swoosh, a guy who works at the fly factory in Grayling, MI showed me that cast earlier this summer. He also showed me how he practices, as in…
Him: “Tell what you want me to hit. Really. Name anything in here.”
Me: “okaaaaaay… hit the tiger colored chenille up there in the second row.”
Him: ZZZZIIIIIINNNG “Got it.”
Me: “ok, now hit the brown saddle, the one on the left.”
Him: ZZZZIIIIIINNNG “Got it.”
Me: “ok, now hit the tip of that Sage rod… the middle one.”
Him: “ha ha ha. go catch some fish.”
Seriously, the guy was great. So I tried it out on the AuSable that evening and it’s not that hard. But I laughed so hard that I scared away the fish.
Have fun!
Diane
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming-WOW—What A Ride!
Charlie,
I’m orignally from that area of PA,And this is exactly the shop where I purchased my copy,While down a few weeks ago, For my father in-laws family reunion.had been meaning to order that and some domestic hen necks…but I knew I’d be in the area for the reunion,and the capes were something I really wanted to fondle and pick through before spending the cash on em…Pretty good selection on those to i might add…But took a lot of picking the stacks to get the truely good stuff…You’ll Not regret the vid/dvd…and actual casting is not unheard of even in a brush tunnel situation…he gets distance…in there as well…great man,and fly caster…
DVD Quality…Is DVD Quality…Can’t speak of the Video format as I did’nt go that route…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 18 August 2005).]
[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 18 August 2005).]
Swoosh,
The Bow cast and Rolling Bow casts are covered and in great detail…as well as a “Cast” that Hans W. says is Impossible,But Lefty,Joe Humphries,George harvey, and I know better…As long as the fly line is moving you CAN make a cast(.) and with “distance” at that.
Umm don’t know where or how a pliers comes into play with a bow cast,and He gets much more distance out of it than that could possibly allow…and pinching the leader with a pliers of any sort would cause damage and possible failure or weak spots…get a copy of this dvd…I think you’ll like it as well…just some thoughts…oh,And his rod selection for all this might shock you too!!!..
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 18 August 2005).]
[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 18 August 2005).]
We call it the “bow and arrow” cast 'round these parts ;~) I’m terrible at it, but gave it a shot the last 2 times out…mmm, kinda ugly. I’d never heard about the forceps trick before – I always grabbed a double or triple loop of tippet and leader gingerly in 2 fingers and let it rip. Never hooked my fingers – yet. Looks like I have some new literature to pick up to try to learn it, thanks for the reading tips! What I mostly did was false cast sideways back and forth from the shore, then let it fly upstream and tried for a good drift down. Tons of brush, and newly developing tamarisk – bad news. And i quickly noticed the side casting depended on which side of the crick I was on – one side can cast upstream, the other down. Or try to cast left handed to do both. Grrr. Too rough a trail to wear hippers…would’ve shredded within one mile hiking.
Odd you should mention the N St Vrain – I fished the S Vrain pocket water above the confluence with middle SV all day today (tiny rainbows) , and we briefly scouted the N…I’m right now attempting to download private land boundaries from the county online for the North St Vrain between the highway and button rock. That canyon is vicious – A quick chat with Michael Clark (the bamboo rod guy) in Lyons confirmed that any descent into the North Vrain above button rock should be an overnighter…nuff said. Least we didn’t see any rattlesnakes.
Just for clarification, I meant that you can pinch a short section of leader ahaed of the fly with your fingers (not pliers). The pliers would certainly ruin the tippet.
For me, this Bow cast is a seldom used line handling “trick shot” to get your fly where it needs to be in the right situation.
The best advice I have ever been given about casting and line handling is to plan your next move as if you were making a long put or a delicate shot in a billiards game.
When the situation requires it, the skilled player (fisherman) will make a trick shot (bow cast) and score.
I’d read about the “bow and arrow” shot but I didn’t quite understand it until ya’ll describe d it here. Maybe come up with a new “gadget”…a Quick Release (as used in compound bows) for flyfishing! Might could make one out of scrap parts that wouldn’t damage a leader, yet keep a hook out of your hand.
Danbob:
I’ll have to get together with you sometime. I’ve lived in CO for 10 years and haven’t fished that canyon yet. I have some topos and also a forest service map, but don’t have either with me right now. I’ll be back home next week, maybe I can give you a call.
Regarding the N St. Vrain:
This was actually the creek I had in mind when I started this thread. Especially the area around the Wild Basin where it is getting thicker than #$@% there.
My plan to get to the canyon was to use my ATV on a forest service road until I got to a foot trail that is shown on the map. My suspicion is that the forest service road would be rough even for a jeep, and I’m not sure about public access. As you know there are a lot of access points have been closed to the public and are acessible only to forest service people. If that access point is blocked then Johnny Park road on the north may be the only way to get close enough to get to the foot trail. A wade staff would double as a hiking stick and fishing gear would have to be backpacked in.
Mike Clark should know. I haven’t met him yet but he has a good reputation. I think he hangs out with that Gierach fellow. The only book I have by Gierach is Fly Fishing the High Country where he writes about a place that sounds like the N St. Vrain - and about leaving parts of his truck on the road getting there!
I think that it would be fun to try. But I’m not going to try it alone. I go into a lot of areas by myself that I know eventually someone will show up. I think youd have to wait a long time in that canyon if you got hurt there, cause there definitely ain’t no through traffic.
P.S. your welcome to watch that video I ordered after I get a change to watch it.
I think the pliers would be best used to hold the bend of the hook when sending the fly on its way.
I hold the hook (unless to small) when I use the Bow and arrow cast… I’ve hooked myself holding and letting go of the tippet. Maybe a bad technique but it hurt either way.
That makes sense to use the pliers as a release. I think Im going to have to practice it a bit before I try it on the water.
I checked out your site on Flymphs - that is very interesting. I definitely have to pursue that line of tying and presentation. I’ve done a little wet fly fishing across and down with a little lift and done OK. As well as tied some soft hackles but haven’t really delved that far into it.
I’ve learned more about fly fishing on this site than anywhere and its turned out to be one of the most useful functions of the internet there is for me. Most of the internet is just getting to be a pain… But I learn something new everytime I come here.
I just read through this sting and found a need for the waders.Thank you. now as for bushwacking, this I know about I made a rod case out of PVC with caps on the ends 1 removeable it protects the rod and doubles as a waling stick snake basher ect. The reel and gear goes in a WalMart fanny pack that came with 2 1 litre water bottles.
OK Bill Slingshot it is…and I’ll give you a review of the video this week, as Im sure I’ll have it by then. Won’t be online for a few days though. Maybe I’ll get to try Joe Humphreys tactics on some places I have in mind around home. Thanks for your help.