I just want to say thank you for all the advice I received on my first post. After letting the real world get in my way, I finally took advantage of the day off yesterday and went fishing.
I don’t know if I was casting correctly, but I was having fun in the water and enjoying nature. I’ve been reading bits of Harold F. Blaisdell’s The Philosophical Fisherman in my spare time, and he seems to think that knowledge of fishing techniques comes second to actually spending time on the water. I spent my afternoon casting, but I definitely need some more practice. I feel like I’m just imitating what I’ve seen other anglers do, so if you’ve got any pointers/advice on casting, I’d gladly listen.
My plan is to just keep faking it while I read about the “right” way to fly fish, and if I don’t catch anything, no harm done. I’m just glad to have an excuse to be outside enjoying the beautiful scenery right now.
As a fairly new fly fisherman I also look for and crave information. Now there has been some banter about the particular app but, I have the Orvis Fly Fishing app from iTunes and it has many videos on casting. fly recipes and podcast. A lot of people don’t like this app but, I am a visual/auditory learner and have learned a lot from the videos. I watch them over and over and practice in my backyard. Now I’m not saying I am a good caster, I catch the back of my hat or shirt more often then not but, I am a better caster than before. If you can afford it, maybe taking a casting workshop with a local shop. I hope this has helped somewhat.
Herefishy, I bought the Scientific Anglers Starter Kit for trout. It’s a four-piece 9’ 5/6 wt rod. I went to Sportsman’s Warehouse for my fishing gear (Rocky wasn’t in that day, BillD), and I’m pleased with it so far.
NewTyer1, I’ll have to check out that app. At this point, I’m willing to get any and all advice, even if it’s conflicting with other sources, and another visual guide would be helpful. I’m glad to know that there’s another relatively new fly angler active on the boards. I’ll let you know if I find any information sources outside of this great community that might be helpful.
Rainbowchaser, I’ve bookmarked that article to come back to many times as I work on my casting. Thanks for alerting me to its existence.
I saw Jim (AKA Castwell) teach casting with that method at the Michigan fish-in. A couple of other useful ideas are that the fly will go in the last direction the rod tip was moving; try to keep your elbow below your shoulder, and the rod tip should travel as close to a straight line as possible. That is probably enough added confusion for now. To add a few fish to the learning experience grab a couple of soft hackles and fish them down and across. No long casts required.
The way you are learning is cool, start with very short cast with a smooth presentation, remember the idea is to keep your fly on the water as much as possible. you’v already found out fly fishing is not all about casting. As your desire grows to get to the next spot you will learn how to cast further. What works works and if you increase your cast a little at a time with a smooth presentation you will soon enough be casting way out there. I recommend not wanting to cast across the river, besides, there ain’t no fish on the bank of the other side anyway…
Hi Blue;
Have you considered the roll cast. Very effective when starting (like me lol). In areas I fish, there is limited space for backcast. JC (Castwell), helped me with my roll cast (in chat room). Anyway, by the end of my first season I was casting 40’ (where I had the room). and I know it is 'cause of how I learned the roll cast. BUT !!! Practice and experience is the only way you advance.
I still mainly use the roll cast, 'cause of where I fish, and I really like the presentation it provides.
I’ve only been fly fishing for a couple of years, but with a full time job and a young family my time on the water has been limited. (not that I’m complaining, family first :)) I learned a great deal about casting from watching Doug Swisher’s videos from Scientific Angler. I may not be doing it exactly right, but more times than not, I do put the fly where I want it and I’ve caught a few fish. We have a lot of trees in our yard and we keep mulch piled up around the trees. That is my target when I’m practicing in the yard. The mulch under the trees, for me and the places I fish, it makes it a more realistic practice session. Of course, as you can tell from my user name, I do miss.
