Why do we always hear about the guy who wants to cast his entire fly line.I think it would be nice to do it but how important is it.Would it be improper to say,i think the approach to a stream is more important then the casting .
Since you asked…to me it’s pretty simple…
The better caster you are the easier all phases become…even to the point of being able to approach the stream more competently.
Of course one can catch plenty of fish without being able to but I wish I could cast that well.
Most people we develope the skills necesary to accomplish what we want to and no more. As such we become the caster necessary to fish the fish we want to catch. If casting the whole line is not necesary then most of us will never learn it. For some it is a challenge to be taken even if they only fish trout.
This weeks Castwell article touches on it.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/
Eric
Well said, for me I would love to be able to and I strive for it every once in a while, but it is certainty is not the main goal, but I can see how it will become natural to do with good form.
Good form is what I always strive for when practicing. Casting the whole line for me would be another benchmark in my casting journey.
Also, I certainty agree the stream approach is very important , but if you are unable to cast at least fairly well you are very likely to scare all the fish out of the area frothing the water as I
have been known to do on more than one occasion.
IMHO Casting is just as important as your approach… Being able to cast the whole line is not as important at all… Some may disagree entirely…
I think it would be nice to do
Hey Ronnie, why do you think it would be nice to cast the whole line?
Steve
You assume everyone is fishing on a stream. What to you do when the guide says bone fish at 2 O’clock at 70’ and you can only cast 60’?? Show me someone who has the ability to cast 90’ plus and I guarantee you he’s a great caster at 60’.
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Because I can! It took a lot of practice to get here and it is worth the effort. Just think of all the things that have to be done correctly to get a 90’ cast. It don’t take too many mistakes for the cast to fall short.
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I don’t fish streams so the approach to streams point is moot.
I have noticed over the years that those that can’t cast well don’t see a need to cast well and think those who can cast well are just showing off. Like what was said earlier, the caster who can cast 90’ can cast 60’ or 50’ or 40’ or 30’ very well.
Practice my friends, practice. I have always said practice casting and the fishing will take care of itself because the casting will be so automatic you can concintrate on the fishing.
fishbum logic,
fishbum
I read a long ago that a person can not think a thought without having the words. Might be so, don’t know for sure. When I first fly fished it did not, in any way, occur to me to cast the whole line. But now I can.
You, on the other hand have now found out that some can do it.
And you can not.
Someday you will be able to. For which reasons I have no idea. But congratulations; enjoy the ride.
My flyline is only 82 ft. I guess flylines are going the way of coffee in cans, ice cream in cartons and other things except my waistline that have shrunk over the years.
For me, being able to cast the whole line when I’m fishing from gravel bars keeps me out of the water for one thing and where I’ve been going lately I get comments…positive ones even, from the level winders. So I guess one could say ‘pride in sport’ has something to do with casting a whole line. It sure got easier when they started shortening the lines though.
Hey, get one of those cheapy 52 footers then you’ll know the feeling and heck, you can graduate to a 70 footer, then an 82 footer and soon…well you get the picture.
Oh and to be sure, there were times to reach a big trout on what I call a stream, I’d have to ‘let it all out’…yep, them were the days !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I think I’m a better caster than I am a fisherman. I can usually put the fly where I want but that ain’t always where the fish are.
Fly casting is the only “athletic” endeavor that I have reached any degree of success doing.
I enjoy casting a fly rod. I like the feel of the rod loading and unloading. Watching tight loops form and unfurl gives me great satisfaction.
I occasionally can cast a whole fly line. Sometimes I take a rod to the field across the road from my house to see if I’m up to it that day. I succeed once in a while. Everything has to come together perfectly, I have to yank and unyank when I’m posed to. Its a good feeling to know you just put a fly more than 100 feet from where you’re standing.
I’ve never needed to cast 100’ in a fishing situation…but what does that have to do with it?
To me, the idea of casting the entire fly line falls in the same category as tying beautiful flies like JeffHamm, gbflytyer, and kglissmeyer, building beautiful graphite rods like smernsky and bamboo rods like oyster and boarmountain , furling a great variety of neat leaders like Jack Hise and Fly Goddess, and having an outstanding touch on the Bulletin Board like Betty Hiner.
Can’t do / don’t have any of them. But I do like to fish streams.
John
It’s not important! Not unless you have the need as some saltwater folk might. But you can’t say that it wouldn’t be a fun thing to be able to do…
And I have to agree with the posts that said that if you can do a 70 footer well then the 30 footers done precisely are simple.
And if you trout it, the presentation is everything.
I fish trout at distances of 30 and less. Typically less! I toss flies out of a boat for pike, muskies etc. and sometimes I’ll haul out a cast just to see how well I can get one out…provided it has a decent loop/turnover at the end. Slop is slop and I don’t like slop.
I cast a lot on the off times, like 4 of 5 days when I’m not onstream. Love it. I practice the control thing. I never feel I want to “reach for the road”. But that’s just me.
Don’t forget, we’re a mixed bunch here. I’m guilty of that sometimes.
Jeremy.
I’d like too but can’t, I judge a rod on its casting abilities from how well I can cast and the amount of line I can cast with it with my skills as they stand. I can cast all the line from shorter lines. If i 'm casting a new rod and can cast longer with it than others then its a good rod to me. there are times in larger rivers or lakes when I would like to be able to cast out more line, at least that leaves room for me to learn, and there for, more to enjoy…
Johnscott, I like what you said in all the credit given…
Here’s one of my very favorite mountain creeks that’s just full of brookies … the 9 - 10 inch good eating size ~
A good place for the long distant caster to get in a little practice! (LOL)
Dale
Ronnie Z,
At the risk of ‘suffering the wrath of the long casters’, I sort of agree with you when you say:
"Why do we always hear about the guy who wants to cast his entire fly line. I think it would be nice to do it but how important is it. Would it be improper to say, I think the approach to a stream is more important then the casting."
First off, there is nothing wrong in being able to cast a long distance, like 90 or 100 or 120 feet. If that is what you like to do then go for it. As pointed out, there are times, like bone fishing or going after tarpon, where you have to cast that far.
I don’t fish for those, I stick mainly with trout and bass and some salmon. Mostly close in casting, sometimes 60+ feet on the dry when drifting a river, but that is seldom.
A few years ago one of the organizations I belong to had a Danish Casting Game competition as well as a long cast competition.
I really had to chuckle when some of the long casters, 110+ feet came to cast at the Danish game that I was running. The Danish games require line control at shorter distances (30 to 40 feet) to cast through rings, around obstructions, under poles, over poles, a snake cast, a reach cast to the right and to the left. Line control is critical and the ability to land your fly (a piece of yarn) into a fairly small circle which is how you get your points for the competition. In other words, the Danish Games key in on the things you frequently run into when casting either in streams or when casting towards the shore on lakes and rivers.
Like I said, I really had to chuckle at some of the long casters. They had spent so much time working on their long casts that they had let their shorter casting skills fall behind. Some of them were so red in the face by the time they had completed the whole course that they were trying to say the course was rigged somehow. No, not so. They simply needed to work on and re-familiarize themselves with short casts and line control. I can only hope they realized that and would go out and do some short casts.
Well, that was my 2 cents worth, used to be 5 cents but with the state of the economy it is valued at only 2 cents now.
Larry —sagefisher—
Sometimes we target stripers, shad, or steelhead. Generally with shooting heads. Can NEVER cast far enough. ('course, sometimes we move the boat closer. )
Sometimes we target shoot for LM’s, BG’s,troutiods, and other stuff. We NEVER hit most of the targets. ('course, sometimes we move the boat closer! :rolleyes: )
Life is grand…get out and fish.
…lee s.
LF, good to see you post the other day. Praying all is well with you.
Casting does not equate to fishing. Plain and simple. I know guys who cannot throw 40 feet of fly line, and guys who can toss 100+ feet. You know the difference in catch rates? ZILCH. I personally have thrown a 75’ cast into a 25mph Kansas wind, and that was about it. That was also on a rod I had only cast for five minutes. I am not a good caster, but casting slower rods where you can feel the load and unload REALLY helps your casting. The other night, I bought my new frugal cane rod (Folsom 1510 8.5’ 7wt made by Heddon) and within a couple minutes was unrolling 45’ casts with a gentle laydown on a WF7F line. Had I not taken up cane and glass, I wouldn’t have the feel necessary to understand the dynamics of the cast.
Please do not equate distance to overall casting talent. Distance is but one minute detail. I want to meet the guy who can drop the yarn bug on a pie pan at 80’ as well as 60, 45, 30 and 15. Also, he should be able to throw a hook cast at all distances to both sides (I can’t), cast more than the leader through a 3’ hoop at 50’ (I sometimes can), snake a cast around cones placed at 10, 15, 20 and 25’, and most of all, maintain line control through all of it, no slack.
That is a good caster, not the guy who spends his whole life casting for distance while other guys ply the shorelines of lakes catching 10 fish to his 1.
Please do not equate distance to overall casting talent. Distance is but one minute detail. I want to meet the guy who can drop the yarn bug on a pie pan at 80’ as well as 60, 45, 30 and 15. Also, he should be able to throw a hook cast at all distances to both sides (I can’t), cast more than the leader through a 3’ hoop at 50’ (I sometimes can), snake a cast around cones placed at 10, 15, 20 and 25’, and most of all, maintain line control through all of it, no slack.
Nice to meet you Andy.
fishbum
John, thanks for the compliment, but don’t be so modest, I’ve fished with you and you have the skills.
As far as casting the distance I agree with those who have said that the person who can cast the long line is also proficient at the shorter distances. Confidence is bred through experience on the water and casting improves to the extent we want it to or allow it to.
My favorite spring creek requires a full line cast to get to the far shore where the big boys hang out. I’m not tall enough to wade far enough out to make a shorter cast - so the challenge for me was to learn how to cast the 90-footer. Over time and with a lot of practice and a good guide in Alaska who taught me a true double-haul, now I’m there. Just another milestone along the flyfishing journey… What fun!