You don’t necessarily have to be a pro to know how to cast your fly line. Many people who are inept at casting can catch a myriad of fish, but once you know the basic rules for fly casting, you’ll be well on your way to angling like the pros.
You’ll need to start with the line straight and organized. You cannot move a fly with a slack line. If the line isn’t straightened, you will waste time and energy on ineffective casts and you will place your rod in the wrong place. Always start tight. If the fly moves when the tip is moved just a little, the line is properly organized.
Every casting stroke is a smooth acceleration followed by a stop. Acceleration means that the rod pulls the line all through the cast. The cast is complete when the rod stops. The acceleration bends the rod and loads it like a spring. During acceleration, the rod bend increases, when it stops, the rod straightens propelling the line to where you want it to go.
Many experts liken this to flicking paint off of a paintbrush. Most people can understand this concept making it easier to learn a basic cast. The better the stop is, the more effective the cast is because the energy transfer from the rod to line is more efficient.
The line will always follow the rod tip. When the rod stops, the line will go in the direction the rod tip was going in when the stop was made. Thus, if you want your line to go straight, make your rod tip go straight.
There are two basic stances you can use when preparing to cast. The orthodox stance calls for you to put your foot below your casting arm shoulder and slightly in front of the other foot. For example, if you are casting with your right hand, the right foot should be slightly in front of the left foot. Your feet should be slightly apart, your body relaxed and comfortable. You should be able to transfer body weight easily between the feet during the cast.
If you use an open stance, your feet will be placed the opposite way of the orthodox stance. If you cast with your right hand, your right foot will be placed slightly behind the left foot. This type of position is used mainly for distance casting allowing the caster to turn and watch the back casting without moving or turning the shoulder.
When holding the rod, you should not hold on too tightly. If you grip the rod too tightly, you won’t have smooth casts and it will cause muscle pain and fatigue in your arms with too tight of a grip.
The generally recommended way to hold your fly rod is to hold with the thumb on top and slightly to the left of center so that the “V” in between the thumb and index finger is in line with the top of the rod. As we’ve said, your grip must be comfortable and the size of the handle should fit nicely in your hand.
You can also choose to hold the rod with your index finger running on the top of the rod or slightly curled around and the handle resting comfortably in your palm. This grip is good for short distance accuracy.
Find which stance and which hold is right for you. The more you practice and play around with various holds and castings, the better you will get.
This is the most common type of cast used by fly fishermen. Start with the line straight out in front and straight to the rod top. Keep the tip low and avoid any slack in the line. Aim the rod slightly above straight out in front of you. The wrist, rod, hand, and lower arm should all move in unison. Accelerate the rod vertically until you are at approximately 12:00 at which time, the wrist breaks crisply driving the rod forward to about 10:00.
Overall, the arc may be slightly more than 90 degrees from start to finish. Movement starts slowly and then the speed of the rod tip increases rapidly toward the end of the stroke. Maximum input speed is reached immediately before the stop but the maximum delivery speed is after the stop.
If you do it correctly, the line will be flying upwards and behind you through the air and it will become fully straight. There will be no line tension in the rod. Arm and wrist positions remain stationary while the line is extending down the back cast.
When the line is fully extended behind, you should be able to feel the line loading in the rod tip by both the hand holding the rod and the other hand holding the line. During the forward cast, the wrist retains the “broken” position until the wrist straightens around 11:00 to give the line added push. The motion is checked crisply at 10:00 allowing the line to extend straight with a well-formed loop uncoiling directly above the line from the rod tip.
You can remember the overhead cast by keeping in mind the following:
To practice, try standing with your arm straight down. Bend your elbow horizontal with your index finger pointing straight ahead. That is the starting position for the cast. Move your hand upward until your index finger touches the top of your ear. This is the position for completion of the back cast portion. If you look out of the corner of your eye, you should be able to see the inside of your palm.
To simulate the forward cast, let your hand fall to the 10:00 position which will be just below shoulder height. Then you will have completed all three stopping positions for a basic overhead cast. It’s very important to learn this cast, because it is the basis for many other casting techniques.
Roll casting isn’t a back cast at all. It is a circular motion cast that changes the direction of the line. Instead of being a straight line, roll casts use a tensioned curved loop of line called a “D” loop, but the three casting rules still apply.
Roll casts depend on the back cast forming a smooth, curved loop making the line have minimal contact with the water while the remainder of the loop is perfectly formed in mid-air allowing the power stroke to be delivered with a maximum of efficiency at the instant of water contact. The rod does not stop during a roll cast. It simply changes direction and speed being loaded at all times.
There should be no slack in the loop when the forward cast is made. Simple roll casts can be made with a stationary loop of line drooping to the water’s surface from the rod tip. This can be very useful when casting a short distance or straightening the line in preparation for a longer cast.
Longer roll casts are made by forming the loop and delivering the stroke in one continuous motion. The forward cast or power stroke is delivered in an upward direction to insure the line is propelled clear of the water. You should make the cast crisply and aim high.
Single handed roll casts rely directly on fast, snappy wrist action. The “D” loop is formed by elevating the rod to 11:00 at a suitable angle away from the body with the arm somewhat extended. The arm is drawn back to the body while the rod is simultaneously swept backwards to 2:00 by the wrist opening up and turning into a loop preparing for the acceleration into the power stroke.
Essentially, what you are doing is moving the rod around slowly and to the back to about 2:00. Then when the line is below and behind, make the forward cast smoothly stopping at 11:00. Because the line is below and behind, the cast is made upward.
The pear shaped loop made by the tip of the rod is what constructs the “D” loop. By stopping the rearward motion of the line, it allows the leader and the tip of the line to land on the surface to provide the anchor for the power stroke. If the line is not anchored, the energy from the power stroke will be discharged immediately. Instead of the line being propelled forward, the fly will whiplash which could cause danger to you!
An adaptation of this cast is the roll lift. With this cast, the rolling motion is used as a means for lifting a dead line from the water to make a straight line false cast. To do the roll lift correctly, the line must be hit even harder and higher than normal to insure that the line is straight and the fly does not kiss the water when the straight line back cast begins.
The mechanics of each of these methods depends on sufficient energy being applied to a length of line behind the rod to propel it during the forward cast. Every cast is dependent on a good back cast.
A haul is a pull or tug on the line that is normally done during the back cast or the forward cast. It increases the speed of the line, enabling you to make longer casts with less strain on your casting arm.
You can also use it during the pickup to ease the line off the water with a shorter stroke than you'd normally need. When a caster hauls during the pickup, he's usually doing it because he is trying to pick up and back cast a long line, one so long that he just doesn't have enough rod travel in his pickup-and-back cast to get the job done.
Before you make your single haul, make sure you have enough slack between your line hand and the reel to permit the longest haul you can make without yanking line off the reel during the haul. To haul on the pickup, begin pulling on the line directly away from your rod hand the instant you begin the pickup.
Your haul should accelerate in time with the rod's acceleration, and it should have its abrupt stop at the same instant as the rod. If you don't need a haul during the pickup, save the line speed you would have used on the pickup for the back cast.
To do this, delay your haul until the line-to-leader connection begins to come off the water. Then accelerate your haul as you accelerate the rod, finishing both the haul and the back cast abruptly at the same instant.
The double haul cast is slightly different than the single haul. With a short, downward pull; draw down about five to eight inches of fly line on the back cast. Bring your hand and the line back up. Let the fly line unroll behind you like in an overhead cast.
Make your second haul in equal length as your first haul. Do this in the acceleration of the forward cast. Bring your hand holding the fly line quickly forward as if you were shooting your line. That completes the cast.
The double haul cast is good for getting you extra distance during your casts.
In a conventional reach cast, the forward stroke must stop when the rod is high, say at eleven o'clock. And your forward cast must be very slow to give you time to execute the proper reach. The instant after the rod stops, gently reach the rod upstream as the line is falling.
You should finish reaching before the line first touches the water, with the rod pointing perpendicular to the line. In other words, at the finish of a good reach cast, the line does a 90-degree bend at the tip-top of the rod.
To shoot during the reach, completely let go of the line the instant you begin to move the rod upstream. It is imperative that you completely release the line at this point. You'll know you have made a good reach cast when you see the line and leader running dead straight from the rod tip to the fly.
If you're like most people who never tried the sidearm, you'll find it a little weird at first. All the fundamental rod motions are the same— the short stroke and then the gentle acceleration to an abrupt stop. But the muscles doing them are different.
As always, be patient. Get used to the idea that this'll probably feel awkward at first and that you'll screw up a few dozen times before it becomes somewhat familiar.
To make this as easy as possible, you'll want to learn with no more than 15 feet of fly line (excluding the leader) beyond the tip-top. Because gravity pulls things down, long sidearm casts are very hard to make. With so little clearance to begin with your rod tip travels just about three feet over the ground through both strokes— there's just not time for a long back cast to straighten out behind you before it
Start with the line on the water or lawn and the rod pointing straight at the yarn or fly. As you make your pickup, do so by bringing the rod up diagonally, off to the side. As you ease into your back cast, make it in a horizontal plane. That’s not just "leaned out to the side a little bit." That means that the rod travels perfectly parallel to the ground. Make some false casts in this plane, keeping your casting hand at exactly the same level— no higher — as your elbow.
You'll have best results if you make your hand travel at least 18 inches during each casting stroke, as though you are making a snow angel with your forearm. If your usual overhead casting style is with your torso square to your target, you'll have an easier time if you turn your torso out toward your rod. To do this comfortably, drop your right foot back and look toward your casting hand as you cast. Otherwise, your shoulder will have to open out a lot on the back cast, which will feel awkward.
A good sidearm cast can be done with your torso upright and comfortable. If you need to make longish sidearm casts, swivel your torso slightly with both the back cast and forward cast, as though you are watching a tennis match from the net. This will give you more line speed, more comfortably than you can generate with a fixed torso. You'll also need to bring the rod up somewhat from horizontal to give the longer line more ground clearance.
The false cast can be used for two different operations in fly fishing. First it is used to help in changing directions between casts. It also helps us to set and determine the desistance of the cast to a given point. The false cast is repeated three or four times to help us move to the right or left, not letting it lay on the water until our final cast. Second it is a great cast to use to help dry out a water logged dry fly.
Lift the fly line off the water as in any normal cast. Let the back cast unroll behind you until you feel a slight pull backwards on the rod. Your line should make a small loop.
Bring your fly rod forward but do not let the line settle on the water. Wait until the line is out in front forming a small loop. Repeat all movement until you are ready to make your final cast.
This cast is good to use in windy conditions. Fly fishing is made possible in many impossible places thanks to this casting technique.
Begin by insuring that the line is straight and tight to the rod. Once you start a spey cast, it’s important not to stop the rod until the forward delivery is made. The rod will alter speed and make considerable changes in direction during the cast. Make a slight in-swing up to the 10:30 position. Rotate your body backwards.
Form a “D” loop behind you with the line the drive the line forward during the turning of your body back towards the front again. The rod is accelerated by pushing with the top hand and pulling with the bottom hand.
The cast should be aimed high and the rod tip must be moved in a straight line if the forward loop is to be kept tight to penetrate the winds. Shooting line to obtain greater distance is important when spey casting. The line is lengthened by releasing spare line immediately after the power stroke is done.
Look for the forward loop of line passing the rod tip. Once you see that, it’s time to release, or shoot, the line into the cast. The amount of energy put into the forward cast must be increased to take into account any additional length that is being cast.
Take some time to practice before you actually get out into the water. A good idea is to place a target somewhere on the ground in front of you. Then practice landing your fly directly on your target using a variety of casting techniques. This is good for when you are out on the water and want to land your fly where you think the fish are.
Cast your line up river from the location where you think the fish might be. Use a “stop-drop-drop” method of laying your fly on the water. Remember that the idea is to replicate the landing and take-off motion of the fish’s natural food – bugs.
When the fly hits the water, loop the fly line over the second and third finger of your rod hand and hold it loosely next to the cork handle. Then take hold of the line with your line hand just in front of the reel so you can strip (pull in) line as needed.
If you’re fishing on a river, make one or two up-stream "mends" (rolls) in your line to get the line and leader floating behind your fly. Point your rod tip right at the fly and follow it down the river. Strip in line as needed to keep a straight line between the fly and the rod tip.
When the fish hits, tighten your fingers around the line and the rod handle and raise the rod sharply to set the hook. Keeping your rod tip high let the fish run as the line slides out over your fingers. Palm your reel to slow the fish down and gain control over it, but don’t try to completely stop it. Remember to keep your palm flat to avoid being hit by the wind knob.
When the fish rests, reel in quickly. When the fish runs again, palm the reel. Continue this palm/reel cycle until the fish tires and is ready to come in. If the fish runs toward you, stand on your tip-toes, raise your rod as high over your head as possible, and put the line back over the second and third fingers of your rod hand.
Then strip in line as fast as possible to take up slack. If the fish then turns and runs away from you, keep your rod tip high, let the line slowly slide through your fingers, and prepare to palm the reel when all the slack is gone. When landing your fish, keep it in the water and practice proper catch and release techniques.
Of course, the flies you use are an important part of fly fishing as a sport and as recreation. Do you want to know how to tie your own flies? We’ll cover that in the next section.
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