United States | Idaho
The School of Trout
Overview
While fly fishing schools continue to grow in popularity, most schools only offer a day or two of basic fly fishing instruction. There’s a little bit of information on gear, a little on casting, a little on knots, a little on leaders & tippets, a little on insects and a little on flies. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to cram a week’s worth of instruction into a 7 hour session. As a result, many students head home with a host of unanswered questions and a very limited understanding of the sport.
The School of Trout takes a far different approach. The “Tao of Trout” class is a week-long deep dive into the art and science of fly fishing. It’s the ideal class for anyone hoping to develop a rock-solid foundation of angling skills while creating a deeper connection to the natural world. The “Essential Skills” class is for people who hope to take their casting, their angling, and their fly tying to another level. School of Trout students spend their days working with the world’s finest instructors and then honing their skills on one of the world’s most acclaimed rivers: the Henry’s Fork. When students leave a class, they possess an unparalleled angling education that will pay dividends far into the future. What better way to prepare for a lifetime of fly fishing?
2025 School of Trout Class Schedule
Dry Fly Class: Sep 12-17, 2025 — $6,950 per angler
The Tao of Trout: Oct 5-11, 2025 — $12,500 per angler
The Classes
The Tao of Trout
The School of Trout’s “Tao of Trout” class is the fly fishing equivalent of a basketball camp where Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Steph Curry teach the essentials of the sport. You’ll learn from the legendary Tom Rosenbauer, one of the world’s most respected anglers. You’ll delve into author Kirk Deeter’s personal fly boxes. Renowned photographer Tim Romano will help you experience the class through his viewfinder. You’ll hear about the Henry’s Fork and other local Yellowstone-area fisheries from fly fishing icon Craig Mathews. John Juracek, who many experts consider to be the world’s finest casting instructor, will work with you to improve your fly casting. You’ll gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of fly fishing from Hall of Fame angler & artist Bob White. Acclaimed professional fly fishers like Hillary Hutcheson, Brant Oswald, Steve McFarland, Karlie Roland and Pat McCabe will share their unique talents and offer instruction and insight that will benefit you for the rest of your life. And finally, fly fishing expert and School of Trout headmaster Todd Tanner will help shepherd you through the entire week-long class. The Tao of Trout, which only takes place once a year and is limited to a maximum of 12 anglers, offers an unparalleled personal journey into the heart of fly fishing.
The Dry Fly Class
This class focuses on every important aspect of dry fly fishing. You'll be outside all day long and the Henry’s Fork will be your primary classroom for the Dry Fly class. You'll learn how to spot and stalk rising trout, how to cover various water types and situations, as well as do a deep dive into dry fly casts, techniques and presentations. The class will also look at various dry fly options when the trout aren’t rising. If you’re already a passionate angler and you can’t wait to take your dry fly fishing to the next level, this is the class for you.
Accomodations
LODGING: You'll stay at the legendary TroutHunter Lodge, on the banks of the Henry's Fork.
FOOD/DRINK: Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be prepared at TroutHunter and served by the TroutHunter staff.
CONNECTIVITY: Cell service is generally available for students using major service carriers. TroutHunter Lodge offers dependable WiFi.
Sample Itinerary
You and your fellow students will arrive at TroutHunter for the Tao of Trout class on the afternoon of October 6th. You’ll get settled into your single-occupancy room, then meet your instructors and your fellow students for drinks and appetizers. After your inaugural dinner, you’ll kick off your School of Trout experience with a presentation by legendary fly fisher Craig Mathews. If it’s pleasant outside, the evening may well wrap up outdoors on the TroutHunter patio. Don’t be surprised to hear elk bugling, coyotes yipping or, if you’re extra lucky, wolves howling in the distance.
An optional stretching & movement session with Lindsay Kocka kicks things off at 6:30 am. Breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m., and you’ll begin your first full day at The Tao of Trout around 8:45 a.m. Your day will include discussions on gear and equipment, knots, leaders & tippets, as well as various angling techniques. You’ll also experience your first fly casting session with John Juracek. Afterwards, respected instructors like Brant Oswald, Steve “Mac” McFarland and Pat McCabe will introduce you to the storied waters of the Henry’s Fork. Following dinner at TroutHunter, you’ll enjoy the day’s final presentation with the one & only Hilary Hutcheson.
Sleep in or start you day at 6:30 am with Lindsay Kocka, then concentrate on entomology, awareness, reading water, presentations, more fly casting … this particular day focuses on absolute essentials. In the afternoon, you and the other students will experience a new section of the river, with new techniques and new challenges to explore — and you’ll learn from one of the most respected anglers on the planet, Kirk Deeter. After a wonderful dinner, wrap up your day with Tom Rosenbauer’s one-of-a-kind evening presentation.
Not many people are fortunate enough to delve into fly patterns and fly design with Tom Rosenbauer, or fly casting with John Juracek, or nymphing with Kirk Deeter. Take full advantage of your time at the School of Trout. Perhaps you’ll discuss your fly casting with John at breakfast. Or ask Tom about his favorite flies while you’re seated next to him at lunch. Or ask Todd, or Kirk, or Pat, or Mac, or Karlie, or Brant about their favorite rivers or favorite hatches or favorite gear. You’re spending all day, from 7:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night, with some of the finest fly fishers to ever walk the planet. Don’t be shy. Oh, and enjoy Kirk’s wonderful end-of-the-day presentation before you turn in for the evening.
Rising fish, matching the hatch, getting the drift … it’s time to put your new skills to work as iconic angling photographer Tim Romano and acclaimed artist Bob White share their hard-earned wisdom with the class. Wrap up your day with Bob’s wonderful talk about fly fishing travel and his artistic approach to the angling universe.
Wake up early to see if the elk are bugling, and then decide whether you want to stretch with Lindsay or simply enjoy an excellent cup of coffee. This, of course, is the day where you put it all together; where the skills and knowledge you’ve gained help you fish a beautiful stretch of the Henry’s Fork. You’ll wrap up the day with a delicious meal at TroutHunter, followed by Tim Romano’s fantastic evening presentation.
It’s get-away day for you and your stellar gathering of fly fishing professors, but please don’t plan to leave early. You’ll enjoy one last morning with Brant Oswald, John Juracek, Steve “Mac” McFarland, Pat McCabe and Todd Tanner. Then, after class wraps up around 11 am, you can either head home or stick around for a few more days on the Henry’s Fork (or the Madison, the Gallatin, the South Fork, the Teton or the Firehole), armed with the knowledge and experience you’ve gleaned from some of the finest anglers in the world.
Included
- Expert instruction On-the-water and classroom instruction from fly fishing's best
- Lodging You’ll stay in a comfortable single-occupancy room at TroutHunter
- Meals You’ll order breakfast, lunch, and dinner off the full TroutHunter menu
- Beverages Non-alcoholic beverages, along with beer or wine at dinner, are included
Getting There
Guests attending the School of Trout fly into Idaho Falls, Idaho (IDA). Guests can rent a car, or arrange (at additional cost) shuttle service from the airport in Idaho Falls. Travel time from IDA to the School of Trout is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Free transportation to and from IDA is available for guests whose travel times align with The School of Trout's existing schedules. Other arrival airport options include Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC)—2 hour and 15 minute drive, or Bozeman, Montana (BZN)—2 hours and 30 minute drive, or Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC)—4 hours and 30 minute drive.
For this boy from New York City, my time at the School of Trout was a transformative initiation into the practice of dry fly fishing. I arrived in Last Chance having been fly-fishing for more than 20 years, most often on the streams and rivers of Western Maine. There I dead-drift nymphs under an indicator or throw streamers on sinking lines. Although A River Runs Through It told me I was missing something, I could not envision myself standing in a river casting a tight loop to a rising fish. So I practiced what I knew and caught fish doing it. Dry fly fishing was out of reach – too hard, too technical, maybe too mystical.
But lucky me, I happened upon an article about the School of Trout’s “Tao of Trout” class and applied. After an interview with Todd Tanner, I was in. School was intense, casting instruction and lectures every day, most of the day. The fantastic instructors under the direction of John Juracek are miracle workers with infinite patience and a great sense of humor. Todd Tanner and the entire crew are committed to graduating competent dry fly fishers. To my amazement I left Last Chance a devoted dry fly fisherman with the confidence to stand in a river casting a tight loop to a rising fish.
PS: The accommodations are great, the food is excellent, the other students are fun to meet and the river is spectacular.
I learned about the School of Trout after a few seasons on the water, as I began to realize what I did not know and could not do. Although ranking lower than marrying my amazing wife, attending the School of Trout Dry Fly class is high on the list of really great decisions I have made in over six decades of life. The school not only deepened my toolbox of knowledge and skills; it stoked a passion for chasing fish with a fly rod that still burns bright.
Around the backside of the TroutHunter Lodge, a broad flagstone patio is bordered by a nicely trimmed lawn that slopes down to one of the storied trout rivers in the West, the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River. This was the classroom for the School of Trout. Make no mistake, our SOT Dry Fly class was no vacation – it was school - with morning casting instruction on the lawn followed by lectures on the patio and practice time on the water after lunch. After communal dinners with students and instructors – telling stories that were their own lessons over the TroutHunter’s outstanding meals – we trouped upstairs to a room above the fly shop for more schooling: detailing the difference between a spring creek, freestone river or tailwater, or the meaning of different rise forms, or bugs, bugs and bugs. It was drinking-from-a-firehose learning.
As storied as the Henry’s Fork are the SOT instructors, names that frequently grace the pages of Hatch Magazine – Tanner, Juracek, McCabe, Hutcheson, Oswald and others – representing centuries of experience, with the skill and grace you would expect and the thoughtful wisdom and passion for fly fishing, and being outdoors, gained by living lives and practicing their craft with intention and awareness. To be sure, some fishing guides reach this level of skill and passion, but the SOT instructors marry it with selfless dedication to teaching. Their guidance is tailored to each student’s ability and aptitude, based on their continual assessment of our strengths and shortcomings.
It matters not that you come to the school as a beginner with a borrowed rod or arrive with a quiver of rods and years on the water, the School of Trout will raise your game to the next level and the level beyond that, because attending the school means, as spring creek sensei and SOT instructor Brant Oswald said, “We get to enter the fish’s world.”