Ok, Ive made my introduction here so now I am ready to start bombarding yall with questions. I have been out in the yard practicing casting and I keep snagging my fly line with my tippet about 8 or 10 ft from the end of my rod, like I am not getting enough height. End up with a tangled mess. Have a piece of sponge on the end of tippet. I make a pretty good cast every now and then. (Yea I know, a blind hog finds an acorn every now and then too.) Any suggestions?
I think I am gonna get my wife to make a video of me casting and maybe I can see what I am doing wrong. Should get a good laugh anyway!
Most people do not snap the line backwards hard enough. You basically need to cast backwards as hard as you do forward. The rod should stop at 12 o’clock on the back cast. Then you need to wait it out. If it takes a second for your line to “unfold” in front of you, you need to wait an equal time for it to do the same behind you.
So … snap back to 12 o’clock … wait for the line to unfold behind you … snap the rod forward to about 3 o’clock.
There are a couple of good videos on youtube that teach you the basic casting form. If you hit the “home” button up top, then look for beginner fly fishing lessons, you’ll find a lot of info on this site.
You could come to Deltona, and I’d be happy to help you by taking you out on the water for a day.
[Read this
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/cst/cst091699.php](http://www.flyanglersonline.com/articles/cst/cst091699.php)
aaron;
The video is a good idea but first, watch your back cast and make sure the line has straightend out before making the fore cast.
Aaron,
You live real close to Corpus Christi. There has to be a fly shop in that city or at least a tackle shop that deals in fly fishing gear. They will know if there is a fly club in the area you could join. The best way for you to learn to cast the fly is to take some classes from a certified casting instructor. Many fly clubs have classes on casting and tying and fly fishing in general. If no club then someone at the fly shop should be able to get you started in the right direction on your casting.
Larry —sagefisher—
Larry, I am in West Virginia now, will be for about 2 more months working. I am going to see what I can find around here as far as classes. It surprised me not to see many people fly fishing in the rivers and streams here but these rainbow trout and pretty clear streams here is what got me interested in fly fishing.
Thanks to you and everyone else for your replies!
Hey Aaron,
Checkout this article by the late JC. http://flyanglersonline.com/articles/cst/cst112408.php
Pay particular attention to coming to a solid stop in both your forward and back casts. A solid stop is key. Be sure your rod tip follows in a straight line. Make sure there is no arc in your tip’s travel.
I had to Google Deltona to see where it is! Was hoping it was here in West Virginia and I would take you up on that offer!
Without seeing your cast, it’s of course hard to say what might be the problem.
But there are a few things to pay attention to that often cause such problems.
Watch how far back the rod is going on your back cast. Make sure the rod tip isn’t going too far back.
As mentioned before, make sure that your back cast is quick enough. The back motion should look like the forward motion when false casting.
And as mentioned before, make sure that the line is unfurling behind you as you start your forward cast. Make sure you aren’t catching the fly with your forward stroke as the fly is still traveling backwards.
There’s a lot of good knowledge on this board and a lot of good people that are willing to help.
You’ll get it worked out in no time.
Forget everything you know about how to “cast” and ignore all advice on the “proper” way to do it.
Start out just hanging out some line and waving the rod around in circles, half circles, zig zags, figure eights, loop the loops, and what have you. And watch the line while you are doing that. Pretty soon you will develop a good sense of the interaction of the rod and the line and what movements you make with the rod produce what results / effects on the line.
You don’t need to have a backcast that goes nicely over your head and straightens out so you can make a nice foreward cast over your head. You can actually just pull the fly on a low trajectory almost right at you, let it pass you on the right ( if you are right handed ) let the line form a loop behind you or straighten out as it rises behind you if you have room and prefer to do that, and power a forward cast in the direction you want the fly to go. Just one example of many non-conventional and very effective casting techniques.
If you do want to spend some time watching video, I would recommend Simon Gawesworth’s three DVD set on spey casting. None of that nice tidy stuff guys do with conventional fly angling gear - more like art and science rolled up in a 13-14’ rod and a line that hardly ever looks like it’s doing what a fly line should. Pay particular attention to Simon’s demonstration on how to apply spey casting stuff to casting single hand fly rods. Then apply all those things to conventional gear minus the anchor that spey casters get with the water - just use an “air” anchor and good timing.
Seriously - if you get all wound up in those clock movements and stop here and stop there things, tight loops and open loops, and on and on, all taught very well by certified fly casting instructors, you can easily miss out on what it is all about: finding ways to get the fly where it needs to be to catch fishies and having fun doing it your way. But you do have to take that first step - just start waving that rod and line around in circles and have some fun doing it.
The rest will come naturally. Except the double haul. :shock:
John
Now back to your regularly scheduled conventional discussion on fly casting.
Aaron, a great resource for learning the basics is this one:
http://royalwulff.com/products/dynamics-of-fly-casting-dvd/
Joan Wulff made her mark in many ways, but I consider this video to be one of her best contributions. When I get a kink in my casting, this video it my first stop. It should be in every fly fishing library.
I’m not going to respond to the original question, because, as previously noted, it’s impossible to diagnose what’s going on from a post. I do want to point out, however, that IMHO, when it comes to making long casts, or casts with weighted flies, I always begin my forward cast BEFORE my back cast completely unrolls. (I believe all the best long-distance casters do this; that’s why they look over their shoulder and watch their line unroll.) If you wait for your back cast to completely unroll, by the time your forward cast has accelerated, your back cast will have started to fall and will have slack in it. If you’re casting a weighted fly you might hit yourself with it.
Randy
r
Randy you are correct about the timing.
There is actually a delay of the fly rod tip in BOTH directions. The inertia of the rod and the inertia (momentum) of the line and fly causes a delay between when you move the rod handle forward and when the rod tip moves forward. The rod and rod tip must bend to absorb the energy of the back cast before the rod tip can move forward.
The reason that it is greater with heavier flies is that they have more mass and therefore greater inertia and therefore a greater delay. It also occurs with longer casts because more line = more mass that causes the rod tip to bend before it actually moves.
I am not going to get into an argument, and I don’t mean to start one, but I feel compelled to present a word of caution about starting the forward cast before the line unfurls behind.
If you do this incorrectly, you will definitely snap the leader like a whip and destroy or snap off your fly. Speaking from experience here. Although heavier flies do require better timing to keep the fly from “falling” on the back cast, I cannot agree with starting the forward cast early.
And Spey Casting, JohnScott? That is an advanced casting style, not something for a beginner. I don’t think I’d even recommend it without an instructor to teach about the belly, the anchor and all the other factors that keeps one from burying the hook in the back of one’s head.
… if you read my earlier post more carefully, you will realize that I did not suggest that our beginner take up spey casting. I recommended Simon’s DVD set on spey casting as a learning tool, with emphasis on how all that good stuff can be applied to single handed rods as demonstrated by Simon.
I don’t consider spey casting “advanced.” It certainly is different than single handed casting, but I would venture that any reasonably good student with average physical condition and coordination could start as a beginner to fly angling generally and take up spey casting as his first approach and do quite well with it without the need for an instructor.
It is quite possible that many, if not most, of those whose first introduction to fly angling would be as a beginner taking up spey casting would actually do better than those who have a background in single handed casting. No habits ( good or bad ) to get in the way and no mental and muscle memory to impede the process. :shock:
John
Yep, you’re right.
Mind if I ask you a few questions? Like how much line are you trying to hold in the air, does the rod feel like it working well with the line weight. As in its not over flexing and flopping about in the air or the opposite perhaps showing no sign of reacting to the weight of the line at all, stiff and rigid? Have noticed the crossing of the line on the reverse or rearward projection of the line or only to the forward? If not have you considered why it is or is not. Actually it would be very uncommon to happen on the reverse but anything is possible and its just a question.
Aaron, get some help from a good caster, preferably someone who has taught casting. Trying to teach yourself to cast will result in the development of bad habits that will require unlearning later.
OK…I’m not a casting instructor, but bear with me.
The false cast stroke does not need to come 1st. The simple mechanics of throwing a loop requires only that you pick up the line, and put it back town accurately. The false cast can come after that is mastered. Fact is, most false casting is done needlessly and does nothing productive for most fishing distances. Here’s where I would start:
Find a place in your yard or park large enough to cast front and back. Take your rig and 3 targets to cast at. The best are hula-hoops, but 3 ballcaps will suffice as well. Anything that will not blow around. 
Mark your place to stand, and walk out 3 rod lengths from that position, placing a target at 12:00, 10:00 & 2:00.
Now go back and pick up your rod. Strip out or cast just enough line to reach the 12:00 target, keeping the rest of the line on the reel.
Begin casting, by simply picking up the line with a backcast, and setting the fly forward again into the target. Keys are, keeping your rod tip between 10:00 and 2:00 in your casting stroke, and keeping your stroke in a straight line. If you are not moving the rod tip in a straight line, you will be off target or you will catch your rod with the fly or line. Go past 10:00 & 2:00 and your line will pile up forcing you to start over. WATCH YOUR LINE FRONT AND BACK THROUGH THIS DRILL.
Alternate between targets by simply turning your upper body to look at the intended target. Simply pick the line up from one target, and place it on another.
NO false casts until your knocking this drill out of the park with ease.
Once you are, it will begin to “click” for you. At that point, add 2 false casts into each target before presenting the fly.
Onces that is working, step back another rod length and repeat the process.
May not be very scientific…but it has taught my boys and a number of friends to cast.
Good luck,
Ralph
True indeed. You raise a very valid point.
It results if the caster starts too early AND improperly punches the cast at the start of the fly. SMMMOOOTH acceleration helps avoid that bullwhip snap. So if one starts the cast early, one needs to start the casting move smoothly.
An example of an early start not snapping the fly line is what is called forward creep. Creep does not snap the line because it is gradual, although improperly timed, early casting move. Creep shortens the potential casting stroke and can cause a tailing loop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5h0iQRIAx0
The opposite of creep is drift, which lengthens the stroke potential. Drift helps to avoid a too early and too fast start to the cast that causes the bullwhip snap. It does this by creating a longer stroke potential for the next casting stroke and this allows for a smoother acceleration.