod, although they generally require shorter and lighter gear. Interestingly, quite a number of new fly angers go on to learn fly tying and enjoy it even more than catching fish on the river!
You can learn more about this sport at this fly fishing site.