This is definitely a skill that will take some time to learn. My cast is so lacking in power that little red damselflies stayed on my rod for the ride the whole time. I am convinced that the bubbles on top of the river were from fish laughing at me. I could see them doing it. It would be an understatement to say that I am not good yet at keeping my line tight. I kept forgetting to keep the tip of the rod down. I got into many tangles, and was an embarrassment, I'm sure, for any fisherman to be seen with.
But I loved standing in the middle of the river. We fished with both wet and dry flies and I had hits on both, but enjoyed the dry fly the most. I had several strikes and was able to watch the fish actually take the fly and then swim away (my line was too slack), but only landed one enormous fish -- it must have been all of 3 inches long. The fish looked as stunned as I was so I was able to easily unhook and release it, which had been one of my big worried. If I ever go alone I will definitely flatten the barbs on the hook to make it even easier to remove, although that will also make it easier to lose them, I guess. We picked up rocks to look at nymphs and such, so we could match our flies to the food sources. My (very kind) teacher said I am really getting the hang of it but maybe need a little practice. It was fun but I think he might be right. For sure I caught more seaweed and trees than anything else. It's a good thing I don't need to feed myself.