Bow-and-Arrow Cast
I've used the bow-and-arrow cast since before I started fly-fishing, shooting jigs through bank-side brush with my spinning rod. In tight places with no room for a backcast, it may be the only way to land a fly in a pool without spooking every single fish by getting too close.
But the bow-and-arrow cast has always been extremely limited to me, because of my technique. Not wanting to hook myself, I was always extremely careful to only hold the fly by the bend in the hook, making it impossible for the point to hit any part of me after letting go. This is a very safe method, but limits the casting length possible with this approach.
Recently when watching a video with one of my favorite fly-fishers, Joe Humphreys, I saw him make a bow-and-arrow cast where HE WASN'T EVEN HOLDING THE FLY! "How can this be possible?" I asked myself. Surely there must be some trick to it, right? See the video here (http://www.orvis.com/news/fly-fishin...ng-techniques/).
It turns out, there is no trick. If the fly is hanging sufficiently below your hand, it is pulled AWAY from you when you release the line, not up into your hand. Much longer casts are now possible to me with this method, and I can now confidently use a longer tippet when I'm fishing with my Tenkara rod, knowing the the bow-and-arrow cast is still available.
Carefully give this a try a few times. You might be surprised by the new utility of this old cast!
And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. Ezekiel 47:9
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