Learning To Cast A Two Hander Update

[duckydoty]

I've been messing around with learning to cast a 12 1/2 foot six weight Spey rod with a 450 grain skagit head. Progress is coming slowly, but progression is happening. I, again this morning went to the upper end to work on my casting. I have been having problems with line twist in the running line after a few cast. I asked Nathan for some advice and tried doing some research on the Internet. Nathan suggested stretching the line and also recommended against the pvc coated running lines,but rather go with mono or amnesia line. The pvc running line came with the skagit heat and tip kit so I thought I would give it a try. One of the few tips I came up with on the Internet was not taking more line off the real than you can cast. The first thing I did this morning was pull all the running line off the reel,stretched it to the point I thought I might break it and then wind it back on the reel. On the waters edge, I started off slow with just the skagit head pulled off the reel. Worked on just casting that for a bit then started pulling more line off the reel a foot at a time and casting that. I finally got out to about 55 feet that I could cast comfortable every time. I had no issues with line twist today and was very happy with that. I did not catch any fish or even get a bite in the 30-45 minutes I was down there today. Catching was not the objective though.

[westbranchfly]

I'm glad it worked for you ducky. We all know that everyone frets over casting techniques, loop sizes, etc. In my opinion, one of the most over looked things is line maintenance and preparation.

You can buy the best lines in the world, but if you don't take care of them, you're pissing in the wind. Regardless of rod type, single or two hand, a clean, greased, and stretched line is one of the biggest steps you can take for successful casting.

I have a ritual before I ever string my rods. The head gets pulled off and set on the tailgate. Then, I pull off 80'-100' of running line. (Berkeley big game). I put on my rubber coated gloves and pull and stretch the running line, a few feet at a time. Once this is done, I put a glob of glide on an old dish rag. The running line is then respooled while passing through the dressing. I repeat this same process with the head. I use a felt pad dressing box for the head instead of the rag. This allows me to really Jack on the head and get it greased and do a final pull.

If you really want to be proactive, take and clean the rod guides with a cotton swab. This will also be a tell tale to see if the guides are still smooth.

Every so often, it doesn't hurt to pull your entire line off and give it a bath in some warm soapy water. Rinse, dry, grease, respool. It's just that easy. I feel this is absolutely essential to single hand lines. There's no sense in having good line sounding like 60 grit sandpaper when its shooting through the guides.

These are my thoughts, do with them what you will. Remember this though, casting techniques will only get you so far. You must maintain your equipment.