|
This might be of some help to you new guys and maybe
a few old-timers too. I was thinking about how some
casters watch their loops, both front and
back, and how some do not. When we get into
fly fishing there is so much to learn and we really
aren't interested in much of it unless it relates to
actually catching something. We all are willing to admit
we could do a better job of casting and for the most part,
we are about good enough to get the job done. That is, we
have learned just enough to be able to put our fly roughly
where we want it, when we want it.
There is so much to learn about; the non-tapered end
of our fly line, the size of the butt section of our
leader, how long it is and all the rest, no wonder
we don't always get everything right. At least, I sure
don't.
First of all, when you are fishing is not the time to
practice your casting. Ok, you can work on accuracy and
a few things, but real practice is like charity, it begins
at home. If you want to get better at it you must find
someplace, even the street if there isn't a lot of traffic,
to practice, a place where you can use a fly line that you
will not use for fishing. And you are not going to have a
fly on it either. Don't forget to at least have a chunk of
mono on the end, about the length of a leader, maybe seven
to nine feet. Without this your cast will not work no matter
how hard you try. I have several old leaders and put a bit
of red fuzz on the end, so I can see where the thing lands.
Now, as to watching your loops, finally. If, and that's a
big 'IF' you have a nice tight front loop on a cast, what
is one of the things that tells you? It says you have just
had a pretty good backcast, that's what. How does one get
a 'pretty good' backcast? One way I know of is so easy it
is almost illegal. When we are teaching and have someone
throwing big energy-inefficient back loops, mostly caused
by not stopping his rod on the back cast, all I tell him
is to turn his head and watch three back casts in a row.
Sounds simple? It is. And it works.
If you are having any problems in that area, give it a
try. Just watch three of your backcasts. You might be surprised
how well it can work. Once you get the backcasts tightened
up, your forward casts will improve right away. And, you
will not have to turn your head and watch them. But, if
you see your front loops getting big or sloppy, guess
where the problem might be.
It is always fun to watch a person learn how valuable his
backcast is. About like a light-bulb turning on. That one
simple thing can actually double your casting quality. So
it boils down to this. You only need to watch and be able
to control your front and back loops if you want to consider
you know how to cast. Simple really. Nothing to it. I still
practice; gratefully, I'm still learning. ~ JC
|
