doctor,
I'm gonna give you the news. You can cast a fly rod and flick your wrist. It's all in line transference. The old timers will tell you keep a stiff arm and cast over your head, while a lot of younger casters have developed a very whippy, tight looped side arm cast.
secondly, no, you do not to identify hatches unless you're fishing to some educated fish. If caddis are hatching, match the size, get a good drift, and you'll catch fish.
if you put two hours in each day and treat it like the passion of spotting all those deer, you might pick on a new hobby old timer ;)
that fly is junk... crystal meth/spawn, whatever.. junk. It will catch fish though, but a fly dude fishing eggs is like eating steak at red lobster.