Casting dry flies & nymph from the 'wrong' bank

[geebee]

Hi Guys, a casting/technique question - i don't do a lot of dry fly fishing or sight fishing nymphs, but for me as I'm right handed and cast with my right, river right as you look upstream is the 'right' bank.

which is fine when i have access to it, i can reach cast upstream and mend and get a good drift to the right of a sighted fish with a heavy nymph, emerger or dry fly.

however when i fish from the river left, i notice that i spook the fish or i can't reach cast (so its the wrong bank ) and the presentation is lousy.

how do you guys deal with fishing from the wrong bank ? - do you fish downstream and pile or steeple cast to give the drift slack, or do you wade out and make very short 90 degree ish casts and drifts ? or down and across ?

i'm thinking of fishing a flat or soft ripple here on a relatively wide river - tully, delaware etc rather than small creeks where i fish pools upstream.

cheers

Mark.

 

[troutbert]

I cast backhand.

 

[Fishidiot]

troutbert wrote:
I cast backhand.

Me too.

I've tried to learn to cast with my left hand and can do it fairly well, but not any better than backhand. Approaching trout from the opposite bank than is typically used by fishermen can get you a lot of hook ups - especially those pesky bankside sippers.

 

[pcray1231]

I never really had much problem with which side of the stream. On smaller waters, you gotta be able to cast on an 180 degree arc. i.e. straight sidearm in either direction and everything in between.

That said, yes, sometimes I have to use downstream pile casts, down and across, etc. It's not due to which side but where the obstacles are, and where the pool offers a window. You do what you gotta do.

On larger waters (big enough to where the stream itself spreads the canopy), I do prefer to have my casting hand on the downstream side of my body, as when you turn to face upstream the casting arm is to the stream side and you can better use the stream corridor to make the cast. But stream structure usually determines it, I won't fish from the "wrong" side structurally to make myself more comfortable. You make due.

This is one reason why yard casting is helpful, but never quite the real thing. Almost never can I make a "normal" cast like you would in a mowed field. So when you practice, give yourself obstacles for your backcast, and put those obstacles in various places.

 

[Chaz]

You learn to cast backhand, and when that doesn't work you lay the line on the water, either on the right side or left side and in 1 motion cast to the spot you want the fly to land. That being said the fly nearly always lands where the tip of the rod stops, and that's the key.
Sometimes you can roll cast to those spots.

 

[redietz]

I either cast backhand or cast with my other hand, depending on how much I need to manage line with the line hand. (I can cast just fine left handed, but my ability to use my right to handle line is somewhat limited.)

 

[SteveG]

I think your description of river right is backwards. But regardless, the snake roll or snap-t come in handy for me.

 

[Chaz]

river left
The left-hand side of the river or stream as it would appear to an observer who is facing downstream. It's a relative term, though, the exact position being determined from the context. For instance "river left of the hole" could still be physically on the right half of the river, while "she ran river left" without a qualifier just means toward the left side of the river. Taking "the far left technical route" is a euphemism for portaging on river left.

river right
The right-hand side of the river or stream as it would appear to an observer who is facing downstream. See river left for the rest of it.
These are boating terms, however in the context the OP stated he would be correct. It's relative. The general usage is that it is used in reference to looking downstream.

 

[SteveG]

I'm thoroughly confused lol

 

[henrydavid]

I think Chaz was describing river navigation, as in "River Right, River Left" heading in a canoe down river the right side is generally referred to as "River Right" correct me if I'm wrong.

Which is opposite of the original poster's (river) right/left

 

[troutbert]

henrydavid wrote:
I think Chaz was describing river navigation, as in "River Right, River Left" heading in a canoe down river the right side is generally referred to as "River Right" correct me if I'm wrong.

Which is opposite of the original poster's (river) right/left

You are correct. Kayakers and canoers talk about "river right" and "river left" from the perspective of looking downstream.

People in science and engineering also use "river right" and "river left" in the same way, from the perspective of looking downstream.

It's confusing to fly fishermen as most of us fish upstream, and talk about the left and right side from that perspective.

Also, regarding stream names, the left and right branches were named from the perspective of looking upstream.

 

[brookieaddict]

When you learn to spey cast the type of cast you choose( usualy betwwen the dbl spey or sanp-t) is from river right or left. They now are using upstream and down stream becuase of the dumbing down of the clients i supose. Think about what you want to do and the drift you want and you will learn by doing, not asking just doing. How do you think the rollcast,perry ,single spey,double spey,snap-t and all the various casts were discovered??

 

[geebee]

thanks for the replies guys, i had no idea trout fishers used backhand casts. ive done it a lot for saltwater with much heavier rods and double hauls, it looks like i need to do some yard casting.

 

[Chaz]

henrydavid wrote:
I think Chaz was describing river navigation, as in "River Right, River Left" heading in a canoe down river the right side is generally referred to as "River Right" correct me if I'm wrong.

Which is opposite of the original poster's (river) right/left

That's right, er correct. I wanted to put it into perspective, we as fishermen use the definition looking upstream. It's the opposite of what the river runners use.

 

[geebee]

troutbert wrote:
I cast backhand.

any tips on presentation with the backhand cast ?

do i need to stop the rod tip high ?

Thanks

 

[GenCon]

I back hand cast all the time. It is not hard. I basically cast the same as I do forward. Meaning using the same casting stroke. You don't need to use your rod any different. Just the way you face your body.

GenCon

 

[troutbert]

geebee wrote:

troutbert wrote:
I cast backhand.

any tips on presentation with the backhand cast ?

do i need to stop the rod tip high ?

Thanks

I cast with pretty much the same motion, timing etc. as on the forehand side. The mechanics are the same.

Try to visualize this:

Casting forehand on my natural (right side) I use the thumb on top grip. When casting, the thumb and rod tip are pointed directly at the target. This is very standard, most people cast this way.

Now visualize just bringing the arm across the body to the left side. And casting the same way, using the thumb in the same way, pointing the thumb and the rod tip directly toward the target.

Where you stop the rod tip on the front and back cast, all that stuff, is exactly the same.

It just takes a little practice, but it really is not that hard.

When fishing nymphs, wets and streamers, you can often make a backhand cast without doing any false casting. Using a cast called a "water haul", which can be done on the backhand side (as well as the forehand side)

At the end of the drift, the line is hanging down in the current. Just lift the rod tip so that the nymph comes up near the surface. The line will be all stretched out below you, by the current. Then just make a cast and send the line and nymph back up to the head of the run.

There are probably some videos showing guys nymphing, where they do this over and over again, rarely doing any false casting. Just drift the run, then raise the rod tip, then cast up to the head of the run, and repeat. This can be done on the backhand as well as the forehand side.

After writing all this it occurred to me that there is probably already a YouTube video that would show you about backhand casting in about 4 minutes, and better than it can be explained in words.

 

[jeremymcon]

I cast backhand as well. It works fine once you do it a couple times. The trick for me was to be careful not to rush the... Back cast? The one right before I present the fly. I still occasionally let my leader/fly hit my line on the last cast. It's not as tricky as you'd think though. Just face downstream like you're going to cast downstream (or more sideways), but turn your head back to see where your back cast is going.