Casting Tips

[Ol Al]

Howdy Casters

I was invited here to share some casting tips. This looks like a good place to start.

Today many fly casters come from spinning, bait casting, or plugging,

One of the big differences between them and Us is where we start the rod tip. When teaching I will say. "START the Fly CAST" this is a mental picture of placing the FLY rod tip at the water. If you 'start' here your moving the line up and behind. My next word picture is make an "UP Cast BEHIND you." Not a back cast this would place the fly at the same level as your BACK or your Ear. What you want in an over-head cast is to get the line UP. If you think of it the forward cast will be 12 feet high, with a 9 ft rod. So why make your cast go low behind you? Get the back cast up to start with just by starting with your tip low.

Good casting comes form good practice not just repeating the same mistakes.

ol AL

[Phil Lilley]

I've always told people to get the line off the water by lifting UP first using the rod tip. It's a hard concept for some to "see" but once they do it a couple of times, they see it.

Thanks for the comments... makes us all think about what we are doing instead of just doing it.

[flyfshn]

ol Al, want to make sure I understand....for the initial cast, start with the tip on the water and stop at "12 O'clock or straight up" and then cast forward?

[Zach Bearden]

Hrmm, I couldn't really follow that. O_o

I did follow this though.. I don't start with the rod tip at the ground/water. I start it at the 9 position. Of course when I cast I ALWAYS double haul. If you don't you will get Tennis Elbow. I also don't do the whole 10 and 2 rule. I drop my rod tip on my backcast to around 3. My forward cast stops between 9&10. I get very high line speeds with my rods.

[Phil Lilley]

I'd like for someone to critique my cast cause I have no idea what I do- I just cast! I side arm, over the head, over the left shoulder, lay it out to the right and left depending on wind and current direction. I don't think about it.

I do understand why an instructor needs to KNOW how a cast breaks down because he is teaching someone what to do and not. That's what I need to learn.

[flyfshn]

Ditto Phil! .....and I catch fish, but I would love to have someone critique my cast, so I can improve my casting skills.

[Brian Wise]

"UP cast BEHIND you" I remember the first time I heard you use that I thought that was awesome! Especially for beginners.

For a visual tool to get the same result I have started using an exagerated visual target. Most of the time I am teaching at or close to the river so I'll ask them to look behind them and ask them to cast to the top of the trees then they will "feel" it....and another lightbulb goes off. :-)

Brian

[Ol Al]

Howdy Casting junkies

You have asked several questions THAT IS GREAT. I started you thinking.

I have added a list of terms I use. That should help in speaking the same language

As for Tapes & video That is a list that would plug up this site.

Yes I have a lot of good tapes. One of the best is Bill Gammel's "Teaching Yourself to Fly Cast". on a CD with a study guide you can carry with you when casting. You have to contact Bill Directly to get the CD now.

thegammelfamily@yahoo.com might work. FFF site is under construction not working well yet. This CD is one that most of the FFF casting instruction is based on. The FFF has Jason and Gary Bogner tape

"15 Most Common Casting Errors" That can help you be a better instructor.

Joan Wulff "Dynamics of Fly Casting" Is solid basics to advanced

George Anderson's tape if you can still find it. Saltwater fly casting casting. has some great tips.

I do not use the clock face mine is a digital. I can not say 12 o'clock I might be too soon or too late for that rod. I want the tip to travel in a straight line path (SLP) in the direction I what the loop to travel.

After the Stop my tip will continue to follow or point at the loop as it travels back. This stops several bad habbits. First it stops the tip from dropping too low behind, Second it reduces "Creeping" Third it will stop the short pausing. There are several others it helps. We call this "Drift". Longer cast require longer dirfts.

I will post on a new reply on Bill Essentials

Happy New Year

ol Al

[Zach Bearden]

Ol Al, You say that you stop your rod tip then follow the line back? Why would you do this? My cast is a continuous and the only time it stops is when I end my cast.

[Gavin]

Good advice..I see lots of folks starting their cast with the rod up in the air like a spinning outfit and a big belly of slack hanging from the tip. Get that tip low, pull in all the slack, and aim that backcast high! After that its a matter of putting some stops in the cast so the rod can load and unload."Stop Stop, not Flop Flop" as Mel Krieger would say.

After that its a matter of increasing your line speed with a double haul, and increasing the casting arc with a drift for added distance.

Drift is what Old Al is talking about when he's talking about following the line back after the stop on the back cast. The line is already unrolling in the direction its gonna go after the stop on the back cast, so its possible to drift back a bit to allow a longer stroke on the forward cast. I look at it as free power. Cheers.