Beginer's Fly Rod Choice

[Al Agnew]

I agree with Greasy. If you're nymph fishing, streamer fishing, fishing bluegill beds...you won't be doing a lot of "classic" fly casting. You really only need the whole arsenal of casts when you're dry fly fishing for wary rising trout, or having to make long casts with some other type of unweighted or lightly weighted fly.

In your latest video, I'm still seeing too much wrist part of the time, and you're letting your rod drift back once you THINK you've stopped your backcast. It's a bit hard to explain, but you're going back, kinda stopping, but letting your wrist break a bit and the rod keeps going back, only slower. So then you don't have the same pause on the backcast that you do on the forward cast. Think as you're casting, "backcast, STOP, pause, forward cast". Let me go out in the yard tomorrow and time my casting motion with 20 and 30 feet of line out, to see how long my pause is on the back cast. I THINK I come to about one full second of pause at the end of a back cast of 30 feet before coming forward. You just have to let that line straighten out behind you before coming forward, and same thing at the end of the forward cast if you're trying to keep 30 feet of line in the air.

[Al Agnew]

I finally went out in the yard and casted my 5 wt. today...with about 30 feet of line off the end of my rod, I could count "one one-thousand two" on the pause on my backcast before coming forward. With 20 feet of line out, it was "one one-thou...". Hope this helps.

[gramps50]

Was out this afternoon practicing again, started with about 20' out then increased it to 25' was doing a fairly good, so I went to 27.5' still not doing to bad. When I felt this looked pretty good I went to the full 30' was able to keep it in the air with the loop not looking to bad but then it began to decenacrate so I would stop go back to 25' & start over.

During this I paid close attention to my wrist so it didn't break over on the back cast. I counted 1, 2 on both the front cast & back. Was going to video it so I could look later and see if it looked like I thought at the time but it was getting late and daylight was disappearing fast.

Yes Al all your suggestions as well as the others has helped a ton. Also have the book "Troubleshooting the Cast" by Ed Jaworwski which I'm hoping as well.

Thanks everyone.......

[Al Agnew]

Hey, if you can keep 25 feet of line up through three or four false casts you're doing pretty well. It sounds like you're getting the pause about right.

[RSBreth]

I saw something in the first video I guess everyone else missed - stop holding the fly line pinched to the rod hndle with your casting hand. Hold the fly line with the line hand, and the rod with the casting hand. When you get comfortable casting the line you have out already and get to the point that you can "shoot" some more line on the forward cast you will have to get all of your timing down AND try to let go of that line with your rod hand - hard enough when starting out without handicapping yourself like that. It's a common beginners mistake, so don't sweat it, but stop doing it before you have another bad habit to unlearn.

[gramps50]

I saw something in the first video I guess everyone else missed - stop holding the fly line pinched to the rod hndle with your casting hand. Hold the fly line with the line hand, and the rod with the casting hand. When you get comfortable casting the line you have out already and get to the point that you can "shoot" some more line on the forward cast you will have to get all of your timing down AND try to let go of that line with your rod hand - hard enough when starting out without handicapping yourself like that. It's a common beginners mistake, so don't sweat it, but stop doing it before you have another bad habit to unlearn.

This maybe wrong but the line I pull out and is laying by my feet is in front of my hand not behind it. I know it's a practice thing but when I was doing it the other way and not holding it at all I would loose the loop when trying to get it under my fingers. You are right though I shouldn't be creating bad habits that I have to break/unlearn in the future. - Thanks

[gramps50]

Weather here today isn't the best for practicing but I didn't manage to get out for a short period between rain drops. Was windy, the best way it seemed was to have a cross wind, that way it didn't effect the front or back cast as much.

After watching the video here is what I saw, the loop is to wide and making a big circle, think I was moving the rod in an arc instead for a straight line. Can't see the back loop but on the front loop I start moving the rod back to the 1-2 o'clock position (sometimes even to 3 o'clock) before the line fully straightens out. When I was moving my thumb/rod in a straight line everything looked much better. At times there was a loop forming below the tip of the rod before the line straightened out. This really shows when I watched it frame by frame. I see things I need to work on.

[Al Agnew]

First of all, there's a lot you're doing right! Your elbow is doing about what it should be, and you're stopping the backcast most of the time somewhere close to where you should. Your wrist still flexes too much sometimes, though, and you're still not stopping suddenly enough and pausing long enough.

Your stance might need to change. Move your right foot back a bit, so that your stance is more like what I said before when I had you watch your backcast. And then, as you said, pay attention to moving your thumb and rod in a straight line. And REALLY work on stopping suddenly on both forward cast and backcast, and pausing to let the line straighten. There should be just a little bit of loop left, at most, when you begin to come forward (or back) and the rest of your line should be in a straight line parallel to the ground.

If you have a chance to do so, don't hesitate to take a fly casting class or have somebody who knows what they're doing teach you in person. It's real easy to slide into bad habits that are then hard to break, and the earlier you get good instruction the less likely that is to happen.

[gramps50]

If you have a chance to do so, don't hesitate to take a fly casting class or have somebody who knows what they're doing teach you in person. It's real easy to slide into bad habits that are then hard to break, and the earlier you get good instruction the less likely that is to happen.

I bought the rod at Cabela's they said to call to make sure someone would be a available and they would give casting lessons, would this be a good place to start?

My problem is nobody I fish with fly fishes. You guys have been a tremendous help in getting me started.

Today I didn't have my cheater strap or wrist brace on, I think I need to keep using them for awhile to help keep my wrist straight.

[RSBreth]

I'll take free lessons on anything if I have the time - you never know when someone has a tip you've never seen before, so I'd do the casting lessons for sure. It's hard if no one in your circle can help - but between here and some casting lesson in person you should get a decent start.

Youtube isn't bad, either.