But please don't try to practice when you're out fishing. It's easier than you think. Thanks for your support! I'm not going to go into all the details of good casting — you can learn more here — but you should keep in mind that the line tends to follow the rod tip, and that good casts typically start at the shoulder rather than the elbow or the wrist. I’m gonna say BULLSHIT. Don’t worry about that either. Remember to focus on your line handling skills. It takes a little time, and it requires a bit of effort, but it's an investment in your angling that will literally pay dividends for the rest of your life. Let's talk about it. Even if you don’t have time to get out on a lake or a river for a full day of fishing, as little as 15 minutes of practice on a lawn somewhere is an enjoyable way to participate in your favorite sport. It’s going to take some work but it easier than you think. I hope this helps! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Back when I was guiding on the Henry's Fork and the Madison, I spent a ton of time talking to my clients about casting. Clock positions are not as important in fly casting as the timing and application of power to and from those positions. the original nrx grey blank and blue whippings quite sort after these days with a following for those wanting to be different but have top gear. I watched a fly fishing film the other day and I was struck less by the size of the trout, and by the gorgeous scenery, and by the anglers — who were young, attractive and flashing great big toothy smiles — than I was by something that seems to fly under the radar on a pretty regular basis nowadays. If you can get a handle on these you can cast a full fly line. In particular the larger sizes 10wt and up. This will help generate enough line speed to shoot lots of line. Twenty five years later nothing much has changed. Just off the top of my head, I can tell you that your casting will improve if you practice, and your fishing will also improve, and you'll likely catch more, and bigger, trout. Further – the greater the distance you can ACCELERATE something the faster it will ultimately travel. Is it reasonable to expect 100′ on a 4 weight ? I think it will help. The head contains all of the weight needed to load the a fly rod which matches the given line weight. Bend the rod naturally with your thumbs as if you were going to snap it. None of the numbers mean a thing when you are out fishing. We teach our School of Trout students great fly casting form right from the start, and we also teach them how to identify and correct their mistakes. Casting a fly rod isn't quite as difficult as swinging a golf club or hitting a baseball, but it does require that you understand the basic mechanics. When you are casing at distances under forty feet you do not have access to the full weight of the head. That’s totally doable on a long cast and I will explain how. I’m guessing it was not used. Solid advice. After all, solid casting is the foundation of fly fishing success. Casting a fly rod isn't quite as difficult as swinging a golf club or hitting a baseball, but it does require that you understand the basic mechanics. Place your thumbs on the side of the rod closest to you. That doesn't mean that you will read this article and instantly be able to do it. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. http://www.ginkandgasoline.com/fly-fishing-tips-technique/the-finer-points-of-the-ready-position/. To do this it’s advised to cast 70deg down river to get that flat swing across the current. Any high school coach will tell you, it’s fundamentals that score points, not heroics. You’ll be casting the whole line before you know it. The line straightens out fully again and you bring it back for the last back cast but this time you don’t shoot any line (false cast #3). Great summary on distance casting with a single-hand rod. My point is more that most folks who are trying to make long cast are trying too hard and that’s a lot of their problem. If you feel like you are winding up and pitching a baseball, you’re missing the point. Your job in those first two false casts is to make good loops and get the head out of the guides. Now I wouldn't bring this up if there wasn't a rock-solid correlation between our ability to throw a nice line and our ability to get it done on the water. Decal is 100%. Here’s the good news. your explanation makes a lot of sense to me and I think carrying too much line is a mistake I’ve made recently on my longer casts. G. Loomis NRX+S Saltwater Fly Rods - NEW!!! Thanks for this. I hit about 80 . The article is meant to be helpful and positive. In trout fishing the long cast is almost non-existent and can even be a liability. 85′ to his front corner and I can throw right past it! In order to make a tight, energized loop, your rod tip must travel in a straight line. 3. It is made for shooting, not carrying line. I like to fish with my 9′ 4 weight so I practice with that rod . I live in San Francisco and can go to the casting ponds which have markers for every 5 feet. I can make that cast with a greater degree of accuracy and consistency. Lefty Kreh wrote an important book stating in the title that presentation was “the most important” aspect of fly fishing. Thanks Louis , I appreciate G&G and your advice. It's not a dumb question and it deserves a detailed answer. But good casting is its own reward. Face it, the distance record on a 6wt is like 110 or 120′. I talk about short shots but also the ready position. During this anticipation period, thoughts of mayflies, stoneflies, and... 5 things you need to know to improve your casting. Todd Tanner is the head of the acclaimed School of Trout, as well as a longtime outdoor writer, a former fly fishing guide, and a passionate angler. Practice. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. If you try to carry the head with the running line for very long you’ll be in trouble. If you are not an engineer by nature, it is enough to know that the motion is a push forward and a pull back, not the waving of a wand. Shooting on the back cast is a ‘special’ tip IMO. Starter rod was a Fenwick HMG. This is the same bend you should be putting in the rod when casting. Makes a lot of sense to reset and load the rod properly I love to cast and can honestly say w/the right fly line on my 8wt I can make a 100′ cast w/the right wind maybe 110′. No way around that! Master the techniques and trust the process. Fly casting is no exception. If this works for me, then yes, there is a use for a 100ft cast. My granddad fished with a vest, my dad used a vest, and I used my dad’s vest until it met an untimely end thanks to a barbed-wire fence. G. Loomis NRX 9 foot, 12 weight Saltwater Fly Rod, No Reserve . Get step-by-step instructions to help perfect fly fishing casting, increase catch rate. Went to a med. Fishing and practice are two different things, and they both require so much of your attention that you should never, ever try to do them simultaneously. Another round of great tips. Try to cast with a pool cue.) Although, I admit I have done the latter when a LBM launched on a popper stuck on a limb, as my fishing partner exclaimed, “I quit!..anybody that can catch fish in a tree is too good for me.”, Your email address will not be published. With the 4 wt. Sock is in good shape as well. Some of you may be wondering why you can't skip practice entirely and go straight to fishing. Don’t let me catch you marking your line with a sharpie. That may actually be solid advice when it comes to fighting off cave bears, or when we're breaking big rocks into smaller rocks, but it's not typically good advice for fly casting. The next sixty is going to be much easier! You are very right Jason and although these lines are great for making the first shot from the ready position, they put you in a tough spot when you need to pick up line and shoot again. First let’s take a minute to talk about lines. There will always be slow days. It's a treat to watch a great caster like John Juracek, or Pete Kutzer, or Pat McCabe throw those perfect, effortless loops, and there's also a tremendous amount of satisfaction in heading to the river and holding up your end regardless of whether the fish decide to bite. Just don’t. It makes total sense… how could I not see that before. Almost never. No other way to make it work. Get started today. This is simpler than it sounds. Wayne, you have no idea how happy that makes me. Still working on building line speed and timing with my double haul. Here's a little-known secret. That’s my goal here with G&G. J, check out this video. Most anglers, including myself, have a tendency to carry too much line when making long casts. Fishing lodges, guides, and travel operators face uncertain future after pandemic-spiked 2020, Fly Fishing New Zealand: A DIY Primer - Part II, Scientists draft letter calling on governors to tear down the lower Snake River dams, Rearranging deck chairs on the Olympic Peninsula, Florida Bonefish, Tarpon to Become Catch and Release Only. $805.00. Tip speed comes from late rotation, don’t prematurely burn up any of your casting arc (creep) – save the rotation for the very end. That means that you are waiting for the line to straighten out completely, both in front of you and behind, before starting your stroke. The most important thing is that you effectively shoot line on both your forward and back casts. So here is the part you are going to like. I'm going to wrap things up with a simple observation birthed from more than 30 years of fly fishing experience and thousands of hours on the water. It’s not a dumb question and it deserves a detailed answer. Examples of proper fly casting techniques as well as common fly casting errors. So let’s break down those three false casts. I think that is pretty damn good for 5’7″ 65 years old! Although I won’t likely “fish”100 feet of fly line, practicing the 100 foot cast will certainly improve my timing . I agree that casting a 3wt up to a 6wt is not easy and down right impossible with cheap line and a low end Rod. This reeks havoc in the majority of fly casts. In response to my review of the T&T Solar a reader asked, "This may be a dumb question, but how do you get 100′ of line out on a cast?" I’ve done it a couple times on my 6 wt. Headed to the lake to practice…. Distance casting is about timing and technique, not power, and with a little practice a hundred feet is perfectly doable. You should take the time to learn good form. The head has three parts. So if you're a man ... well, bummer. Instead, we rely on Manly Rule #6. That's just the way life works. Learn fly casting techniques from experts. Because it sure did to me. It’s not out in front of you, as you will see. Learning how to cast with a fly rod takes lots of practice to master, but the basic technique is actually pretty easy to understand. It’s the rod that casts the line, not your arm. There are a few things you will have to master before distance is an issue of concern. (Or bass, or pike, or steelhead, or salmon, or bonefish, or tarpon, or whatever else it is that you fish for.) Fly rods need to bend in order to work correctly. In the process of teaching fly casting, certain faults of technique show up regularly among my students. Recent estate purchase. Creep, moving your rod before the line straightens, is a killer of good loops. Remember this when driving the rod forward with your thumb. At this point you are committed. In fact, really good fly casting is akin to poetry in motion. As most anglers can attest, beautiful casting does not always translate to effective fishing. The last false cast straightens out and you accelerate forward to a stop and shoot pretty much whatever amount of line your line speed will give you. Shop today! I’m still working on it every chance I get, I live on a bay and I have waded measured the distance between mine and the neighbors dock. 2. Hmm… I have to admit: Shooting line on my back cast is really not my strong suit. Fly Casting. That doesn’t mean that you will read this article and instantly be able to do it. Why is that 'bending' aspect important? I do have sharpie marks on my line and I like them for an indicator on how much to strip out on deck so I’m keepin’ those :). It has a split display screen mode, so you might view completely different sonar returns aspect-by-side or have sonar on one side and navigation on the opposite. I primarily fish on a small Lake, 1 miles of shoreline on a 3-1/3 acres. It turns out that most women have a rare and wondrous skill. That said, there are times when a long cast will add to your catch. Streamers are said to be most effective when fished as close to swinging across the river, 90deg from the flow. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether you learned those mechanics from a book, a video, a friend, a guide, or an actual fly fishing icon like John Juracek or … 24 comments / Posted on April 13, 2015 / by Louis Cahill. You should already have nine feet of line out of the rod tip when you begin casting. And they don't just go through the motions, with the requisite nodding of the head and occasional eye contact, but somehow, and for some strange reason, they actually do hear what other people have to say. On my Nautilus G8 that five feet of line left on the reel. Maybe the times have changed, but I just can't imagine an icon like Warren Miller producing a great ski film with skiers who struggle to make decent turns. Hurricane Maria killed mangroves months after the storm, Tell Seafood Watch to take wild steelhead off its menu. Very clear and concise. You have to strip the line back in to the head. MEGHAN Markle's multi-million brand will destroy Prince William and Kate Middleton's own A-list appeal, an expert has warned. So concentrate on perfecting your line handling skills until muscle memory eventually takes over and it all becomes second nature. I can hit 100′ if all the stars align correctly but they rarely do on the flats. Make The Straight Line Practice Rod: Video, Fly Fishing: Searching for That Needle in a Haystack, 4 Proven Ways To Effectively Fish A Streamer, Fly Fishing in the Winter – Getting in the Routine. Very few of us throw the perfect loops that we all aspire to, and even fewer anglers boast a full repertoire of casts, starting with basics like the single haul and roll casts, and moving on to double hauls, reach casts, curve casts, bow and arrow casts, puddle casts, etc. You’ll get there. A cast to the other side of a 35ft river (cast at 70deg) would be about 100ft. You have 9′ of line out in front of you to start. So even though a fair number of you will find this tip to be counter-intuitive — and perhaps illegal — if you're a man and you have problems with your casting, do not automatically respond by casting harder and faster. Previously we discussed what fly fishing is and the differences in spin fishing and fly fishing but here is a brief review.. I have an uneasy relationship with boats. Again, don’t get worked up about the numbers. 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