Fishing Lessons in Southern Ontario
Three-hour private lessons in centerpin float fishing, Euro nymphing, fly casting and fly fishing — on the river, built around the one thing you want to fix.
Bring a problem, not a wish list
Most people book a guide hoping to catch a fish. The anglers who improve fastest book a lesson instead and arrive with something specific: my cast collapses, my drifts drag, I cannot feel the take, I keep losing fish at the net.
Three hours on one of those is worth more than a whole day of being handed fish. And unlike a guided trip, the point is not the photograph — it is that you can repeat it on your own next weekend.
A private lesson is 3 hours — $375 for one angler, $450 for two. Rods, reels, tackle and flies are included. Bring a licence only if we are going to fish; a pure casting lesson does not need one.
Pick the one that matches your problem
Centerpin Fishing Lessons
The cast is the part that defeats people teaching themselves from videos, and it is the part a few hours on the river fixes fastest. Everything after the cast is easier to learn than fly fishing.
What you will work on:
- Loading and releasing the spool without birdnesting
- Float control and trotting a drift
- Shot patterns, and why they change
- Leader setup and adjusting depth to the run
- Reading the float for what is happening below it
- Hook sets that hold, and fighting a big fish
Who it suits: Anyone who owns or is thinking of buying a pin, and anyone whose drifts keep dragging.
Euro Nymphing Lessons
Sasha's specialty, and the most requested thing he teaches. Weighted nymphs on a long leader in direct contact, little or no fly line on the water, and a take you feel rather than see.
What you will work on:
- Leader construction and sighter placement
- Choosing and balancing weight for the water
- Rod angle and tracking speed through the drift
- Where the rod tip belongs at the end of a drift
- Reading pocket water and picking the seam
- Detecting takes you would never see on an indicator
Who it suits: Fly anglers who have tried tight-lining and cannot work out why it is not producing. Almost everything that goes wrong is invisible from the bank, which is exactly why this one is hard to self-teach.
Fly Casting Lessons
Just the cast. No fishing, no pressure to catch anything — three hours spent on the mechanics, on the water, with someone watching what your hands are actually doing.
What you will work on:
- Grip, stance and the stroke itself
- Loading the rod and tracking a straight line
- Timing the pause, and fixing tailing loops
- Line management and shooting line
- Casting into wind and off your other shoulder
- Roll casts and getting out from under trees
Who it suits: Beginners who want to start properly, and experienced anglers who have quietly been fighting the same fault for years.
Fly Fishing Lessons
The whole picture rather than one technique — reading water, choosing an approach, and knowing which of dry fly, nymph or streamer the day actually calls for.
What you will work on:
- Reading a run and deciding where to start
- Dry fly presentation over rising trout
- Indicator nymphing in longer, deeper water
- Streamers for larger brown trout
- Approach and wading without spooking fish
- Playing, landing and releasing trout safely
Who it suits: Anglers who can cast well enough but are not converting that into fish, and anyone moving from stocked water onto a wild river.
Lesson rates
Private Lesson
3 Hours
- 1 Angler$375
- 2 Anglers$450
Centerpin, Euro nymphing, casting or general fly fishing.
Book a lessonPrefer a full day?
4 or 7–8 Hours
- Half day, 1 angler$550
- Full day, 1 angler$600
A guided day teaches as it goes, and covers far more water.
All ratesIncluded in every lesson
- Rods and reels if you need them
- Centerpin and spinning tackle
- Flies and terminal tackle
- Leaders and tippet
- Three hours of instruction, on the water
What to bring
- An Ontario fishing licence, if we are fishing
- Waders, if you have them
- Polarized sunglasses
- Weather-appropriate clothing
- Your own rod, if you would rather learn on it
Waders available by advance request. Full trip details and policies.
Lesson questions
How is a lesson different from a guided trip?
A guided day is built around catching fish; the teaching happens along the way. A lesson is built around the skill, and catching something is a bonus. If there is one specific thing costing you fish, a lesson fixes it faster and costs less.
Do I need my own gear for a lesson?
No. Rods, reels, centerpin and spinning tackle, flies and terminal tackle are included. That said, learning on the gear you actually own is usually more useful — so bring it if you have it.
Do I need a fishing licence for a lesson?
Only if we are going to fish. A pure casting lesson does not need one. For any lesson where you will be presenting to fish, yes, you need a valid Ontario licence.
Can two of us share a lesson?
Yes — $450 for two. Two people learning the same thing works well, because watching somebody else being corrected is often when it clicks.
Where do lessons happen?
On the river, not in a car park. Which water depends on the lesson and the conditions — casting can happen almost anywhere, Euro nymphing needs the right pocket water.
I am a complete beginner. Which lesson should I book?
If you want to fly fish, start with casting — nothing else works until that does. If you want to catch Ontario steelhead, start with centerpin. Say what you are after when you enquire and Sasha will tell you honestly where to begin.
Recent fish
