I am also self taught. Happy enough most of the time, but loop control lets me down a bit when casting into a wind. Trouble is, if you don't know what is wrong how do you fix it? I too got some pointers from Paul and Magnus, so now I know. All I have to do now is find the time to practice. 35 years of bad habits are not easy to change though. I was quite pleased when Magnus told me my casting was OK soemtimes………… now I know why it sometimes is not…………….my control of arc, plane and drift back is not consistent enough. The timing of the haul on the forward cast also needs work.
Swihun,
Casting is at the very heart of fly fishing IMO. The better you get at it, the better and more enjoyable the fly fishing gets. Almost as important, the other guy in the boat will enjoy it better too. Nothing worse than some plonker next to you screwing up every cast and fankling yours all day long.
On the "Well, I still catch fish argument", I like what old Lefty says about that.. cast better and you'll catch even MORE fish. :wink:
I feel that too much is made of distance casting though. There are lots of extremely useful casts that every trout fisher should have in his repertoire, distance is probably the least important of them for fishing. That said, to cast a long distance requires good technique, so its sort of built in.
For our trout fishing up here, roll casting, switch casting, reach casts, and all sorts of slack line presentation casts are all very important. Accuracy is worth some consideration too, even on lochs. [/i]
Swithun,
Have to admit that my casting is mince and blame fishing overgrown river banks and casting under low tree branches.
That's my excuse and I always seem to cast to the side rather than overhead. :oops: :oops:
I attended a couple of lessons from Jim Thomlinson down at Troon and it was nothing short of amazing to see him pick up any of our rods and cast a line that was pulling line off the reel as it flew into the distance.
I think another few lessons would be a great help..........to me.............and more importantly.........others that are near me !!!
All the best
Richy
Nothing wrong with watching your back cast Swithun :) As long as you're watching the forward throw too. The only thing is, you usually adopt an open stance to watch the back cast, standing somewhat sideways to the stroke. Okay for distance but for good tracking it's maybe better to get used to feeling the back cast unroll behind you. And we all know how important good tracking is, right? :wink:
You're lucky to have met up with Magnus and Paul. Was it Paul Arden? If it was, he's a serious gun caster, and fisherman too. With those guys you got some top tuition there.
I have to tune up for saltwater this spring. Could use some tuition from those guys.
Ricky,
I have a bit of a Lefty Kreh side-cast habit myself. It's OK for normaltrout distances. Affects accuracy somewhat. Gives me a bad hook.
My casting shite at times. Well mostly shite actually. Taught by my Dad with the saucer under the arm thing.Ive found myself compensating by improving my river craft and getting sneaky. I always push how close I can get. My confidence level for hooking the fish is high when Ive got myself into a good position. I, like you swithun need someone to put me in the right direction. I was thinkin bout taking some tuition.
Bob,
that was Paul Rankin – our own "Acefisher" Also a mighty caster and instructor
Swithun,
I wouldn't worry too much about getting too involved in the technicalities of casting. The way i look at it is it's not even a concern once you get good at it. Your technique, ideally, should be 'transparent', you just don't have to think about it and can concentrate on the fish. That's the ideal, at any rate. :D
Noticing that the line is always under tension is a good start toward improving the cast. Letting the backcast straighten behind you before beginning the forward stroke is very important. Most of that slack you get is from beginning the forward stroke too soon.
The more you practice, the better you get at 'feeling' what the line is doing behind you. Then, eventually, all you need is a glance behind you to see what's back there and then visualise your back cast.
I dont even think about my casting while focused on a rising fish Swithun. Always watching the current and try to place the fly where I want it.
Maybe Bob can shed some light on the "standard cast" as Im not a follower of casting teqnique?
I was taught elbow tight to the ribs, dont break the wrist. For a roll cast I was taught to think of my rod as a hammer and the water a nail. The reel comes up ear high and "hammer the nail"
I notice alot of guys really like to get the arm swinging. Does this not take away the energy which should put into the rod?
Would you also say that a softish rod helps with the feel on the backcast? This is what I started with. My first rod was a Fenwick fiberglass which I got for my birthday in 1979
Havta,
Sounds like you got it all right. Except maybe for that soft rod thing. :wink:
Guys,
There are some great books and videos on casting. Mel Kreigers videos are very good. George Roberts Mastering the Cast is excellent, and cheap. http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/007137972X/ref=si_1_3/026-1680865-5747633
QuoteCasting is at the very heart of fly fishing IMO. The better you get at it, the better and more enjoyable the fly fishing gets
Totally agree.
Like lots of guys on this site, I learned on wee rivers and burns like the Avon (Lanarkshire) and graduated on to that ball-breaker, the Clyde.
Long distance casting was never warranted. An ability to side cast under trees was more useful.
I then went on a "once in a lifetime" fishing holiday a few years ago (it has turned into an annual event :wink: ). I thought I was an OK fisherman and an OK caster. Wrong.
Faced with a howling downstream wind, when I could see a 5lb fish just a few yards upstream, I found I couldn't get a fly to the fish at all. Simply put, I couldn't double haul. I could do a single haul on the back cast, but like lots of people couldn't get the rythmn of getting the left hand back into position for the forward cast.
I'm talking technique here, not distance. You don't need to reach for the moon when hauling (a few inches goes a long way as I've told my girlfriend).
Since then, I've concentrated on my casting. A friend took a lesson with Eoin Fairgrieve and I learned from my mate. Also started looking at the Sexyloops site, which is great for casting info, even if it gets a bit involved at times. If you want to learn the double haul you could do worse than takea look at the video files on the main site as opposed to "The Board".
I digress, as posh people and writers say. I then took a shared lesson with Eoin Fairgrieve and learned a cast which was a revelation. The snake-roll. Since then, I've taken to occasionally going down the local rugby field and trying for a few grass carp :oops:
First time we did this, we were aimlessly blasting away, trying to see how far we could cast, as you do. After a while it occurred to us that we were crap distance casters and would be better employed to try to be more accurate as this is what our fishing demands.
Now I always thought I could cast accurately.
Try it yourself in a field. Try to put your fly in a basin at various distances. Not so easy.
Having improved my accuracy, by getting the rod more vertical, I then started looking at dropping controlled slack where I want it. Also trying curve casts at various distances, with right/left curves.
Don't get me wrong here. I'm no casting guru. I just try to do things using stuff I've read or seen on video. I usually mess about with this stuff when there is nothing rising and I'm just "fishing the water"
It has brought a whole new dimension to my fishing and I can now tie a sheepshank knot in my leader without trying :lol: .
Excellent post there, Alex.
Those afternoon Nor'westers are really something down there aren't they?
I developed a snappy 'pullback' to kick the fly out ahead of the line. And I invested in an SA Nymph Taper. This last trip I actually felt I had a chance in those winds.
Hi folks, I'm new to this forum and I can't believe I've never found it before !!!! It's a crackin' place for info and so far seems to be full of courteous and well humoured info exchange.
My two pence worth on casting ..I am not the most refined of self-taught casters but WOW did my my technique improve when I actually spent a bit of the hard earned dosh on a decent rod & balanced kit. This only took me twenty years to accomplish. So for all you novices, get the best you can afford , it will not be money wasted. I struggled with an old Ryobi fibreglass 9 ft 6 in and 4 tonne Daiwa reel loaded with a very early overweight Masterline for years. It made me adopt some strange casting techniques and stances and any soul walking past some of the wee lochans I used to fish must have wondered at the convulsive apparition they beheld on the bank.
Any way, I'm so pleased to have found this place , tight lines to all.
:) Caster.