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I am very new to fly fishing. I was going to go out to a lake about an hour away for some bass fishing. Winds are projected to be around 20 mph. As a beginner, can casting in those conditions hinder my progress, or is it best to go out and learn as I go?
Thanks
I do it a fair amount, and it's not a "touch" kind of deal at all. It's easier to cast dead into the wind than at an angle, for sure. Go try... you can't learn if you stay at home!
Agree with the Q. Kid. Also I find that if I use a heavier rod I have better results.
Welcome to FAOL.
Tim
I just picked up the fly rod back in June and I can say that strong winds have definitely had an effect on my casting, but it can usually be worked around. The only time I was really hurt was shore fishing a large pond in the next town over when the winds were a steady 15mph with gusts over 20. It was late last month and I needed a good thirty to forty feet in order to get to where the fish were. I just couldn't pull it off.
In that situation, however, there were a couple of special issues that I think made it especially difficult. First, there was zero cover near me and I was on a long beach. This meant I got the full force of the wind at all times since nothing was around to break it. And second, the wind was coming in at an angle and shifting a good ten or twenty degrees to either side quite frequently, which made getting into a groove to work around it just wasn't happening.
If either of those issues weren't present, or if I had another year or two of casting experience on me, then I don't think I would have had any trouble at all.
As an absolute beginner though, it just didn't work out.
I have three suggestions.
Learn to double haul.
Practice an elliptical casting motion called the Belgian "Wind" Cast. When casting into the wind, do a overheand backcast and a sidearm foreward cast. When casting with the wind, do a backward sidearm cast and an overhead forward cast. The sidearm portion of the elliptical cast is against the wind that the overhead cast is with the wind so the wind catches and extends the overhead cast.
When the wind is blowing the line into your body, turn around do your forward cast in the direction away from your target, so the wind then blows your line away from your body for both forward and back casts. Then for the final delivery cast, as soon as you make the final forward cast away from the target, turn around and make another forward cast toward your target as the delivery cast.
On creeks and small rivers around here I have found that I can do a roll cast in wind easier than any other cast I have tried. I'm not sure how well that will work on a lake though.
hNt
I suggest taking a heavier wt rod than normal. I actually purchased my 7wt just because I could cast it better into the wind than I could a 5 or 6 wt of the sme model. If that isn't an option for you, then I vote you just go for it and do the best you can. If you have the room around you try casting sidearm so that your line stays lower to the water. Either way, you'll get old waiting for the perfect day to fish. Good luck,
Fish