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boognish2010

New member
Joined
Apr 10, 2010
Messages
6
Greetings All,

Was told of this site from a nice fellow on craigslist...and after reading some posts the last two days, I almost feel comfortable revealing my ignorance. Almost...

Anyway.. a question on gear.

I've tried FF three times. I've purchased a 7ft 4w setup (low end Cortland) and a descent (Cabelas LST) 9ft 7w setup for bass on lakes/ponds. Neither have seen more than 2hrs usage in two years, sadly. Was a matter of frustration setting in, and going back to spinning tackle.

Now, I've made up my mind that FF is going to be the thing this year...and hopefully many years to come. So much so that I've basically moth-balled my other tackle.

Since I'm so new, my casting is pretty much brutal to say the least, and I plan on doing the LL Bean class asap...but until then...

Should I stick with the lower end setup and lesser length rod, or try learning with the 9ft'r? I know I put the cart before the horse when I bought these setups...but that's kind of my life.

Space is always a limitation on smaller streams, and I'm not sure how much of a handicap I'd really have with a lower end setup as I can't tell the difference when casting them anyway... I hope to be able to one day.

Would love a little nudge in the right direction from folks who know where I'm coming from...'cause they were there once, too.

thanks very much for reading...hope to hear from some of you.
 
boognish2010 wrote:
I plan on doing the LL Bean class asap...but until then...

Hi boognish - Don't worry too much about the gear. As long as the equipment is set up properly with the correct line weight, learning to cast should be fine with either setup.

Remember to limit your practice time to short, 15-20 minute sessions. Watch videos on the internet for casting tips. A really nice site to learn from is this one:

http://www.midcurrent.com/video/videos.aspx

If you practice, practice using good technique, or you'll only be building bad habits. The videos should point you in the right direction. Especially pay attention to anything by Joan Wulff. This one is a good place to start:

http://www.midcurrent.com/video/clips/wulff_dynamics_04.aspx

Don't try to learn everything at once. Keep the distance short to start - about 35 ft max.

If/when you attend the LL Bean class, odds are good if it's a Saturday, you'll be instructed by me. Let me know your PAFF name, and I promise you I'll give you my best efforts.

H.A.
 
Heck, even his avatar can double-haul...

:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I still think its easier to learn to cast with the longer rod. But I guess as long as they are balanced it shouldn't matter. I think it being a 9ft 7wt rather than a 9ft 5wt would make it a little harder though. I have a low end Cortland 7ft wt and its one of my favorite rods especially on small streams.

Hook up with someone who can cast and knows how to present a fly and do "monkey see monkey do"...
 
boognish2010 wrote:
Was told of this site from a nice fellow on craigslist...

Hey! What what you say, some of us have a reputation to keep around here...

I see you've already met the guy at the Bean I'd mentioned, I'm not surprised. He's good like that.

As for the rest of us? You'll have this down soon enough. When I started, I could just about double the length of the rod in my cast, now I can at least triple it!

Seriously, though, I read some books and watched guys casting, but it just wasn't happening. I found a series of videos on Youtube and had a little one-on-one, and from there I've managed to develop a style that I think works pretty well, and I don't sweat casting so much anymore...

FWIW, it was this series of videos with Tom Rosenbauer that was the second piece of the puzzle (the first was, oddly enough, the LL Bean intro to fly fishing book, available at your local LL Bean and finer bookstores).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2SgcCw6I8M

And, while I'm busy joining in the Bean cheering section, they have a regular, free, fly tying class that runs a 26 week course from the most basic intro up to advanced lessons. Its about half-way through now, but if you let the teacher know, he'll email when the next cycle begins.

edit: Excellent, a Ween fan. I was trying to figure out where I knew Boognish from.
 
Guys,

Thanks for the links, and more importantly the encouragement...sat up til 11 last night going through a lot of them. 5am came to quik this morning.

Making that call to LL today, if all is steady at work. I hate working weekends.

I hope to be home by 7 this evening, maybe on the Bushkill for 45min or so after that. We'll see.

I really understand where I'm screwing things up...my back cast is waaaaaay too far. And I now understand why your wrist needs to be positioned correctly. I was tryin to whip the dang thing, making a hell of a splash behind me, then slapping again on the forward cast. Quite comical, really.

This Joan Wulff, never heard of her. Wow, she's really amazing...distance, accuracy. Sick stuff.

One shot in one of the clips shows her dropping a dry fly right behind a rock, letting the current sweep it around to the small pool...wow, watched it over and over. I know it's nothing to most of you guys to be able to pull that off, but to me, it's all part of why I want to learn to do this. You're so much more involved, it's up to you to get stealthy and really read the environment. Plus there's not a ton of gear to haul around... lol.

yeah...that's it. I'm hittin the Bushkill tonight. Just for practice..of course.
 
gfen:

I take it you've heard of Ween? Not many have, or will admit to, lol. Best band I've ever heard. Sayerville on May 20th, you should come check them out. Tix are only like $28!

ugh..work beckons... :evil:
 
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