fishinwrench

I have to find something that I dislike about other destinations in order to help fight the urge to move there. 😅 I work hard to convince myself that I'm perfectly central to everything that I love to fish for......but it's undeniable that I should actually be about 60 miles south. I NEVER go north.

That was my whole point in the initial post. Not only the line though. There are several aspects of a rod/reel/line/leader/fly combo that can make or break your satisfaction/success. Trying to fit your style to match an outfit that doesn't compliment your style seems to be (to me) a major hindrance and source of aggravation. Kinda like trying to throw a piece of aluminum foil before wadding it up into a ball. For instance...... Cutting 15-18" off the end of a flyline can often eliminate tailing loops that would take MAJOR ADJUSTMENTS in your casting stroke to otherwise fix. Ain't nobody got time fo'dat !

Agreed. I'm not even sure how/why it turned into this, I was just trying to save my friends here from wasting their money on casting lessons. My shop helper has gotten into flyfishing this year and bought himself a decent Redington outfit and has been absorbing everything YT. He was having issues and to watch him cast I couldn't pinpoint anything he was doing poorly. So I grabbed his rod and immediately noticed a few things that I would change if it was MINE. He gave me permission to alter it.......and after I did he is now casting nearly as good as I can....In the yard anyway, still needs some time out on the water, but he'll get it. Anyone that has seen my oldest daughter cast, instantly comments on how surprisingly good she is at it. Well guess who set her up? 😁. I don't actually consider myself to be all that fantastic of a caster, and I wasn't trying to glorify myself by any means, but I do catch plenty of fish.....so I felt that I might have some tips that were worthwhile of sharing. That's all. 👍

Let's keep our twisted fantasy's out of this. Ok? Pretty sure that's what "Jigfest" was for. 😅

I saw John Wilson pick up an unfamiliar rod and throw the whole line on a backcast. Pretty impressive. If I stand on top of my shooting bench, and can keep the line from getting looped around my toes or getting balled up somehow (blind luck!) I can hit my 30 yard target board with a 7wt. Outbound Short and my old Legend Ultra. Pretty much the same from the deck of the boat I think. Everytime I try to make a cast like that out on the flats though, I never get a bite until the fly is 30' or less from the boat.......and then here's this unruly pile of line at my feet while I'm stumbling around reaching for the net. No way to get it all back on the reel before it's time to land the fish. If I keep the casts to 40' or so then line management isn't a problem at all.....and I catch just as many fish. So I dunno..... maybe I'm just not catching big enough/strong enough fish. 😅

There are plenty of fine casting demonstrations on YouTube. Distance is merely a factor of how much line you can shoot once the head is outside the tip. If THAT is what interests you then get yourself a RIO Outbound Short in the proper line weight, or similar shooting head, and practice your double-haul. Accuracy is Thumb-to-Eye coordination. Hang a 1/2" washer from the ceiling with 4# mono and practice playing "tetherball" with your thumb. Badminton/Tennis/Ping-pong is a really good casting-accuracy exercise too. When fishing and casting, always have a target. A leaf, a bubble, a current seam, or a specific spot on the far bank. A few years of doing that (and fishing fairly often) will have you perfectly able to shoot a loop through a hula hoop. None of the above matters though if your rod/reel/line combination doesn't fit (and compliment) your natural style. Certainly a truly good fly-caster can adjust to ANYTHING.....But things go way faster, and way more dependable, when no adjustments are required. Gavin claiming that he can outcast me with MY rod, without a few hours of practice, is just him being confident and cocky..... He's probably full of $#!t, but it would be worth a bottle of hooch to see him do it. 😁 The real world measure of a decent caster is his/her ability to hit their mark while laying line on the water in such a way that no series of "mends" are instantly needed. Watching someone do that is everything BUT elegant. Looks nothing like Brad Pitt/Jason Borger. More like a retarded cheerleader playing with a bent baton.

I once had a similar issue with a Pachmeyer (sp?) grip on a S&W revolver. It was reacting to something in the holster.

Ahh, so chuck'n'duck with 1/4oz. egg sinker and a pile of dacron backing, hu? Alrighty, whatever 👍 But then we get to actually fish, right? 🙂

If by "outcast" you mean out-fish.....(cuz that's the point of it, right?)...... How else do you judge the best caster? You're on! Make it Tincup Rye 👍 Let's set a date.🙂 And you can use your own pole, unless you just need to borrow one of mine.

It wasn't about "fascination". Pretty sure it was about torture and torment. If you lacked a little brother.....then you took it out on the NEXT IN LINE. Don't even TRY to deny it. 🙄

Well.....maybe take them back in time, to the place where they figured out how to crack a towel on their little brothers behind. 😅 Accuracy and velocity instantly mastered ! Who needed to TEACH them THAT ?

Yes you do! You know that the line follows the tip of the rod. If there's more that needs to be KNOWN about fly-casting.......I can't imagine what it would possibly be.

The metronome method is simply a timing/rhythm exercise. Has no real bearing on fly-casting since it all changes depending on the length of line.....and what is attached to the end of it.

An instructor can teach you how to shake the pee off your weiner.....if you can't figure it out.....but only YOU know when it's ok to put it back in your pants. 👍

The basics are.... Accelerating to a smooth but sudden stop. Timing (waiting and holding position while the line travels rearward or forward). And loop control. This is what anyone that has a mere 2 months of experience casting a flyrod has already mastered,... And if all you ever plan to do is stand in the hatchery outlets and "Tenkara fish" with your flyrod, then you're already as good as you ever need to be. So YES an instructor can "help" if you actually can't pull that off on your own......But I would expect that anyone capable of spreading a blanket on a bed, putting a tablecloth on a dinner table, or flipping an extension cord over a coffee table.... could SURELY conquer the mechanics of it in short order. 😅

Once you have the basics down no "instructor" is going to help you. What you likely need is a good TUNING of your equipment. A casting "instructor" is going to waste your time, and further confuse you by giving you tips and hints on your "form". Piss on all of that BS ! If it doesn't feel natural and it takes loads of extra effort and concentration......then you're fighting a losing battle. If it's the dreaded "tailing loop" that you're plagued with.....then stay away from lines like RIO GRAND or SA GPX (or whatever the"masters" at SA are calling it now). Those tip-heavy lines might load your rod better and allow you to feel when your backcast has straightened out, but if your natural stroke produces a tailing loop with them.....then you're stuck with it, so accept that and move on. Get a standard WF or DT line and watch that tailing loop just magically disappear. Still got it? Then cut 15" of line off the tip taper..... BINGO! 👍 Line slapping the water too hard? Or an inability to make the line straighten out BEFORE it lands on the water? First make sure your reel is heavy enough to balance the rod....and if not and the outfit is tip heavy, then FIX IT. If balance is good then drop down one line size ! Yeah I know.....now it doesn't feel like the rod is "loaded enough"......but forget that for a minute.... and look how your line lays out on the water now ! 👍 It's not "instructions" or "lessons" that you need. It's equipment that fits your style. Iron that out and it all comes natural. ✌️

I think the reason it isn't "offered" or "sought after" is because there is nothing that coon fur can do, that rabbit fur can't. Pretty much the same shade of tan, same texture, and guard hairs aren't any different. I scalped a possum years ago and tyed a variety of nymphs with it.....they just didn't produce for me, for whatever reason. 🤷‍♂️

Unless it has a deer or rabbit in its mouth.....then it's after somebody's livestock or somebody's kid. They don't just stop by to tell you about the Lord, and warn you of the upcoming revelation.

Somebody needs to give that feline a dirt nap. We don't have enough wide-open spaces 'round here to allow those things to occupy this part of the U.S. Nothing good can come from protecting them.

I don't mean big as in FAT. I'm talking "big" as in Long body, Long legs, and Long tail. When I pick up a dead one by the tail I have to bend my elbow up at a 45° angle to keep it from dragging the ground. Not exaggerating. I'd have to weigh one to be sure.....but I'd guess 18-20 pounds. They don't really look that big when they are creeping around, but after you put a pellet in its head and go to collect it......Holy crap! Bigass FREAKIN' CAT ! 😳

I'm blown away by the size and weight of the ones around here. Absolutely HUGE! There's a gray one that is really a pretty cat...... There's always one or two that I hate to kill, but they insist on getting into my customers boats, and I can't have that. None of them are afraid of Orion. I actually think he invites them over. The tone of his "cat in the yard" bark doesn't sound threatening at all....It sounds like he's saying "Come Play".

I'm going on a air-rifle feral cat hunt here pretty soon. I'd say that is pretty comparable to an iguana shoot. 😼

The 1/4oz. model is a white bass/hybrid killer from now until March. You can cast it a mile, then do a hop & drop (on a tight line) retrieve, until you find a school......Then milk them for all their worth. Aside from using Livescope I don't know of a faster way to find White bass when they are in water deeper than 10ft. The hooks that come on them are junk though. Swap them out for something stickier, or else your bite to hookup ratio will suffer. 👍

I'd have to go under the house and take pics. I was perfectly happy with the water straight out of the well..... but the WOMEN IN THE HOUSE demanded softer water...... and they ALWAYS get what they want. 🙄

Noooo🙂. Ya gotta give credit to......