I’ve been practicing casting at home for a while now. Casting on grass has improved my casting skills, but I’m still not a very good caster. It is a good thing that you don’t have to be a good caster to catch fish.
Today a group of friends met at a park to practice casting. Wow! I am impressed. I think I learned more this afternoon than I have learned in the last year. Casting with other people helped indentify some of the things I was doing wrong in my casting. We’re going to try to meet once a month.
If you haven’t already, you might want to hook up with a good casting instructor. An hour or two spent with an instructor can save you lots of frustration. He can spot problems with your stroke that you (and your friends) might never notice. You don’t want to be practicing a casting error!
Check the archives – lots of good casting info there.
I also practice alone, mostly, but I usually practice sitting on my butt. Besides driving my elderly Norwegian farmer’s wife next door nuts, it is great practice. I’m usually sitting when fishing, either in a canoe, boat or float tube. Sitting also forces me to use better arm mechanics. I also want something to cast to – a traget. Someone mentioned having their kids sling a frisby, and if he couldn’t hit it with his practice fly he’d give them a piece of parade candy. I use plastic butter container lids. Big or small. I don’t use a lot of false casting. I’d rather pull the line and zip it to the next lid. I go from one lid to the next rather than continue casting at the same one. I go from sidearm to overhead, back across my chest. Sometimes I try casting left handed. Just some thoughts. JGW
[This message has been edited by white43 (edited 26 March 2005).]
I usually practice alone, I don’t really have that many fly fishing buddies close to home. Went out to the city lake the other day with a friend of mine, he was fishing, I was casting. Set my personal best distance cast, 115 feet. Of course, I did it with a 10 weight and a shooting head, but that’s still good enough for me lol
I’ve never been able to work with a casting instructor. Casting alone, I knew I had some bad habits, but I wasn’t able to figure out what they were.
One of the folks that showed up yesterday is a new FFF CCI. He spotted a problem that really helped my casting. I agree with the suggestion to work with a casting instructor. That would definately shorten the learning curve.
I’ll still do most of practice alone, but I think working with other people yesterday will make a difference in my casting.
Rex,
I love to lawn cast. Almost always alone. I have a little routine I follow. I cast for accuracy, distance and then I’ll usually do some specialty casts like a reach mend left then right then I’ll try to hook a cast around behind a tree trunk (try that with spinning gear) then I’ll do a pile cast then I’ll do a backward cast (a really handy cast when fishing from a boat with several people in it) then I’ll cast side arm and low trying to stick a cast under a low hanging bush, then I’ll do the same side arm cast across the body then I’ll do a wiggle cast and if I’m really feeling energetic I’ll cast left handed (I’m a terrible left handed caster though).
Go to a FFF Conclave sometime (like the one in Mountain Home Ark.) and hang around the casting pools and join in. You’ll get to see some really good fly casters and some not so good. Pick the brains of the good casters. Lawn casting is fun!
I practice by myself, mostly out of sheer embarassment and respect for other fly-fishers. I don’t want to give them a bad name. My casting technique is reminescent of the one used by “Rowdy” Yates on the classic “Rawhide” TV series! I’ve actually heard bystanders begin to hum “Muletrain” while watching my dismal attempts at artistic fly presentation. I’m never sure whether I am catching fish, or simply knocking them out! Even avians are not safe around me. Once last year, our local Game Warden, after watching me try to gently drop a dry fly in front of a log, wrote me a ticket for Dove-Hunting without a license! It’s a good thing you don’t have to be good at casting to catch fish! I’ve invented a new type of line-mending as well. It’s called the “Depth Charge”, and can be heard as far as 200 yards away, calling beavers in from all points of the compass. I may not be the greatest, but I wouldn’t trade it for any other kind of fishing!
I am part of a group that meets monthly to cast and play some casting games. In two years, 2 have recieved their FFFCCI, and one moved up the the Master level. Group casting works, especialy if you do not have a video camera.
The thrill is not in the kill. It’s in the deception.
You know, the hardest part of practicing in a group was getting the nerve to cast when I knew someone was watching me. It turned out being one of best things I’ve done for my casting, but it was hard to get started. When I watched some of the other people out there, I figured out that a lot of other people are as bad as I am.
I have a friend (who owns almost as many cameras as I do fly rods), and who a few years back took some footage of me, using a movie camera, while I was casting a line with my fly rod. Really do believe that piece of film (my friend copied it onto a videotape for me), has helped me with my casting technique (just short of lots of practice) than anything else I’ve ever tried. Being able to see exactly how I was casting has worked wonders on making improvements.
Dale
[This message has been edited by DaleW (edited 29 March 2005).]
Went to the Lake on my way to work today. Had over two hours of casting pratice. One small gill and a sore shoulder to show for it. But what the heck, the sun was shineing, and the world was quiet and serene for two hours. WONDERFUL
Every day that I wake up and everything still works. Is a good day.
Dave, congratulations. Ol’ Al helped me prepare for the test several years ago before I took it and passed it in Mt Home. Where did you take the test? Who were your testers? What problems did you have?
Robert
Robert, when did you do it in Mt. Home? I took it there last Oct but failed on a couple of items.
This second time I was very relaxed and to be honest I only had one problem… one I did not expect… I did a lousy job on the 75’ distance cast. I didn’t expect it because I never had a problem laying out a nice, long, straight cast in practice (90+ feet measured). I didn’t have any problems with it on my first test. But for whatever reason, when I took it a month ago, it took me all my attempts… I dumped the line the first couple of times, laying the “fly” 20 feet behind the forward loop.
A few years ago I joined a casting club that meets once a week in a school gym. We help each other although of course the better casters do most of the coaching. I have really improved. Not only is it a benefit to have someone tell you how to improve, but you can also learn by watching others (both better than you and worse than you). The learning curve accelerates when you are in company. After the casting we then remove to a pub where the learning continues through discussion.
Dave,
I think it was 3 years ago in October at the Conclave. Might have been 2 years ago. I looked on my Certificate and it doesn’t say. Getting old is Hell. I know what you mean about how casting for distance can be tough under pressure. I think it’s because one is so tense. Example: Often when I go out to practice my longest cast will be one of my warm-up casts before I get “serious” and really start “trying”. At any rate, congrats on your accomplishment. Your instructors certification and the knowledge that goes with it should serve you well in your guiding business. It was a fun journey for me and I learned a lot about the mechanics of flycasting.
Howdy Gang
Boy you sure know how to butter the teacher.
Thanks for the flowers,Dave and Bob.
Dave got tenses and short stroked the back cast. That happens when you are underpressure.
If you live where there is not a casting group. Start one. If you can not find two other casters Buy a tripod and set up your old video camera You will be surprized at what other see.
I was on the Texas Coast at a casting school where they had a video set up. Boy was I hammering my forward cast.Ilet up the hammer and it flew out another 20 ft.
I could not see it with out a side view or what every one else saw.
You might try casting straight at the camera to check your tracking Also
ol Al
