FLY-FISHING GURUS WIN OVER CRITIC.

Byline: Brett Pauly

An avid spin-casting and conventional-outfit angler who surf fishes weekly, Mike Burian had heard all the stereotypes of fly fishermen.

"You think it's a rich man's sport and they are not really fishermen; they are just out there to play with their expensive toys," said the 43-year-old Van Nuys machinist. "I've mastered pretty much all the other forms of casting, but fly-fishing looked impossible."

That all changed recently when the cast-happy Burian decided to challenge himself and vary his hobby to include fly casting so he could hook into the Crystal Lake trout that blew off his deep-bait applications when an insect hatch brought them jumping to the surface.

With a little research he found that a $400 graphite rod is not a requirement for success. Hardly. For $60, he put together an adequate setup - an 8-foot, 6-weight fiberglass rod and a fly reel with 6-weight line. And on one of his first practice sessions, he met a couple of fellows at the fly-casting area of Lake Balboa who showed him some of the rudimentary points of the sport.

"It really isn't as hard as it seems," Burian said. "Most people try to pull the rod too hard. With a little timing - waiting for the line to go back all the way then gently pushing it forward - it will lay down real smooth.

"And I was wrong about that reputation. The people who are into it - the honest ones - are very willing to teach you and even let you use their stuff. They are OK guys, friendly and helpful about it."

Fortunately for Burian, the anglers he ran into were George Chapman and Art Delano, veteran members of the Sierra Pacific Flyfishers who were going over their instruction techniques for the San Fernando Valley club's annual public fly-casting course.

Always willing to share his knowledge with beginners as a way of promoting the largely misunderstood sport he loves so much, Delano, the group's head casting instructor, outlined his lesson format.

The 53-year-old Woodland Hills angler teaches tyros roll casting then a four-step fly-casting method.

Roll casting, which does not involve those long back casts fly-fishing is famous for, gets the line into working position and helps to redirect it in situations when the angler cannot use a back cast - a frequent predicament.

"It is important to get people to understand what a line and a rod are supposed to do in order to suppress the urge to spin cast," said Delano, a lot-cleaning supervisor for the Los Angeles Public Works Department who has landed 18-pound silver salmon on the fly along Northern California's Trinity River. "They want to whip that muscle forward; it doesn't work that way."

After pulling the line through the rod's eyes - for safety reasons, beginner's should never use a hook - leave plenty of slack at your feet. Place the thumb of your casting hand on top of the handle, wrap your palm around it and put your forefinger on the line that comes off the reel. Situate the rod parallel to the water and slowly raise it straight into the air. Then bring it down sharply. This exercise gets some of the line in front of you and is a basic roll cast.

Now try it again with a little more precision.

Thinking of your arm and the rod as one piece, raise them up gingerly so the line dangles just behind your shoulder. Then, without bending your wrist, bring your forearm straight down as you did the first time and this should straighten the entire line out in front of you. The end of the line should never have left the water. Voila, a roll cast.

Now onto fly casting, which involves back casting and forward casting.

The roll cast has left you in the perfect starting position. Using what you've already learned, begin to lift the line off the water for the first step.

Now, step two, bring the line back in a more forceful fashion than before, allowing the line to travel behind you. When the rod reaches the level of your ear, stop and count "one-1,000." This provides enough timyee for the line to just about straighten itself out behind you.

For the third step, the actual casting of the line, bring the rod forward, with a slight hesitation just before it becomes parallel with the water again. (If you think of the motion as the face of a clock, with the rod tip parallel to the water representing 9 o'clock and straight up as noon, the hesitation should come at the 10 o'clock position.)

"When you cast, think of aiming the rod at the horizon," Delano suggested.

The fourth step is simply lowering the arm to slightly below 9 o'clock and into fishing position.

You've come full circle. Try not to pull or push too hard in doing so; they shouldn't be over-exaggerated movements but graceful and fluid.

Delano offered a couple of other essentials:

"Timing is the essence of the proper cast," he said. "If the line develops any slack in it, then you no longer control it. You have lost contact with the line and, therefore, your timing.

"And, remember, this is a relaxing sport. If you're tensed up, you're not doing it right."

Beginners should join class, learn to cast

The winter weather might have killed many ocean and sweetwater bites, but several San Diego area lakes open in March and - jackpot! - the Eastern Sierra trout opener is just two months off. So the timing is right to learn the basics of fishing that fly-casting setup you picked up over the holidays.

Do yourself a favor and sign up for the Sierra Pacific Flyfishers' beginning fly-casting course that starts Saturday at Reseda Park, 18411 Victory Blvd., Reseda. Registration is at 8:30 a.m; instruction runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The course will be repeated March 9, 16 and 23. A Piru Creek fly-fishing trip and barbecue for graduates is set for March 30.

The course is free and open to the public, ages 10 and older.

Students won't need a fly-fishing outfit for the initial class. However, you are welcome to bring one for evaluation and testing - to make sure your 5-weight rod isye matched with 5-weight line - technical stuff like that. Some loaner rods will be available, but you'll need your own setup for the second class on.

Since 1985, the San Fernando Valley club has helped more than 1,200 graduates unravel the mysteries of fly casting with hands-on instruction, video presentations and demonstrations.

The first class will go over tackle, terminology and an introduction to casting. The second week involves setting up the rod, taking line out and roll casting. Back casting, forward casting, knot tying and a discussion of tippets and tapered leaders will dominate the third class, while the fourth session will include a review and instructions for S-casting, reach casting, lifting heavily weighted nymphs off the bottom and casting for distance.

For further information, call the club's education chairman, Erwin Goldbloom, at [phone].

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO[ordinal indicator, masculine]CHART

Photo (1--color) Art Delano, right, practices his false cast while newcomer Mike Burian tries out what he's learned. (2-5) FOUR-STEP FLY-CASTING METHOD (2) Step one Start to lift the line off the water, as demonstrated by Art Delano. (3) Step two Bring the rod back forcefully and stop. (4) Step three Push the rod forward smoothly, hesitating slightly toward the end. (5) Step four:Lower the rod, and it's in fishing position. Michael Owen Baker / Daily News Box Beginners should join class, learn to cast (see text)