Think fly fishing and the name JR Hartley springs to mind.

We all breathed a sigh of relief when the elderly author finally managed to track down a copy of his book on the subject courtesy of Yellow Pages.

The business directory’s most popular ad is the only association I could make to fly fishing – a sport I had no knowledge of and no real desire to explore.

Spotting those who, ever so patiently, pursue this pastime on river banks and pondering what enjoyment they could possibly get from it, led me to contact a couple who love fishing so much it’s become a profession as well as a pastime.

Stephen and Christine Cheetham have been fly fishing for 15 years. Stephen fished as a young boy with his father. He picked it up and put it down, as many people do through various stages of their lives.

Christine encouraged him to take it up again. She accompanied Stephen on his river bank excursions but the retired company director admits she wasn’t really the sort of person who could sit and read a book, so she asked if she could have a go. “And I was hooked!” she says.

Adds Stephen, proudly: “She picked up the rod and within a few hours she was casting a fly and catching a fish.”

Christine says women are in the minority when it comes to fly fishing. “It’s not unusual for women, but there aren’t many who do it,” she says.

Christine says, like me, she thought she wouldn’t have the patience to fish. “I am an impatient person and I never thought in my life I would want to go fishing because I thought you are just sat there with a rod in your hand, but it totally takes you away from everything else,” she says.

“There is a lot more to fishing and catching a fish. It is the environment and the surroundings.”

Striding towards the pontoon on the edge of beautiful Billing Dam in Rawdon on a lovely spring afternoon in my loaned waders, I can appreciate Christine’s fishing philosophy.

Fresh air and exercise are the main benefits of this ancient angling method, renowned for catching salmon and trout, although Stephen tells me some use the method for catching coarse fish such as bream, carp and perch.

The reason why it is called fly fishing is you are using artificial flies. Learning to tie his own – and there are thousands replicating the various insects fish are attracted to – led Stephen and Christine to set up Fishing With Style, selling flies and quality fishing gear online from their Yeadon home.

Stephen also runs courses for improvers and beginners like me. He has a Salmon And Trout Association National Instructors Certificate and is a member of the Game Anglers Instructors Association.

Casting is the technique I have to learn once I’ve mastered how to handle the ‘middle action’ rod. Standing on the pontoon, Stephen demonstrates the roll cast – getting the line out straight in the water.

Tipping the rod into the water is my first manoeuvre. Stephen tells me to imagine a clock face.

Slowly I sweep my rod round to two o’clock. With my hand level to my ear, Stephen points to the ‘D’ shape the rod and line resemble. The line within is known as the ‘D-loop.’ Flicking the rod forward, the line extends out. Once mastered, we progress to the overhead cast. With the line straight out in front, I trap the fly line between my index finger and the rod. This prevents any line being pulled off the reel during practise.

Now for the cast. Slowly I raise my hand, lifting the line off the water. As the rod approaches ten o’clock, I accelerate the speed and flick the line upwards. In an ideal world, the line smoothly lifts off the water and accelerates upwards and backwards.

The reason why I am wearing glasses isn’t to look cool, but to protect my eyes. Polarised sunglasses are an essential accessory in fly fishing to avoid casting hooks or flies damaging your eyes. They also help you spot fish through the water’s surface.

Back to the cast. When the rod is stopped, the line continues to travel over the top of the rod, forming a loop, known as the casting loop. It constantly unrolls, straightening the line out behind us. At this point I’m tempted to whip it back in, but I wouldn’t achieve the desired result. The proper approach is to wait until the line has straightened. Stephen indicates to stop the rod at one o’clock. He then asks me what I like to drink. Before I have chance to put my rod down and break for refreshments Stephen tells me by the time I’ve uttered the words ‘cup of tea’ we are ready to forward cast.

Slowly I accelerate my hand from one o’clock to ten o’clock out in front. On my abrupt stop, the line sweeps forward straightening the line in mid-air and touching down.

There are a few dud attempts, when the line resembles a tangled mess on the water’s surface but the more attempts I make, the straighter it becomes.

Watching Christine and Stephen cast with such ease and precision, I decide it is a well-practised skill.

Spotting the occasional trout arching out of the water, I wonder whether I could snare one. Not likely with the piece of red wool hanging on the end of my line. I suppose there is a possibility if they decide textiles are tantalising, but hopefully not until I get used to handling my rod.

Then I spot a decoy… a fisherman dressed in commando-style fishing gear sets down his tackle on the pontoon. Within half an hour, he’s snared his first catch. Impressive! He offers his two and three quarter-pounder rainbow trout for me to pose with and pass off as my own. Unfortunately, I am too honest and politely turn down the opportunity! How could I possibly claim to have landed such a catch with a piece of yarn?

Back on my pontoon practising my casting, I glance round the dam shimmering like a mirror and savour the tranquility. I can see why people like fishing and there are incentives too. “Our freezer is full!” Says Stephen.

In bygone times fishing was a necessity for feeding the family, now it’s a pleasurable pastime for many enthusiasts.

“It is purely a hobby, but it’s exercise, you can feed you family and it’s good fun,” says Stephen.

So, if you’ve never considered taking up fishing, don’t dismiss it until you’ve had a go.

l The West Yorkshire branch of The Salmon And Trout Association are holding a range of beginners’ and improvers’ courses at Bolton Abbey and Grassington throughout April, May, June and July.

To find out more, or for more information about fishing, contact Fishing With Style on (0113) 2507244; e-mail sales@fishingwithstyle.co.uk or visit fishingwithstyle.co.uk