For those considering a fly-casting class.

[Gavin]

Na think all will be fine, I’m sure I can out cast him for distance and accuracy, but odds are on him for fishing in his 5 county area. There is NO animosity, I’m sure it will be fun!

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, Gavin said:

Na think all will be fine, I’m sure I can out cast him for distance and accuracy, but odds are on him for fishing in his 5 county area. There is NO animosity, I’m sure it will be fun!

I'm definitely not too proud to take a lesson. Pretty sure that I learn something from everyone I ever fish with......even if we both get skunked.   

Whether it's ever mentioned or not, if we are fishing together, you can bet every bit of your gear that I am actively trying to outfish you.   That just comes natural.  I had to "front-end" the hell out of @fshndouglast summer just to hold my own on a Carolina rig bite. 😁 And that was in my own back yard.

My daughter, for the first time, put it on me twice last year.  Once on a dryfly Trout trip ON MY BIRTHDAY OF ALL TIMES!!! , and another time out chasing Whites.   And both times it was an honest asswhoopin'.   Talk about a bittersweet feeling!    It's been fun watching her try to be humble about it 😅   The only thing I can say in my defense of her reoccurring smartass comments about it..... is that I tyed her dang flys !  ☝️

[Hawg]

On 12/13/2022 at 6:44 PM, fishinwrench said:

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.   ✌️

Thanks man.
 

I taught myself and I frequently wonder if im missing out. Have always wondered about the equipment.

That said being an angling addict and fishing just about every water I see, I’ve been forced to get better in highly technical and undesirable situations. 
 

When I fish with others I sometimes see them making these elaborate casts and here I am giving the minimum effort within my ability to get the fly near the fish.

I usually catch more than my company haha.

[fshndoug]

I offered to sit down and quit fishing for a while so Wrench could catch up that day we were C rigging

[tjm]

On other forums, I've had some discussions with western fly fishing guides and the one thing that stands out with every guide is that they are teachers, more than guides; they said their jobs are not just to show the clients where the fish are but mostly to teach the clients how to fish and that most clients can't cast well enough to fish those fabled streams without first having a casting lesson. That really surprised me, because I've never really thought fly casting enough to catch fish was that difficult. Based on those conversations I think it likely that a session with an instructor won't hurt your casting. I know that a five minute conversation with Lefty Kreh at a demo he was giving really changed my overhead casting for the better, he immediately pointed out a slight mistake that I had been making for twenty years. 

I do agree with the notion that we each have different body shapes and that means we each have different natural styles of motion to get the same output. It's true that some rods will fit each of us better than other rods do.  A rod that fits will certainly make using it more pleasant and some rods will fit so well that they are intuitive to the point of seeming to cast by themselves. Many of the Park fly fishers that I've watched could have used a rod better fitted to them, or more importantly a line better suited to the rod and to their stroke. 

My first advice on fly gear is put a piece of tape over the line designation on the rod, forget that it has such a rating  and try the rod out with a few different line weights to see what works best on that rod for you. As an  example, I had an Orvis 9' 5wt that I much preferred with a DT7F and I have a different Orvis 8'3" that is rated #7 and I almost always use it with a TT6 or a WF5F.  When Wrench cut back the taper on that line he effectively made the line one or two weights heavier at the 30' mark. I would just have put a heavier line on the rod.

There is no real way to rate a fly rod for line weight and the AFTMA   has no standards for such ratings. The manufacturers have a professional caster use the rod with different lines and make an arbitrary choice of what the rating is. Actually because the line mass varies with how much line is being carried in a cast  any rod will do better with a heavier line for close casting and a lighter line for distance casting. Thus keeping the line mass felt by the rod within the optimal range. 

My second advice is that unless one is an expert caster with special needs, stick to standard taper WF or DT lines, don't buy the specialty lines  because they have a cool name unless you specialize in that kind of fishing. And don't think a fly line needs replacing every year, I have Cortland and Wulff lines in use that are at least 20 years old. A couple of those will be replaced soon, but only because they are getting stiff.

Then I would encourage anyone having trouble casting to use a heavier line, line mass is what we are casting and just like we  can throw a baseball farther than we can throw a BB, we can cast a 7wt farther easier than we can a 3wt. If I was picking gear for a beginner not knowing anything about their style; I'd  choose a 9'6wt medium fast rod and Peach DT7F  line, or a Wulff TT7. If I were giving lessons on grass the same rod would be fitted with a full sink line because the reduced line diameter makes it easier to cast. I want to try both the 406 DT and the Sylk DT because of their reduced diameter, but haven't yet. 

One of the best casting instructions for the DIY folks that I've seen on the web is Paul Arden's.  

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, tjm said:

. I know that a five minute conversation with Lefty Kreh at a demo he was giving really changed my overhead casting for the better, he immediately pointed out a slight mistake that I had been making for twenty years.

 

What was the mistake ?

[tjm]

Basically taking my line hand too far down before release that let the line cross and wrap the rod butt/reel. 'keep your hands closer to each other.''  I asked about the line wrap  and he handed  me the rod so he could watch me, the only time I knowing cast before an audience. He was a nice guy and an excellent showman, but he didn't draw a very large crowd in NWA back in the '90s.

[fishinwrench]

Let me get this straight....

For 20 long years you had trouble shooting line because it was getting looped around your rod butt.......And it took the likes of Lefty Krey to make it stop. 

Jesus H Christ man, I don't know what else to say.     😂 

I take this whole post/thread back.....maybe y'all DO need to hire an instructor.   

[BilletHead]

5 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

Let me get this straight....

For 20 long years you had trouble shooting line because it was getting looped around your rod butt.......And it took the likes of Lefty Krey to make it stop. 

Jesus H Christ man, I don't know what else to say.     😂 

I take this whole post/thread back.....maybe y'all DO need to hire an instructor.   

                Some of us have a longer learning curve than others. I was totally self-taught. Still make mistakes especially in a hurry or when an intense blitz is going on. Sure, wish I was perfect like others on here. I will never stop learning and will always have room to improve. 

[BilletHead]

    P.S I do manage to catch some nice fish though anyway you look at it  .