Help casting my fly fishing rod

[reelon]

Well, my wife gave a dogwood canyon fly fishing combo from BPS, along with a DVD that shows you how to cast. I have been trying to cast, but the only thing that I have manage to do is to get the leader all tangle up. Any suggestions to help me improve my casting? The rod has a #6 weight line and it is 8'6" reel model DCII.

[SenkoSnack808]

Yeah PRACTICE! I honestly pratice multiple times in my back yard a month. Work on short distance and not long ones, the transistion form bas stuff can be strange. But most casts with a fly rod for trout are under 60 feet. Mine are close to 30-40 most of the time. Are you familar with the 10 and 2 oclock postiton. Try and watch you line in the air as you cast, your backcast which is when the line goes behind you is important. Make sure you give the line enough time to fully extend behind you before bringing the cast forward. Also don not cast fast, let the rod do the work, when you become better you will feel what the line is doing with the rod. When you bring th line forward dont rush it, if you rush the forward cast you will snap your leader or the cast will tail. A tailing loop is caused when you bring the rod forward to fast without letting the line extend behindyou, it's when your leader dips bellow your fly line. You get tangled when this happens, so try and slow your stroke down a little.


It's hard to explain casting over the net, try and find somebody who knows how to cast, at a fly shop, or bass pro, gander mountain, or cabelas. After you get through the basics you will love it. If it gets to be too much, then put the rod down and take a break.

I am learning to tie flies now, and I am in the same boat, it can be very frustrating.


Good luck, Corey

[Bandit]

Hi...Sometimes it can be hard to learn the basics to casting a fly rod but once these are accomplished its not hard at all. The previous advice of trying to find someone for a couple lessons is an excellent way to start.

If lessons are not available I would suggest that you start with one "phase" of casting at a time rather then trying to attain perfection in one shot. Its very important that you have a well balanced outfit. In short, a rod fitted with a line that gets the most out the action of your rod but does not over power it. If you are satisfied with that then I would suggest, if instruction is not an option, to take a chair outside and start casting from a sitting position. What this does is help limit the lenght of your casting stroke. By learning to stop your forward cast at between 10 and 11 0'clock and your backcast to no farther back then the 2 o'clock position, you will find that the action of your rod will do what its supposed to do, that is to propel the line, rather then trying to throw the line with your arm much like throwing a baseball. You will find once you extend your casting stroke beyond those times on the casting clock that you cannot inpart the "power" needed to flex the rod properly. Once you get that basic motion to the point where you don't have to think about it you can move on to the next "phase".

If you are trying to learn with a full leader on your line I would suggest that you cast with just the butt section of leader attached. Never cast with just the line with no leader at all as this will damage the end of your flyline.

Cheers....."The Bandit"

"You can't catch fish unless your fly is in the water"

[DUZBASS]

books cant replace practice, but a great book for fundamentals is
Master the Cast by George V. Roberts Jr. absolutely the best fly casting book I have used. I followed his lessons when I taught fly casting and it seemed to click with most of my students

[reelon]

rather then trying to throw the line with your arm much like throwing a baseball.

This is what seems to happen to me right know, I find myself trying to throw the line more with my hand than with the actual action of the rod. I have not find someone here in my area to teach me how to cast, but I will do as you advice. Thanks

[reelon]

books cant replace practice, but a great book for fundamentals is
Master the Cast by George V. Roberts Jr. absolutely the best fly casting book I have used. I followed his lessons when I taught fly casting and it seemed to click with most of my students

Thanks for the info I will look for the book

[davej]

Hi Reelon.. congrats on the nice gift... stick with it.. once you start getting the hang of it you will become addicted.. Here is some info from a previous post

After some lessons to learn the basics, A great DVD and Practice tool is by Joan Wulff. I sit on the couch or in the office practicing using this mini rod and yarn, it really simulates a real cast motion to get the yarn fully extended.


http://www.royalwulff.com/educational.html#fly-o

get this video as well Fly Casting DVD/Video

Also I highly recommend getting a guide as much as possible:

1) you learn new spots that aren't the normal pools alongside the highway that everyone stops at.

2) a Good guide will teach you how to read the river, point out where fish are holding and why.

3) Will teach you how to match the hatch, names of bugs, size fly you should use.

4) Will constantly work with your cast and presentation

5) most will supply nicer high end gear if you don't have the right rod for the technique or presentation

6) Will teach you different types of Fly fishing from Streamers, Dry fly and nymphing.

[Questor]

There are several photographically illustrated books on casting technique available. My personal favorite is the one by Lefty Kreh. The purpose of the books is to show you pictures of what a good cast looks like. The text tells you how to apply the forces. It's not difficult to learn.

One tip: Focus on casting well out to 30 feet. That means accurately. Add another 10 feet to that and you'll have adequate casting distance for most freshwater applications. You can worry about greater distance later.