Casting

[whinging pom]

To be honest I don't  believe an in depth knowledge of  entomology is hugely  important. Yes, it's good, interesting and useful to have some idea  about the flies and their  life cycle, but I  do like the John Mirach- "size 14 brown"   approach. Anyway choosing a suitable fly is of little good if it ends up in a tree first cast.  :Lil:

Fred that's why your blind fishing the water! If you had a better grasp on the larder and whats available when, by reading the clues. Then even if you have do have trouble seeing the fish, you'd at least know where they were likely to be and where and when in the river they would be feeding.
On those New Zealand rivers I dint think it's superior casting that's your biggest weapon, its superior water craft and stealth, and a good pair of eyes spotting for you.

(On the other forum I promoted all the info for kick sampling and entomology courses in the UK. And had Scottish anglers asking why you had none of those things north of the border. So i whinged and whinged to get an FBA course close to Glasgow. As of a few weeks back they were talking of pulling it... the English ones are all booked out, the Scottish one has very little interest.
Maybe like Malcolm says, generally you are all so clued up on this in this area, that you dint need help with it. But that's not reflected in the posts on this and other forums).

Casting cannot improve your fishing as much as increasing your knowledge of your quarry, its food, and improving its habitat.  Casting just improves your casting and in many case just leads to superfluous bollocks with a fly rod.

[Wildfisher]

Of course you have to know something  about  fly life,  but you don?t have to be an entomologist.  Likewise  basic ?stealth?  is  surely just common sense? Keep low, move slowly don?t crash about, use cover  and don?t wade unless you have to.  Not difficult to acquire those skills surely?   If you cannot see the fish you cannot possibly know you are spooking them. They might be,  and very often are, at your feet. Therefore the best  tactic for wading is not to wade at all.  Not always practical or even possible of course.  The better you can cast the less frequently you will have to wade, the more opportunity you  will be have to use cover, the less you will crash or splash about and  the more you will be able to exploit your knowledge of where  fish are or are  likely to be by getting the fly where you want it.  

Stealth or tactical fishing is not a substitute for good casting. Good casting is part of stealth or tactical fishing.

Of course in rivers and  lochs that are quite simply loaded with fish, like here in Scotland, the requirement for these skills is less. If you mess up on one fish there will be likely be another shoal round the corner and you might just get lucky. There is less need to be very good, so most of us are not.

[Malcolm]

Fred that's why your blind fishing the water! If you had a better grasp on the larder and whats available when, by reading the clues. Then even if you have do have trouble seeing the fish, you'd at least know where they were likely to be and where and when in the river they would be feeding.
On those New Zealand rivers I dint think it's superior casting that's your biggest weapon, its superior water craft and stealth, and a good pair of eyes spotting for you.

(On the other forum I promoted all the info for kick sampling and entomology courses in the UK. And had Scottish anglers asking why you had none of those things north of the border. So i whinged and whinged to get an FBA course close to Glasgow. As of a few weeks back they were talking of pulling it... the English ones are all booked out, the Scottish one has very little interest.
Maybe like Malcolm says, generally you are all so clued up on this in this area, that you dint need help with it. But that's not reflected in the posts on this and other forums).

Casting cannot improve your fishing as much as increasing your knowledge of your quarry, its food, and improving its habitat.  Casting just improves your casting and in many case just leads to superfluous bollocks with a fly rod.

WP. Please don't put words in my mouth. I did not say we are all so "clued up" so please do not try to finesse my words to make your point. Just make your own point and stick with it rather than warping words and context like a politician. There is no need to: you are clearly able to make your points known without resorting to such practice.

I'll speak for myself. If you read my posts you will more often than not see that they are filled with observations on wildlife around me rather than fishing. That is because fishing is a only a part of what I am interested in when I'm out on the river. On many trips I hardly cast a line because I'm crawling up some bank to watch the trout in the river or taking photos of snipe, identifying purple duns or maybe watching dragonflies. This afternoon I spent several hours filming a pair of black throated (the rarer of the two inland species) divers.

When I do fish for brownies on rivers at least 90% of the time I'm sitting watching what is happening before making a cast. It is seldom indeed that I would fish blind for brown trout in rivers. I know I'm not alone in this as I've fished with other WFF members who do exactly the same.

My own view is that the actual fly is much less important than watercraft as long as the fly is roughly the right colour, size and profile then I'd be happy to fish with it. By watercraft I mean the ability to present a fly to a trout without scaring the fish away or putting on it's guard; sometimes a fish will just sit there if it has been spooked rather than dive for cover. Decent casting is a big help here. As is water knowledge.
 

[Wildfisher]

I really don?t like the phrase  ?fishing blind?  it implies the angler is fishing with closed eyes, closed mind or is just plain clueless. Oddly, the Kiwis seem to use it a lot to describe anything that is not casting to spotted fish. Personally I never ?fish blind?, only a complete beginner or someone who has learned nothing at all  would do this. Fishing  the water is not ?fishing blind? it?s looking at what?s  in front of you  and trying to figure where fish are likely to be when there are no fish to be seen or to be seen rising.  Even  fishing from a drifting boat is not fishing blind if you are thinking about what you are doing. The boat will be set to drift  over what you believe to be fish holding water rather than spinning out of control out in the middle over 500 feet of water......

[whinging pom]

You may be very pleasantly surprised then at the extent and depth of knowledge about the natural environment within the members of the Glasgow casting club.

Aploogies to put your nose out of joint, but you were quoting the members of the glasgow angling club and not yourself. i dont see what difference it is between me using the term 'clued up', and your quote about the depth of knowledge within the membership.

As it is, when ever someone states  'Common sense' as a basis for Trout behaviour, river systems, entomology, or the enviroment, thats when I back out of the conversation.

[Wildfisher]

This is going off topic as Sandy said, maybe its more interesting.

I think it has  and that was  inevitable.   However  we can only comment honestly based on our own experiences, on what we see and what we believe. I know my own greatest single weakness is lack of good  and consistently accurate casting. I know the faults  and when I look at others  I see the same thing. When I see fish, see fish rising, have selected the perfect lie that holds an unseen moby, have got the right fly on due to my encyclopaedic knowledge of bugs and  water chemistry, have waded impeccably  or stayed put on the bank - it all means nothing  unless I can deliver the fly accurately and drag free. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. Why  don't I do something about it?  Well, I still catch enough fish to keep me happy most of the time.  Mind you if there  was a Glasgow style casting club up here ......................... :lol:

[Wildfisher]

off topic maybe but this is some thread, power it on :

And it can be  and is being discussed in a civil manner which is an enviable and  unique aspect of this forum. 

[Fishtales]

As we are no longer discussing casting wouldn't it be better to start a new thread somewhere else titled
'What makes a successful fly fisher?' : :worms

[haresear]

As we are no longer discussing casting wouldn't it be better to start a new thread somewhere else titled
'What makes a successful fly fisher?' : :worms

No. For pity's sake, no

Alex

[Part-time]

No. For pity's sake, no
Alex

:lol: :lol: