She does use a little, but it’s about half of what Doug uses. When you use Joan’s method it feels like you’re not using any at all. I have to think too much about it to have fun.
My golf swing was the same way. I didn’t have to think about it. Sam Snead was that way too. He never took a golf lesson, and had a sweet swing.
I like to have my cast the same way. All I want to think about is where I want the fly to go. Muscle memory and eye hand coordination will do the rest.
The question was do you use wrist or not?[/quote]
Actually the topic of the post could be interpreted 2 ways.
1)“How do you cast” Meaning ‘how do you actually learn how to cast’
2)"How do YOU cast?
As to the intent of the post: I do both. I use wrist sometimes and other times I do not. I don’t see it as an either/or situation as I do in a lot of things in life. I’m not much of a “you have to do it this way only” type of person.
Gramps…"I like to have my cast the same way. All I want to think about is where I want the fly to go. Muscle memory and eye hand coordination will do the rest. "
I’m totally with you there…I’m a “feel player” 
Well maybe not totally agreeing…there’s no such thing as “muscle memory”…but we all know what it means :roll:
Well, the muscle memory is not in the muscles. It’s in the brain. It is a program though.
Doug’s a little wimp. Really, how far are these casts? It all depends on the distance.
This is an interesting topic. How do I cast? I am really not sure, But I can hardly explain the excitement every time I pick up a fly rod and start to cast a fly. It doesn’t matter what kind of water it is, but that thrill of the catch is there and the rythem of the rod moving back and forth, the line being mended, the fly landing where my brain told it to land…I guess what I am trying to say is I concentrate more on the moment than the mechanics. Again, if I were to analize every motion, 2:00 to 11:00, tailing loop, etc…I don;t think I can do that. Call it old age, practice, as in on the water under fishing conditions…I fly fish like I eat. I am not a picky eater, nor a picky caster. I had mentioned some time back that I learned to double haul without instructions. I remember that day like it was yesterday. All of a sudden it happened and like a kid on a new bike, I keep riding the haul over and over. Wow, what a teriffice day that was. And like the kid on the bike, you don’t forget how to do it, it now becomes natural. Maybe not pretty, but natural.
Good stuff JoneZee! Enjoy what you are doing.
Casting should be a fluid athletic motion and I don’t believe in “stops”. There is a point where I release the line and it shoots but from back cast to forward cast to follow through the rod is in constant motion. All of my arm is an extension of the rod yet the rod feels like an extension of my arm.
Do my wrists bend? Yes, as it needs to.
Casting should be a fluid athletic motion and I don’t believe in "stops
One uses all (micro-wrist), one keeps a stiff wrist, one does not stop the rod ever. I think you can see why I won’t touch this thread! :shock:
(glad I am not just learning to cast, this could get confusing…)
well, there is this, http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst3498.html
Wow JC you must be mellowing out
I can’t believe you just let that one go with just a slight “slap on the wrist” :shock:
I tend to let the backcast get too low if I don’t keep my wrist stiff, or what feels like stiff. But on the other hand I know that it is the end of the rod motion that directs the line, so I think if you were to let your wrist “break”, you would have to direct the end of the rod upward to compensate for it. But in golf too much thinking can sure spoil your fun and casting too.
Try this. Pick up your fly rod and hold it in front of you in your normal casting position. Now flex your wrist forward and backward. Make sure you keep the back of your hand lined up with your forearm so your thumb is going straight back and forth. Now look at the tip of the rod when you do this. If you’re doing it right the tip will be going back and forth level. It won’t be going in an arc.
Now do it again in the same starting position. but this time keep the wrist stiff and go back and forth by bending the elbow. Notice the tip of the rod is going in an arc. The more you go back and forth the bigger the arc. That movement is what puts the tip way behind you. As a matter of fact that’s how you make big loops when you want them.
The more you can keep the tip of the rod going back and forth as level as possible. The tighter your loops will be.
Too cast well the rod must accelerate through the back and forward in single plane and stop. This ideal movement is the same irrespective of stiff wrist, moving the wrist, elbow foward, or elbow back. Your will see all kinds of variation in arm, wrist, and grip by good casters, but the rod movement is the same. 8)
I’ve heard it said that to advance your casting beyond the basics, you must unlearn all the basics.
If you use heavy flys, indicators, or a nice wind comes along, then an eliptical or other 3 dimensional casting stroke is required to avoid tangles and possible injury to yourself or the rod.
Other counter examples are the spey casts, and that mystical “shadow cast” 
I’d say the one thing required to perform good casts is maintaining constant acceleration all along the fly line (note that a change in direction is acceleration). If acceleration is lost, then there is no tension. If there is no tension at a point in the fly line, then it becomes a “disconnection” point. Once a part of the fly line is disconnected, then you lose control of it past that point.
"I’d say the one thing required to perform good casts is maintaining constant acceleration all along the fly line (note that a change in direction is acceleration). If acceleration is lost, then there is no tension. If there is no tension at a point in the fly line, then it becomes a “disconnection” point. Once a part of the fly line is disconnected, then you lose control of it past that point. "
Fishy…would that be another way of saying “avoid slack”?
ROFLMAO,
I’ve heard it said that to advance your casting beyond the basics, you must unlearn all the basics.
Unbeleivable…
Oh yes, “the sky is falling, your check is in the mail, and I’ll respect you in the morning”…
Usually, poorly.
Rick
All of the above :lol:
H.
Well… kinda, sorta. :lol:
But I did explain (I think) how slack occurs.
Coincidently (or is it? Only the Shadow Caster knows…), “slack” at the end of the cast is an example of something that is an advanced technique that must be “unlearned”.
People are taught that a nice tight loop forming into the smooth turnover of the leader and ending up with a straight layout of the line is “good”.
In fishing scenarios however, this is “bad” because the fly ends up “connected” to the leader/fly line. At the end of the cast, you want a dry fly to float freely without (micro) drag from the fly line/leader and you want a wet/nymph to sink without being pulled up by the fly line moving at the fast surface current.
So, a perfect “fishing” cast ends up with somewhat of a messy heap. I have read that some people intentionally wiggle their rod tips to induce this.
Varies with the flyrod in hand; bamboo, fiberglass, boron & graphite all flex & load differently 8)