ATTORNEY HOOKED ON FLY-FISHING : LOCAL RESIDENT TO TEACH COURSE AT ADULT SCHOOL.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Celebrated for its graceful techniques and the serene beauty of its settings, fly-fishing is alluring yet difficult - a paradox a local attorney hopes to squelch, while simultaneously creating fishing enthusiasts.

Canyon Country resident Michael Finley will teach a course titled ``Fly-Fishing for the Uncoordinated'' beginning March 27 at Golden Oak Adult School. The $20 class will meet on four Thursdays, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and students will learn how to catch fish in still water and in currents, and how to perform three basic types of cast.

While many outdoor recreationists were drawn to fly-fishing after seeing the 1992 Brad Pitt film ``A River Runs Through It,'' many were quickly discouraged because they couldn't master the smooth, sweeping motion needed to cast line and lure into the water, Finley said.

Fledgling fly-fishermen ``assume that they have to have all this coordination, but most of the work is done by the pole,'' Finley said. ``It's a beautiful sport and a great way to spend a day. I think a lot of people start fly-fishing and they find it intimidating, so they give it up,'' he said.

``I'm hoping that this (class) will take away some of the mystery of the sport,'' Finley said. ``I want to encourage people who think they don't have the coordination or the athletic ability.''

A Canyon High School graduate who handles civil litigation, personal injury and family law cases at a North Hills firm, Finley said he retreats to isolated streams with friends to fly-fish on weekends. He also volunteers with the Boy Scouts as a fishing merit badge counselor.

He credits his grandmother, who gave him his first fly-fishing pole, for sparking a boyhood passion for angling that continued to adulthood.

``My grandma has always been into fishing. She was more a spin-casting enthusiast,'' said Finley, 31.

``She got me a fly rod (one) Christmas. I fish a variety of equipment, but fly-fishing I find the most intriguing and satisfying,'' he said.

Like his prospective students, Finley said it took him years to develop the fluid technique that gives fly-fishing its artistry and mystique. He sought out advice from other anglers, copied their motions, and rented some instructional videos.

``I toyed with it on and off for years, and found myself repeatedly frustrated in not being able to do it,'' Finley said. ``I've finally gotten to the point where I can catch fish consistently. You have to learn how to deal with the currents in the water, and how to fish each type of fly.''

Flies are made from peacock feathers, pheasant tails, rabbit fur, beads, cork, rubber, synthetic foam and other materials that can be tied to resemble insects, larvae and other things that fish like to eat.

Some fishing lures are meant to float on the water's surface and others are supposed to sink, and Finley said his class will explain which to use in different types of water and to attract varying types of fish.

``I want to give people instruction that will enable them to choose . . . what type of fish they want to go after,'' Finley said.

``My favorite type of fish to catch with flies are local native (rainbow) trout. They're not that big, but they have a lot of fight in them for their size,'' he said.

``A lot of attorneys golf,'' Finley said. ``I prefer to fly-fish any day.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) Fly-fisherman Michael Finley tries his luck at Frenchman Flats.

(2--Color) Michael Finley of Canyon Country ties a fly to his fishing line.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News