This one’s for you Warren :lol:
Do you think that the better you are at long distance casting …the better your accuracy will be at shorter distances???
I think you’ll be best at what you practice the most.
Being a long caster won’t make you accurate at short distances if that’s all you do is practice long casting.
My practice sessions start out in the 20’ range, all the while working on good form and accuracy as I stretch the casts out to longer distances. The sessions also include things such as curve casts, loop formation, off-hand casting (thanks to the Michigan Fish In surprize!), shooting line, going from short to long distances with the least amount of false casting…
I guess some people just practice casting at just one range but I don’t know any good casters who do.
I agree with Jackster. When I practice casting I start at a short distance and work my way up. Since I’m not a competitive caster, I strive for accuracy within the rang I usually fish. This time of year is fun because I target individual flowers in our landscaping. From a single stance I can choose any of three island in the front yard. You’d be surprised at how many people drive by and shout out the window “Are they biting good today?” or some other such sill comment. Then again, i guess it does look a bit silly casting a fly rod to petunias and geraniums.
Joe
Well sure…see it’s just like putting…when I sink 60 footers then subsequently sink some 10 or 12 footers they don’t seem like anything at all.
Fore,
MontanaMoose
Yes, absolutely.
Randy58
Not quite the question though.
If you could drive the ball 350yds. Would you be a good putter?
Nope!
If you could drive the ball 350yds. Would you be a good putter?
Nope!
I hope Tiger Woods doesn’t see this!
Always an exception and Tiger would be one. However there’s a ton of long ball hitters who can’t putt for beans. My point being if you work on casting a long distance it won’t help you short accuracy unless you practice it too.
Lets look at it this way. You have two fly fishers. One of them practices at all distances and is accurate at short casts and can sling a bunch of line too. He’s an all around fly fisher, but of course since he spreads his practice around more. He doesn’t put the time in practicing short casts as fly fisher two who practices nothing but short casts. full time. We could add a fisher three who practices nothing but long casts.
Now who would you put your money on for being the best short caster if they all put in the same amount of time overall in practice? Lets also add they all have the same abilities.
As I said in my first post on this. I’d say the one who practices the short cast the most will be the best at it.
Q) Yeah, but who’s the one who catches the most fish?
A) The one goes fishing while others are practice casting on the lawn
Better yet, someone practices casting when they can’t fish but also fishes at times and another casts only a few times a year while fishing.
Hands down, my money would go with the person who practices AND fishes!
[quote=“Jackster”]
Better yet, someone practices casting when they can’t fish but also fishes at times and another casts only a few times a year while fishing.
Hands down, my money would go with the person who practices AND fishes![/quote]
What’s more valuable? Practicing on a lawn, or on the water fishing?
It’s hard to duplicate the weird casts you run into on the stream on a lawn.
Okay, I relent! Practice is bad.
I’ll stop and make sure the simple act of swinging a fly line is foreign to me each time I hit the stream until I get back in the groove.
Come to think of it, I’m going to do my best to close down all of the driving ranges and to make sure sports teams never hit the field or court until game time. That should make them better, eh?
Sheeessshhh… :?
Can’t debate without bringing sarcasm?
I don’t think anywhere in all my posts on this forum from the beginning. I said practice was bad. I’d be willing to bet in the last year i’ve practiced more than 90% of this forum. (out of the water) I just think that getting out on the water teaches you a lot that you can’t learn on the lawn.
- all these discussions boil down to 2 camps. One camp are the small stream trout fishers for whom accuracy is paramount . For this group the less line on the water the better because it amounts to a drag free drift.
I grew up in Michigan and latter moved to colorado I was firmly established in this small stream camp the shorter the cast the better. That said I was usually frustrated with still water fishing opportunities until I learned to double haul.
The second camp is the saltwater & stillwater guys who many times have to delivery a cast quickly at distance with accuracy to a crusing trout or moving fish.
There is no right or wrong here just 2 opinions
Casting to distance will identify any mistakes in your stroke.
In the analogy to golf no one would putt all the way around the course. Accuracy and distance both have there place
In order to have good distance casting abilities you have to have good technique. If you have good technique you will be able to cast more accurately at short distances.
Keith
Simply put, I just think some of the questions you ask are plain silly.
Many say practicing your cast on the water isn’t the best because you’re no longer considering the cast itself 100% of the time, especially if fish are present.
Some, like myself, practice what they can when water simply isn’t an option. Better that than not practicing at all or settling for mediocrity.
There was a time in the States that each town had casting clubs and casting competitions were more prevelant than baseball games. No fish were caught during these compatitions yet I’m willing to bet people still managed to have fun doing it.
okflyfisher nailed it! If you’re only fishing one type of water like small streams sure you can get away witout distance casting. Having lived in Michigan most of my life and now living in NC where we fish from the mountains to the sea I still contend there ain’t no downside to casting well.
I sure wish Castwell was here to temper these topics!
Well I read everything in this thread again and all I want to know now is what duckster thinks.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I would say no. The technique used to make a long distance cast is different than the one used for short distance cast. In making a long distance cast successfully for me I use the doublehaul (as poorly as I execute one - it’s like rubbing your head and patting your belly at the same time or is it patting your head and rubbing your belly :? ) for short distance it can be anything from a bow-and-arrow to a standard cast.
Sure…put me on the spot :roll:
OK…I believe that a good long distance caster will automatically become a better accuracy caster at shorter distances because he/she will have learned better line and loop control and by necessity gotten rid of some bad habits that tend to show up at longer distances.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying we shouldn’t practice at shorter distances [I believe in practice…never did it when I was younger] .
You know I’m pretty sure JC fairly recently made the same point about long casting and shorter accuracy.