casting

[Threedayweekend]

I know that the 'basic cast' is an overhand cast but as I watch casting videos and things on you tube I watch and there seems to be two very different forms of the 'basic cast" and it looks like they come come from two different types of ffishing salt and trout. Most of the trout casters have a very tight cast with very little movement in the upper body while most salt water has a lot of upper body movement. I know that I cast my 3wt different than I do my 8wt and I realize that this is due impart to the weight of the rod as well as the weight of the flies. Well the bottom line to my question is there different forms of the 'basic cast' and do they have different names and are they taught in different areas due to the weight of the rods.

[Allan]

"If at first you don't succeed ... Then sky diving may not be the sport for you"

THANKS, I NEEDED THAT. ROFLMAO

Allan

[tlerm]

I guess I consider them to be the same, just that short cast require shorter strokes and long casts require longer strokes.

[Threedayweekend]

I thought that as well until a guy at the fly shop (that is now closed) here in Greenville, SC had very little movement and yet could sling it over 90 feet with ease. I have also looked at the fact that most people that use heavier weights almost always double haul when they cast as where most who use lighter weight rods do not double haul due to the short distance of their cast. Like someone was saying in the roll cast post you watch Wolfe cast and his "basic cast" is so different than watching Lefty use his whole body. Both cast look like there is no effort and it is just a natural movement for both of them. I have seen and read about the "Wolfe style" and the "Lefty style" of casting. are these actual styles or just famous people how had different forms of the "basic cast"

[LadyFisher]

They are actual styles - BUT - style doesn't mean a thing. There is a very basic motion which they all have in common, they make a forward cast, a backcast with a definite STOP on each end. The stop is what makes the line go. The distance the rod travels in between the forward and backcast changes with the distance needed. Watch several of the 'stars' with the sound off and see what is the same. Don't make it harder than it is!

[Jax]

Well said LadyFisher. You have it in a nut shell. Jax.

[Silver Creek]

I think there is a difference and that difference is accuracy vs distance.

An overhead cast directs the cast along a path that is in direct line from the angler to the target. That would be Joan Wulff's and Mel Krieger's method of teaching casting. Lefty Kreh casts a bit sidearm and so it is a cast in which the line approaches the target at an angle from the body of the caster. This sidearm motion along with body rotation allows Lefty to take his hand back further and this allows for a longer stroke length. It allows for a longer cast BUT because the tip of the fly rod is not directly overhead along the path from the body to the target, it is more difficult to be accurate.

If you angle the rod path at a slightly more vertical higher stop point or a slightly lower stop point with the overhead cast, gravity will still cause the fly to fall directly down toward the target. However, with a side arm motion, it the angle is off a bit, the fly will be off. Hence pinpoint accuracy vs distance is the tradeoff.

[Silver Creek]

I know that the 'basic cast' is an overhand cast but as I watch casting videos and things on you tube I watch and there seems to be two very different forms of the 'basic cast" and it looks like they come come from two different types of ffishing salt and trout. Most of the trout casters have a very tight cast with very little movement in the upper body while most salt water has a lot of upper body movement. I know that I cast my 3wt different than I do my 8wt and I realize that this is due impart to the weight of the rod as well as the weight of the flies. Well the bottom line to my question is there different forms of the 'basic cast' and do they have different names and are they taught in different areas due to the weight of the rods.

This discussion of the three main casting styles by Al Kyte in Fall 2002 issue of The Loop should interest you. The basic overhead cast is the elbow forward style that I was taught.