Perkins hired Bill Cairns, one of the country’ s most esteemed anglers, to develop and operate the school. Cairns, who died in 2013, was a great raconteur and writer. He wrote for many national publications and authored two books on fishing. He soon established himself as Fly Fishing’ s leading ambassador. Michael Strauss of the New York Times described Cairns as“ being to fly fishing what Arnie Palmer is to the two-foot putt. He’ s an expert in reading water, casting over a trout snout, and bringing in captives so gently that they can be released with nothing hurt but their piscatorial pride.”
Cairns and Orvis Vice President Dick Finaly hosted the first Orvis Fly Fishing School in Manchester in May 1966. 150 people signed up for that first school and the school has been humming along ever since.
It didn’ t take the Fly Fishing School long to hit the road. In May 1969, Cairns hosted three one-day Fly Fishing Schools at the famed Abercrombie sporting goods store in Manhattan. Soon, Cairns and company hosted events in cities across the Northeast.
The structure that Bill Cairns developed still animates the school. Initially, the Fly Fishing School lasted three days. Now the school is a one or two-day affair, depending on the package you buy. It all starts at the Orvis Fly Fishing Schoolhouse, which sits directly across the street from the Orvis Rod Shop and Retail Store, destinations in their own right.
“ We get right into the school. We talk about rods, reels, and lines. We talk about the equipment we need so that we can go fly fishing. Right after that we get right into casting,” Kutzer said.
Fly fishing gear differs slightly from that of conventional or“ spin” fishing. Fly fishing has no bobbers or bait. It uses a heavier line to cast flies, which look like actual insects and weigh almost nothing. Fly rods are long and much
VTMAG. COM SUMMER / FALL 2026 11