Casting Tip
Early season's always a good time to re enforce good casting habits, improve technique or simple to try something new.
I've covered this before but it's such a common problem that it's a good one to focus on;
The one common problem I see is the inability to straighten a longer leader when making a basic short to medium length casts, particularly if there's any sort of a head wind. And if you can't consistently straighten a leader then on many occasions you are going to spook your fish as the tippet and indicator lands in a heap on top of him instead of landing well ahead.
One of the main causes for this is not stopping the rod at 12 o'clock on the back castKnow this sounds easy, but I know from watching many clients over many seasons that most of us will struggle to focus on the 12 o'clock stop when we have a big trout rising a few meters ahead. Maybe for us guys it's something to do with our ability to multi task....
So the best place to sort it out is on the back lawn, park or to spend some dedicated practice time on the river.
Watch your rod tip all the way up and make sure it stops at 12 o'clock!
Watch your line on the back cast, direct it up into the sky behind and watch it to see that that is where it's going
It's important to not have any slack line when picking line up off the water, so make sure you are stripping in. Pull down with your line hand as you pick up and also feel for the waters tension (with out ripping the water) as you lift up as this will help propel the line back behind you. If there is some slack line you'll find you have to move the rod tip further back past the 12 o'clock point to take up this slack
The result of the 12 o'clock stop should be that the leader will turn over better as you present it, so try it and see if it works for you.
A well constructed tapered leader is also important particularly if you are using a longer one as the power of the cast needs to be transmitted down the leader to get it to roll over and straighten to present the fly well. If you are new to fly fishing it's easier to start of with shorter leaders; I'd suggest an 9 foot leader to which you add sections of tippet.
I like to use a heavy tapered leader, 10 - 12 foot, 9 -12 lbs test to which I add 2 or 3 sections of tippet to taper it down to what is desired. The reason being is that the heavy butt section helps to transmit the energy and turn over a longer leader. In fact at times I'll make up my own tapered leaders out of different strengths of Mono and find them best.
A good quality fly line makes the world of difference to how any rod will cast, and the weight forwards types will aid casting and help when casting into the wind. So it's a good idea to buy the best you can afford. A quality fly line like the new Ridge Lines will last for many years, so take that into account when purchasing a line.
Steve
Flyshop 2006
