THE GRIP
Good casting begins with the correct grip. I use and advocate
the extended finger grip, this is obviously personal taste,
but I do believe the extended finger grip helps me load the
rod more efficiently. With my thumb on top of the grip I can
concentrate on directing the energy of the cast in a straight
line. Keep the grip comfortable and relaxed during the casting
stroke. We need a grip, which is versatile, one, which will
let us move efficiently, from casting to a rising trout on a
small chalk stream to casting a wet pike fly in to a strong
head wind.
THE HAND
Try to vary the gripping pressure during the cast, take advantage
of the power transferred with a firm grip and the damping effect
of a loose grip. Start with a loose grip when you start the
casting stroke, start to increase the griping pressure as you
accelerate gripping the rod hardest when you stop the rod, releasing
the gripping pressure directly after the crisp stop, this will
dampen all vibrations in the rod thus eliminating the shock
waves in the line which can be seen if we keep a constant pressure
on the grip through out the casting stroke. Varying the pressure
that we have on the grip will also lead to less fatigue through
out a days fishing.
THE WRIST
Try to keep a firm wrist while casting, a firm wrist transfer's
energy from the body to the rod more efficiently.
a. With a firm wrist and a progressive acceleration to a crisp
stop, a perfect loop will be formed on the back cast.
b. If we open the wrist on the back cast, a downward travelling
open loop will result.
To keep your loops travelling efficiently towards the target,
make sure that throughout the back cast and front cast that
the reel remains pointed directly towards the target. It is
absolutely critical to keep you thumb on top at all times, while
casting forehand it should be possible for the caster to look
into his or her palm throughout the casting stroke.
a. Correct wrist position. Keep the reel pointed towards the
target.
b. Incorrect wrist position. If your wrist rotates out wards
during the cast, this will be exaggerated by the tip of the
rod. The line will then follow the arcing path made by the rod
tip and will swing the loop behind you into an ineffective and
dangerous position for the forward cast.
THE STANCE
Stance depends on your particular fishing situation, but for
practice I recommend an open stance, that means left foot forward
for right hander's or right foot forward for left hander's,
this versatile stance allows for free body movement and a harmonious
co-ordination, it also allows for a longer casting stroke when
appropriate. Concentrate on keeping your shoulders square to
the target.
WEIGHT OF THE LINE
In fly-casting it is the weight of the fly line that carry's
an almost weightless fly to the target; you have to learn to
use the fly rod's action to cast the weight of the line.
SLACK LINE
Keep slack line out of the system. The line should always be
straight before the power of the cast is applied, only a straight
line can load (store energy) in a rod, slack line wastes some
of your casting stroke. It is the weight of the fly line, which
causes the rod to bend and load or store energy, try to eliminate
all slack line while casting.
a. Correct starting position as soon as we move the rod tip
the straight line will begin to load the rod.
b. Incorrect starting position this position of the rod causes
a belly of slack line; the first part of the casting stroke
is wasted straightening the slack line. Only a straight line
can bend and load the rod.
THE HORIZONTAL PLANE
Concentrate on keeping hand, wrist, forearm and shoulder in
a straight-line. The tip of the rod should trace a straight
horizontal path while casting. A straight horizontal path of
the rod tip during the casting stroke concentrates all the energy
of the cast towards the target. The tip of the rod should travel
in a direct path towards or away from the target. Along a horizontal
path the rod will work to its optimum. Concentrate on a straight-line
flow of energy. Loop control is achieved by the ability to control
the rod tip during the casting stroke.
A. Horizontal path of the rod tip. If we trace a straight horizontal
line with the rod tip through out the casting stroke a Perfect
loop will be produced, one where the top portion of the line
and the bottom portion of the line are parallel to each other.
Along this horizontal path the rod works to its full potential.
Good fly casters have the ability to cast their loops close
to a perfect horizontal plane.
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B. A convex path of the rod tip. Wide open loops are formed
when the back cast and front cast is separated by more than
180 degrees, this is caused by using a wide casting arc, usually
caused by breaking the wrist on the back cast or by not applying
force to the rod, leaving the rod in an unbent (unloaded) state
during the casting stroke causing the rod tip and line to travel
in a half round convex path. We must force the rod into a bend
and then force it back out again with a positive stop. An open
loop, one where the top and bottom portions of the loop are
widely separated, disperses energy in to many directions, the
energy is not concentrated towards the target and the line goes
nowhere.
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C. A concave path of the rod tip. Tailing loops are formed
when the back cast and front cast is separated by less than
180 degrees, they are caused by using a casting arc which is
too small for the amount of bend (LOAD) in the rod or by applying
to much force at the beginning of the casting stroke. Match
the amount of rod bend in the rod to the casting stroke and
progressively increase the velocity during the casting stroke,
finishing with a crisp positive stop. Remember - All tailing
loops are caused by a concave path of the rod tip.
THE POSITIVE STOP
It is absolutely imperative that we finish both front and back
casts with a positive stop, it's not always in the same position
because of the varying line lengths we use, but it should always
be there. A
Crisp positive stop combined with a progressive application
of power is the key to good fly-casting.
THE SHORT AND LONG
To keep the rod tip tracing a horizontal line path we need to
match the amount of bend (load) in the rod to the casting stroke,
the deeper the flex in the rod or longer the length of line
the longer the casting stroke must be.
a. Short length of line, short stroke
b. Long length of line, long stroke
A fly rod is a flexible lever it bend's and loads during the
casting stroke, the more force we apply the greater the rod
bend's or loads, it is important to remember that a fly rod
is not rigid, it is possible to cast tight loops with both short
and long casting arcs if we match the casting stroke to the
amount of bend in the rod.
A SMOOTH APPLICATION OF POWER
We need a smooth and progressive application of power and velocity
finishing with a crisp positive (STOP) at the end of the casting
stroke. This abrupt STOP releases energy from the loaded or
flexed rod into the line and forms the loop.
A smooth Progressive application of power and finishing with
a crisp positive stop.
THE PAUSE
Wait for the line to fully straighten before you begin the
forward or back cast. We need a long pause for a long cast and
a short pause for a short cast. Keep your shoulders square to
the target, watch your back cast from time to time to see if
the line is fully extended before making the front cast, make
sure you just turn your head not the whole body as this will
swing the cast behind you. You can also judge your timing by
watching your front cast unroll and waiting for the same amount
of time on your back cast. This visual help ensures perfect
timing. Remember we can only make a good front cast if we make
a good back cast. Work on the back cast; concentrate on a positive
stop, a tight an efficient loop on the back cast sets us up
for the perfect front cast.
PRACTICE
I cannot emphasise this enough, don't wait until you are on
the water to practice casting, It is impossible to practice
casting while fishing, there are just too many other things
to concentrate on. Practice on a lawn or a pool free from obstacles
and distractions, every hour spent practicing will bring you
closer towards fly casting efficiency on the stream.
These tips have been put together after years of fly-casting
and fly-casting instruction. Let me stress that these tips are
not the bottom line; there are more ways to teach fly-casting
than there are fly fishermen. Just use what works for you to
make your casting more efficient.
Tight loops
Christopher Rownes - FFF Certified Fly casting Instructor
Email Chrisopher
