Fly Rod Casting

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All kinds of fishing has casting
but fly rod casting is fun in and of it's self

"If you don't know where the fish lie but can cast well enough to cover all the water with finesse, you are likely to solve the mystery and catch fish. If you know where they lie but can neither reach them nor present the fly naturally, you are not even in the game."
Joan Wulff

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Sage words but don't let it put you off. With trout and really so many fish knowing where the fish are, is the most important aspect of all fishing...fly or not. Most of us make our journey to fly fishing through so-called "conventional" fishing. In reality fly fishing is much older than 'normal' fishing. If you fish already you have many of the skills needed to fly fish. Reading water, fish habits and locations through the seasons and a fishermen's "common sense" are all what we call "transferable skills". The only thing that is not transferable is casting.

In spin fishing we throw the lure or bait with the rod and the lure is propelled pulling the fishing line behind it. In fly casting you cast the line, which is heavier, and the fly is propelled behind it.

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Casting in words.

SLACK LINE...THE ENEMY
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Ensure that the fly line is free slack prior to and during casting. When picking up a line up from the water, make sure all slack has been removed prior to attempting the cast. The curve in the line from a rod tip held some distance above the water to the line lying on the water however is often ignored. Always begin and finish your cast with the rod tip at water level for now.
Between casting strokes do not wave the rod around. Move the rod smoothly during the cast, decelerate smoothly when stopping between casts and do not again move the rod until you commence your next cast.... until you feel the rod load (tug) with the line fully extended in the opposite direction. Avoid bringing the rod to a shuddering or stop between casts.

Move the rod through a flat and straight plane. As the rod is moved back and forth in the air, it must move through in a flat and straight plane, which should be parallel but may be at any angle to the ground. But perpendicular is easier to remember and maintain. If the rod is moved through in a curve, convex or concave line, flicked behind the caster at the top of the stroke, or sliced when presenting forwards, a significant amount of energy is lost through this curvature. Also the caster may get a fly in the head. The fly hitting the rod and "wind knots" (really casting knots) will occur. Create a straight line trajectory with the rod tip!

The fly rod stores and then applies power, via the rod tip, to the fly line. Therefore, we must aspire to make the fly rod tip travels in a straight line to ensure a total transfer of energy to the fly line.
The nature of this application of power must be a smooth and progressive acceleration of the rod through the casting arc, before a rapid, but equally smooth, deceleration.

The word trajectory is used because, the line will travel straight from the position the rod tip started at, through to the position at which it finishes. This means that the start and stop points of the rod tip are not some irrelevant points in the sky, but rather, form your forward sight and rearward sight. Move either, or both, and you will adjust you fly line point of aim. In other words what ever path you rod tip takes your line, leader and fly will too.

Lay out the line straight between casting strokes
The rod loads on the inertia of the fly line, stores the energy and when it unloads, transfers that energy back into the fly line at the end of the casting stroke.

If the fly line is fully deployed in a straight line prior to pick up, or between casting strokes, we get the required maximum loading on the rod. If the fly line is only partially deployed, we only get a partial loading. If the fly line is still in front of the rod when the rod is moved forward, or visa versa, you will get no loading on the rod at all. Wait for the fly line to almost straighten at the end of the cast, before commencing to cast in the opposite direction. Check out the graphic on the top right for an idea.

Safety First
To practice casting, you must have some air resistant object on the end of the leader/tippet. This can be a fly, with or without a hook point, or preferably a much less fearful piece of wool. When casting with fully functional hooks, you must always wear eye protection.
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LET'S BEGIN
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Square your shoulders to the target area;
Place your dominant foot slightly to the rear. This will put you in a well balanced stance for casting.
Cast with your arm close to your body, your forearm may naturally tilt away from you at 10 degrees, and using only your elbow move the rod through an arc which is about 90 degrees off of the perpendicular. (The old way was to "stop and start at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. This is not a hard and fast rule but it is a start) _____________________________

FLY FISHING CASTS
Some or all of these may be best learned by watching someone do it for real but here are some descriptions
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ROLL CAST
Uses the natural water tension and the line in the water to 'load' rod with out a back cast. Perfect for avoiding the Jack pines behind you.
Towards the end of your line retrieve slowly lft the rod while maintaining tension in the line. When the rod is at 12 o'clock a forward cast is applied and the line will "roll" out in the direction of your choosing.
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PICK-UP AND LAY-DOWN CAST

As the current pulls your line along you may want to cast to another area. As you feel the line tug you lift the rod. The surface tension of the water will load the rod and you can make a full back cast. When it is loaded on the back cast you may make the forward cast in the direction of your choice. This is a roll cast with a back cast so use the roll cast pickup. Also this is a nice precursor to learning to false cast.
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FALSE CASTING
Purpose: to dry the dry fly, to carry the cast in the air, to progressively change direction with the cast or to shoot line. (Cast farther)
 Lift the pick-up high into the air. Make the false cast parallel to the ground. Ensure you pause long enough for the line to straighten out, both in front and behind. Do not impact the fly on the water during this cast because you'll scare the fish. Do not false cast excessively as this wastes valuable fishing time and increases the possibility of alerting fish.
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SHOOTING LINE
Purpose To Increase the length of line both, during false casting and on the final presentation cast.(longer casts)
Hold the line firmly in the line hand. Release the line after the application of power by the rod hand. Maintain control on the line by running it through, or over, your fingers. Never drop or totally release it, which will permit it to jump around the butt of the rod or reel or cause you to look down to take hold of it again.
 Never let line slip while applying power to the rod during the cast.
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HAULING
Purpose: to pump extra power into your cast with your line hand.
 Pull down with your line hand, while casting with your rod hand. Release or move the line back up to the rod at the end of the power application. Do it both directions and you are double hauling.
 Double hauling is almost essential where large distances are commonly required.

Some tips.

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TIPS
The best advice I can give you is this:
1. Go where fly fishers are fishing. Watch and learn. Maybe you could find an opportune moment to ask a question or two. But remember don't come in from behind!! Ask one you know or find one to know most if not all fly fishers are glad to help.
2. Look behind you! The vast majority or casting problems occur there. Is your line fully extended before you start that forward cast? How far away is that tree? When looking back make sure you do not change you casting plane from being flat and straight (keep it on the trolley tracks) 
Most of this is meaningless with out just seeing someone actually doing it and this is by no means all there is. But I hope it is a start for you.

Common casting problems

Most will agree that if you found 20 casters you will find 20 problems in their casting. Having said that let's try to isolate the more common problems and mistakes.
1. The spin fish cast.
When making the transition from spin to fly fishing we do need to bring alot of our skills along. Reading water, fish behavior, stealth are some but the cast is not. The whipping motion and the wrist cast are the 2 most common traits to carry over. Along with trying to get leverage with your whole body these spin cast principles are at odds with the "loading the rod" principle of fly casting.
2. Slurping and splashing
When on the water you lift your rod to begin your back cast and you get some huge slurp as the fly line is ripped from the water...the rod is traveling/going too fast. Gently lift the rod up till just the leader is in the water then start your back cast in earnest.
Splash on the back cast....the rod is too low...cure: look behind you and try to keep the rod at the 45 degree angle.
3. Cast falls apart in the end
The number one reason for this is a too soon forward cast. Other reasons whipping the forward cast (spinning style) and dealing with more line out then you are ready for yet. It is good problem to have as it means you are progressing.

Windy days and the fly rod

A couple of references to wind and fly casting has me thinking and that can be dangerous.
When ever you go outside there is almost always some breeze and more so here on the plains. But can I say no to fishing just cause of some wind? Anyone who knows me (my wife) knows the answer is "the only thing that keeps Rob from his fishing is time and ice"
Let's talk about some simple remedies. If you can position yourself to have the wind coming from behind and across then that might be a solution. If you are in a boat good news the shore line that is getting the wind is also more likely to hold the fish. But in general it always seems that wind is always at odds with where you are standing or where you want to cast to.
1. Most shore bound spin fishers would jump for joy to have a breeze at their backs but with fly fishing it is not the same gift. Usually on your back cast will collapse in the tail wind, failing to load the rod giving you nothing to work with and on the forward cast the mess comes and hits you in the back. Simple solution a stronger back cast. Real solution a single "haul" on the back cast.
2. Wind in your face. Great song title but the same thing but in reverse. But on the back cast you have the added bonus of the wind sending the fly at your front (got one in the eye once) Simple solution stronger forward cast. Real solution a front haul.
3. Wind from your right. (assuming you cast with your right arm) On both the front casts the wind can change the trajectory and plant the fly in your front or back or wrap line around you. Simple solution put rod at an angle to your body (45 degrees or so) Real solution the "double haul" (hauls on the front and back casts)
Guess we had better talk about hauls soon...
BTW I am doing this writing but i do not assume to be the best caster here. If anyone else has ideas/tips please chime in.