casting fundamentals

[Canoetripper]

Maybe this post belongs in the stream reports. Moderators can decide.

Here is my story and I'm sticking to it.

I went to my R&G club in the western Poconos with the goal of just getting better as a fly caster.

Tobyhanna Creek.

Both Carbon and Monroe Counties. The property is the county borders.

It was somewhat warm. Air temperatures > 80 degrees and water temperatures in the upper 60 degrees. It will soon be too warm for me to fish there until the fall when water temperatures start to drop.

Trout were rising probably to tan caddis.

May 22-23.

I have a wrist lock that anyone can buy at CVS and a Lee & Joan Wulff wristlock. These were both great helps in that I never put a wind knot in my leader, which has never happened prior to these helpful devices.

I managed to snag one back cast and hook one submerged river snag.

Victory to me. I didn't lose a fly. That has never happened before.

I have most of the time fished with woolybuggers across the current and stripping them in like I would a bass lure.

That causes problems when I have a pile of line at my feet and then make another bad cast.

I fished double woolybuggers and soft hackle wet flies, but didn't strip them in. I had to mend them somewhat, but it was a lot easier to load my fly rods with all of that line already out there prior to the back cast.

I caught some fish, which was good enough. I also hooked some that I didn't land. I am improving, which is what I want to do.

The worst part of the weekend was that the ticks were terrible, and I have a leak in my waders.

I would rather learn about that wader leak towards the end of May than the beginning of March.

CT

 

[troutbert]

What is the purpose of a wrist lock when fly casting?

I've never used one.

What is it supposed to do?

Sounds like you had some good fishing. There are probably other streams nearby that don't warm up as quickly as the stream you fished.

 

[dryflyguy]

Wrist locks are supposed to keep you from moving your wrist during the cast - which is considered a no-no by most casting instructors.

 

[troutbert]

But some casting gurus teach doing a wrist snap, also called power snap, at the end of the forward cast.

I began doing this on my own without even being aware of it. Then I heard someone, I think Joe Humphries, describing the power snap, and realized that I was already doing that.

If you do a web search you can find lots of info on this.

If I wore a wrist lock I think that would really constrain my casting.

 

[dryflyguy]

troutbert wrote:
But some casting gurus teach doing a wrist snap, also called power snap, at the end of the forward cast.

I began doing this on my own without even being aware of it. Then I heard someone, I think Joe Humphries, describing the power snap, and realized that I was already doing that.

If you do a web search you can find lots of info on this.

If I wore a wrist lock I think that would really constrain my casting.

I agree
I've always been a wristy caster. I have more accuracy snapping the wrist, than having it locked.

I once ran into George Harvey at fishermans paradise.
He gave me a little casting lesson right on the stream there.
And he stressed making the wrist snap at the end of the cast.
Most casting instructions I've seen though, call for a locked wrist.

Are you old enough to remember being told to hold a book under under your arm while practicing casting?

 

[troutbert]

When I started out no one told me anything, really.

I remember the book under the arm thing mainly from articles and instructors talking about "in the old days, they said hold a book under your arm" and why that was wrong.

But the locked wrist thing does seem similar to that. It's a constraint on your movement.

I saw a casting demo by Ed Jawrowski one time, which was excellent. He said when a baseball player is throwing from the center field wall to home plate, he doesn't put a book under his arm.

He makes that throw using movement of his entire body. From the feet up through the legs, abdominal and back muscles, shoulder arm, wrist, hand.

He said it's the same with fly casting. You don't want to limit your movement. You use a full range of motion. It makes total sense.

Lefty Kreh said similar things.

 

[Canoetripper]

Thanks for the replies. Since I have never been properly taught how to fly cast, and know that I have over extended my wrist on the back cast along with aiming my forecast, I think that keeping my wrist locked is good enough until I get better with tight loops.

Every fly fisherman deals with tangles and snags, but I had less of them this past weekend, in fact very few. I am going to credit the locked wrist with that.

Tight loops and no snags on the grass behind me due to my wrist going past the 2 o'clock back cast position is goal #1. If my back cast snag is at tree level, I can live with that, which would also be my fault for not thinking about it before casting.

Tight loop on the forward cast is #2. Accuracy obviously matters, but my casting needs to improve.

No wind knots, or bad casting knots, this past weekend was a big improvement for me, not to mention a first.

Now that I think about it, when I watch fly casting videos on YouTube or have watched experts at the Lancaster Fly Fishing Show fly cast, their fly line is fully extended and easy to load on the back cast, which is what I learned this past weekend.

My fly casting was so much better when all of line was out because I didn't strip in any woolybuggers with all of that slack line right right in front of me.

I could load the line, which I think that I have never really done before, which led to my constant frustration.

I am also experimenting with euro nymph and and indicator nymph fishing which is very different.

I am taking another fly fishing class with TCO on the Yellow Breeched in July. My first question will be about the power snap on the forward cast.

I learn a lot from this message board.

Edit note: As Clint Eastwood once famously said in one of his movies: "A man his to know his limitations." One of my many is that I know I am not a very good fly fisherman, but I do want to improve.

 

[moon1284]

Concentrate on keeping your back cast and forward cast on the same plane and accelerating to a stop. Practice by making casts with your hand with no rod when you're watching TV. When you start to haul line do the same thing as far as making casts with no rod. That helped me. If you want to Practice in your lawn do the accelerate to a stop on your back cast and let the line fall on the grass. It should be in a straight line. Then make a forward cast accelerate to a stop. It should be in a straight line. When you have that down begin false casting.

 

[BrookieChaser]

One thing you might try is casting line with your hand (without a rod). That gives you the feel you're looking to find.

Moon gave good advice above.

 

[troutbert]

moon1284 wrote:

If you want to Practice in your lawn do the accelerate to a stop on your back cast and let the line fall on the grass. It should be in a straight line. Then make a forward cast accelerate to a stop. It should be in a straight line. When you have that down begin false casting.

This is a really good way to practice. I think it is the best way to learn fly casting.

It is best to NOT start out by false casting.

It's better to start on a lawn, and making the front and back casts separately, letting the line drop to the ground each time.

Between each cast, make sure the line has all the slack out of it, before making the next cast.

You can just step forward or backward a little bit to take up any slack, before making the next cast.

Start out with a small amount of line, and make numerous casts this way. Then pull out a little more line, and make numerous casts, and just keep going, until you are throwing quite a bit of line.

Do this quite a lot before trying to false cast.

Making the casts separately, getting the slack out before casting, really gives you the feel of fly casting. Which is basically just using a stick to throw a rope.

 

[Canoetripper]

Thank you all for the replies with advise. I live in a town home community and really don't have much lawn to practice on.

However, I can always go to my R&G club and practice with my line on the water even when I think the water is getting too warm to fish.

I do want these expensive trout to hold over, and so do most of the other members. We leave them alone as the water temperatures exceed 70 degrees which will soon happen.

I am kind of just fine going there and hanging out in the woods listening to water run and the snap, crackle, and pop of a camp fire.

I am curious about this Brood X Cicada hatch. And, I am ready for it.

My next fly fishing class is with TCO on the Yellow Breeches on 07/10/2021. Someday soon I am going to be a much better fly fisherman than I am right now.

 

[OldLefty]

A wrist lock restricts how far you can open your wrist. The wrist should not open beyond having an angle of about 45 degrees between rod butt and forearm.

Wrist casting is the most limiting style of casting a fly rod. Typically, a wrist caster begins to experience significant difficuly casting beyond 40'.

 

Don't know what videos you've been watching, but I like Brian Flechsig at Mad River Outfitters and Peter Kutzer from the Orvis Fly Fishing School. And if you are into fiberglass rods, this guy seems to have it all together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXTIwkBhcxE It is a 4 part series with each being only a few minutes long. Notice he is using a 6'6" 2wt in the videos. I am very envious of his ability.

I would love to have a good instructor to teach me proper casting technique, but don't know of any instructors...good or bad... near me. So it will be all videos for me. Some are really excellent, but a video can't critique your cast. :-(

 

[maxima12]

Guest, yes. Not knowing your location. First step, cast outside. Keep casting and develop. Get all the instructions and guess what. Cast, Cast, Cast, again, again, again.

This lesson is real. Try, try, try again. My friends sometimes say, he can't cast. So i work my way down closer. i see a beginner, I Ask, Where you from, where you staying, what you using?

No reply, i move a different direction. Reply and i am in his hip pocket. I like beginners, reminds me of me. A beginner and still a beginner.

Fly fishing is an art. Like me, stick figure man, it took time. again, a short long time. Time--------sometimes long and sometimes cut short.

Listen to this true story------Time spent fishing, was my best time.

Did i ever have a bad time----yes-----everyday, i was not fishing. those days i had to endure life and all it gave. Many times life took away all that was dear. I managed to endure and fish again!

Maxima12

 

[maxima12]

I can't throw a full spool, i get close. If i cant, i move on. I guess 10 yards would be my best. With that, always drag.

Leaders are the key! In 35 years, how many 18 footers, i sold, zero.
12 footers some. In between, don't ask.

Everyone wants a 9 ft. 5x. That is what you have been trained to want.

Oh, how you have been trained. I love 15 footers. A good leader with a not so good caster. I bet it works, all the time.

Maxima12