Man I am frustrated!
I recently bought a beginners outfit but I believe I made a huge mistake. I can not for the life of me make a cast farther than a 12-15 feet. I understand the mechanics of casting but the line will not travel through the guides unless I feed it through and them make a cast. At the very least I am sure I need to change lines but are there any other tips you can offer. I am near the Derby City Fly Fishers but they meet during my work hours so no help there.
If I understand what your saying; you are trying to cast the line while it is inside the rod. This is the wrong way. You should start with say 30 feet of line outside the tip top or end of rod. Cast the entire 30 feet. If I didn't understand what you posted correctly disregard my comments.
"The reason you have a good vision is you're standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Andy Batcho
I was casting (trying) with the leader and maybe a foot or so of line out of rod.
That's the problem right there. You need to have a lot more fly line out at the start. It is the weight of the line that carries the fly forward rather than the line being pulled out. Rather than subject you to my less than good description, I'd recommend going to YouTube and check out videos on fly casting, or find good reading material. A quick search found this video...there are many more.Originally Posted by Hookedintheear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y4BGltw-Hs
(whoops...Larry beat me to it!)
You will get the hang of it, I promise, and it will be a blast. I was self taught (not ideal), and I can still remember the incredible feeling the first time it all came together...and it was after a bit of frustration, too.
Last edited by PA Dave; 03-17-2012 at 10:56 PM.
A right emblem it may be, of the uncertain things of this world; that when men have sold them selves for them, they vanish into smoke. ~ William Bradford
I finally realized that Life is a metaphor for Fly Fishing.
Well I am embarrased and feel quite stupid. Thanks ...I guess.
Larry made a statement that most people would overlook! "Pick it up and Cast Backwards"! A backcast is just a forward cast in the oposite direction.
No need for either. There's a learning curve for everything in life, even learning to walk.
Dave
Any one of these guys can tell you better than I can how to cast, but don't feel stupid. Your assumptions are quite normal and natural. I have been at this for several years and can't cast, but I have a heck of a lot of fun.
Some fly shops have free casting lessons. Bass Pro Shop holds free sessions most Saturdays. There are lots of places to get free or low cost lessons for the basics. Check community college catalogs, too.
Kevin
Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some person ever reads.
As you likely can tell from my 1st post I am not much of a teacher and I surely do not want you to feel stupid. As others have said everything takes time to learn. Watch some videos, do a bit of reading, and if possible have someone help you learn how to cast. It really is a lot of fun. Although be forewarned if you take a liking to casting and fly fishing you maybe doomed to spending all of your spare time and money on it.
"The reason you have a good vision is you're standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Andy Batcho
Hooked,
That won't work. As indicated you need to have some line out, 20 feet or more to start with. The power built up in the rod carries down to the line which casts your fly. If there is no line out then there is no way for the power to build to begin with and nothing to transfer it to.
Strip out 20 to 30 feet of line, not counting the leader. Flip it out onto the grass in front of you. Pick it up and cast backwards, stopping at say the 1 o'clock position behind you. Wait a second then cast forward and stop at the 10 o'clock position in front of you. When you stop that is when the rod will send the power of the cast, if the rod was loaded, down the line.
But first, before you do anything else, go to you the library here on FAOL and search casting or go to You Tube and search fly casting. Watch some videos so you will have a basic idea of what to do. Please.
Larry ---sagefisher---
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