Fly Casting
The Truth
Fly casting is the essence of fly fishing. Put the beauty, the grace, the motion and symphonic rhythm of the expert fly caster aside. Good casters, like most proficient athletes, make the fly cast appear rather effortless.
The ability for one to employ casting skills to effectively take fish in a variety of situations is the essence of fly fishing.
Lost in today’s cacophony of high tech gear and exotic fishing destinations is a truth unchanged since fly fishing’s inception in England hundreds of years ago. Fly fishing means placing the fly precisely to take advantage of a specific fishing opportunity. While there are a number of excellent resources available to teach anyone to fly cast, relatively few become truly proficient at fly casting.
The Minimum Requirements
For freshwater fishing situations you should be able to perform a straight line cast consistently to
30 - 40 feet. You should also learn to add in a single haul to the forward cast. If you can consistently put the fly where you want to, with in one foot, at forty feet, you are a good caster. If you can do this in a cross wind or a head wind, you are a great caster. This is where to set your sites. You will then be able to deliver a fly 60 to 80 feet under ideal conditions. Add double hauling
(see below) and other additional techniques along the way such as roll casting.
Here's a quick look at my Double Hauling technique.
Mastering double hauling will make life much easier
for your overall fly casting technique:
To effectively put the fly where it needs to be sounds simple - it is most surely not. With wind, current and other variables, properly presenting a fly is far more difficult than any other type of fishing. Why so many choose to down play this art is unfathomable. It is also why some turn away from the sport after initial introduction.
The Secret Fly Casting Technique
The secret casting tactic is this: there is no best technique. Find some form of reference, be it a friend, a video, or book. You can check out some of the early methods HERE. Take the information, practice and put it to the test in your yard or any open field. If it seems awkward try something else until it feels natural. Fly casting should feel natural. I started with a couple of videos from the Doug Swisher 3M series (do a search for Swisher in the video section here to find the series). His techniques contradict some other popular methods, but they worked well for me. I have since incorporated others ideas and have a “combined technique” developed from videos, books, and guides and real life experience. I am not a master caster, but I can generally deliver when the light turns green.
You need confidence in your casting. You need to build power over time. A good basic technique will lend itself to added power once the fundamentals are mastered. Eventually you will be able add the power needed to fight wind and adverse conditions. You will then be able to consistently score when others struggle. My wife knows little and cares less about Flies or fish strategies. But she can cast a fly rod. She will catch more fish than an expert strategist who can’t hit the target consistently.
Here are some common tips related to fly casting:
-
Practice off season to
continually hone your
technique.
-
Learn to minimize false
casting. The best fly
fisherman pick up the
line and lay it right
back down, with little
or no false casting. You
should false cast only
when paying out line
initially and to dry
your fly if it’s soggy.
Otherwise concentrate on
hauling and shooting.
-
Practice shooting line -
employing both a single
haul and then working
toward a solid double
haul (see short video
below).
-
Double hauling is the
quickest way to enhance
line speed and distance.
-
If you struggle, try
over-lining your outfit
one line weight. For
example: if you’re
throwing a 7 wt., use an
#8 wt. line. Some
believe this should be
automatic, I disagree.
If you have good
technique and a good
rod, you shouldn’t have
to overline.
-
Learn to feel the rod
loading on the backcast
and watch your backcast
during practice to view
how it reacts and when
you should start the
forward stroke.
-
For a tight loop on the
delivery cast, make sure
you abruptly stop the
forward motion of the
rod at the 10:00 or
11:00 position, then
follow the line slowly
down with the rod tip to
begin manipulation.
-
Open your loop (bring
the rod down to around
9:00) when casting
heavily weighted flies
to avoid injury to your
rod (and yourself).
-
Experiment with various
trick casts such as
Curve Casting to expand
your repertoire.
-
To be a competent
caster, in a variety of
conditions, work to be
able to power a straight
line cast, shooting line
to 60 feet consistently
in a variety of
wind conditions.
Practice with the wind
coming at you from all
directions.
-
The biggest pitfalls in
casting are generally a
poor or rushed backcast
and a dipping delivery
cast that opens the loop
and stubs the cast.
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