Practicing casting trying different things that I have seen on an overhead cast… There seems to be those who briskly pick up on the backcast and stop past vertical, and those who pickup very slowly and make a pronounced power stroke at around 10 o’clock stopping just past vertical, almost flipping the fly behind and over their heads. Both seem to do the job. But I am a brisk lifter and am trying different methods on the pickup. I’m sure it could be dictated by circumstance… Just curious to see what you all are comfortable with.
Janus
FOr me the longer the cast the faster the back-cast(more loading of the rod)
Hi Janus,
I guess I use a steady acceleration on the pick up to back cast.
Think about it. If the back cast is actually identical to the forward cast, shouldn’t it be a modulated power stroke?
A smooth pick up to back cast is actually one of the most difficult things to adjust in a caster (imho). There is a fine line between not picking up “briskly” enough and ripping the line and fly off of the water.
Through experience, I have found that many people who rip, … are holding their rod too high while fishing and don’t have a direct contact to the line (there is a belly in their line between the rod tip and the surface of the water). When they go to pickup, they have to lift all the belly out of the line before the line starts moveing and loading the rod.
(sound dumb, I know, … I’ll try to finds some picture to illustrate this problem).
Tight lines.
Hello fcch, far from sounding dumb…you’re right on about folks having the rod tip too high at the beginning of the pickup ! Tip on the water almost and a short strip to tighten things up then start the pickup !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
First, I’m not the world’s best caster. I catch fish but nobody would accuse me of having a pretty casting stroke.
I find when I lift the line from the water too fast, I frequently get a “plop” when the fly comes up (sounds like a bluegill popper when it’s twitched).
If I lift slower, I do not get the plop. I guess I’m more of a slow to lift, accellerate through the back cast, stop when the rod is just past my ear and stop the forward cast when the rod is just past the front of my glasses (on a clock, that’s about 11:00 on the back cast and about 1:30 on the front cast).
It works for me and for some reason, the fish do not seem to mind my lack of grace and coorination. Perhaps they just feel sorry for me. 
Jeff
If I’m lawn casting for show, I pick up fast. If I’m trying to catch fish with an underwater fly, I pick up slow.
That slow pick up will, at times, entice a fish to hit the rising fly.
"Hello fcch, far from sounding dumb…you’re right on about folks having the rod tip too high at the beginning of the pickup ! Tip on the water almost and a short strip to tighten things up then start the pickup !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose"
For sure…start your pick up with zero slack…a principle taught to me by Tom White…one of those “duh” moments 8)
This is a tough one! There is another method to use to lift your line for the backcast. JC himself showed it to me. Lift the rod a bit and make a quick circle with the rod tip. This lifts a lot of the line off the surface before starting the backcast. I think I’m in trouble here without photos to show how it’s done. All I know is it works!
Jack,
Would that be a counterclockwise assuming you are casting over your right shoulder?
Yes. Called horizontal pick up, Joe Brooks.
Over??? This is to lift your line from the water… going into the backcast.
Tyronefly;
It is a clockwise movement, sharply done to raise the line off the water (it could be done counterclockwise too I guess). It also lifts the line with less surface disturbance that may spook fish.
Trying to visualize what I do after a few Rye and Waters!! Lift the rod to about 2 O:clock make the circle and start the backcast.
Thank You JC!!! I’ll never forget what you’ve taught me, except the names!!
Janus,
The pickup, like the forward and back stroke, should begin slowly and accelerate to a snap. It’s the ACCELERATION that flexes the rod to its peak just as your stroke reaches its end. It’s just like a pitcher winding up to throw - always accelerating to maximum velocity just at the point of release. This is why you’ll hear a beginner’s rod swish swish swishing as they move it as fast as possible through the stroke and a more knowledgeable caster’s stroke is quiet and appears almost effortless.
The water tension creates resistance and loads the rod better than when the line is in the air. For this reason, the lifting stroke starts even slower (like winding up a shot put) and can generate a lot of energy (providing of course you start with the line straight and the rod tip low). If you start with the slack removed and the tip near the water, you will get the rod to begin loading right away and you wont have to bring it much past vertical. Of course the accelerated pick-up has the added bonus of not scaring every fish in the pool and the horizontal pick-up makes the lift even stealthier.
Bill O.
Maybe it’s from all the lawn casting practice I do but I found it very effective to slowly accelerate while lifting the rod until the leader only is on the water then complete the back cast. This doesn’t make near the noise as ripping the line from the water and seems to spook less fish.
Actually, the ‘Horizontal Pick-up’ is started with the rod tip just above horizontal. The counter clock-wise movement is done with the wrist and resembles a very small roll-cast laid on its side (horizontally). The rod continues back, gaining speed and power until the point is reached where it is stopped to form the back loop. Joe is the only one except for N. Travis I have ever seen who regularly used it. Most use a smooth draw, a shake pick-up or a roll-cast pick up. I have taught this for years but don’t think many have adopted it. I like it as it gets the line off the water faster than any other pick up and the fly dances into the air instantly.
Here is a link to a column from some time back. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst052200.html
JC, …
Ever since you showed the pickup to me I use it on 50% of my casts. Works really well when we’re dry fly fishing out on the farther lanes. Less stripping to get the line in then up and it doesn’t rip the fly and line off of the water. (and id does impress the Gallery when folks are standing behind you 
)
p.s. to all, …practice clockwise and counterclockwise. If there’s a breeze coming ove one shoulder, you’ll soon see why
(or wear a broad rimmed floppy hat until you get handy at it).
Some really good advise here. One of the best reasons to use a low rod with a slow controlled pick up which accelerates thru the back cast is to avoid “ripping the line off the water” which invariably puts fish down. As many posters have indicated, once the slack is gone, the back cast can be easily executed with a short controlled power stroke that stops just past vertical keeping the back cast high and crisp.
However there are times such as “picking pockets” in fast water where the casts are often short and quick with a high rod tip to keep line off the water. In this case, a sharp, brisk stroke right from the start of the back cast is the tool of choice for me.
Tight Loops forever!
Guy