I fished for LMB and Stripers last week in California with a guide. He grabbed the rod (7’-11" Sage LMB rod) and started this underhand cast stuff with a big deer hair frog. It worked amazingly well for laying down the big LMB flies softly. He could flip it under branches, docks, etc. I tried it with some success. It seems like it would be tricky if you weren’t casting from a boat. This cast breaks all of the traditional casting rules (a lot of wrist action) but it works well.
I’ve used that cast for a number of years now. I have an old Fly Fishing for Bass video by Dave Whitlock, that I got back in the late 80’s or early 90’s. He used that cast, so I went out and started practicing it. Comes in real handy when casting under low hanging branches.
It is used when chucking hardware. Love to use a pig and jig and cast under
low branches this way. I have two flipping sticks with level winders and
jigs ready on the boat. It is a ton of fun.
In a fly casting situation with low branches in my experience it works to throw
a tight loop. I like to sidearm the cast in low.
I suppose if you had a heavy enough fly you might be able to pendulum
a fly in under but I have never tried, yet!
I do quite a bit of bassing too, mainly from my boat and to LMB.
I can and sometimes do use a sideways cast to “skid” or skip a fly under a dock as some of the better baitcasters can do (but I’m not nearly as good with the flyrod) but really rarely feel the need to.
When LM bassing, forget that gentle presentation. The more you slap her down (w/in reason) the more they tend to come over to inspect the commotion.
Not saying you couldn’t profit from the ability to add to your bag of casting tricks though…that certainly can’t hurt.
Very useful technique. Bass fishermen are usually more concerned with results, not casting form. Such tactics arose from the need to get the bait to the fish.
It’s not even hard to do. I keep the rod 90 degrees to the target, and level or a bit above level. Keep the line under the rod at all times, and just swing the rod back and forth to acquire momentum for the cast and to play out the proper amount of line. As the bait approaches the target, lift the rod tip to slow the line/fly,and then drop the tip to lay the bait down. A couple of practice runs and it’s effective.
You can use this for ranges from ten to sixty feet, with practice. The bait can be made to travel only inches above the water’s surface. You can actually get the fly several feet back under docks and cover that is only a couple of inches clear of the water.
There are times when you want the bait to hit hard, but there are also times when you want a softer landing. Back up under cover like this is generally one of them.
I’ve only used this from a boat while bass fishing. Never needed it for trout fishing. It’s certainly worth taking a few minutes to try it out.
I ‘discovered’ the underhand or pendulum cast on my own about 15 years ago to solve a problem getting a fly under overhanging brush on a congested Sierra creek and learned to use it for bass fishing. I have used it in some mangrove type situations also. It is a great technique.
And yes, that Sage rod and the matching line is an excellent combo for performing this cast. Prior to acquiring the Sage rod, I typically used an 9 foot 8 or 9 wt rod with a 10, 11 , or 12wt line for pendulum casts with large flies.
Can you describe how it is done with a fly?
I can’t envision the fly’s mass allowing enough momentum to get it to travel
any distance… I am picturing it as swinging, pendulum the fly to the fishes location, how is the fly rod
used in loading the cast? or is it?
When you make the cast, the rod is canted to the side, anywhere from a little bit down to horizontal, depending on the situation. The line remains below the rod tip at all times and the loop unrolls upside down. You still make a stop on the back cast and the forward cast. For short distances, you may load the rod very little. For long casts you may put a deep bend into it. You may still use a single or double haul if necessary.
One way to learn it is to get out on some grass or water. Make a side arm cast with the rod parallel to the ground(water). Now make the cast but back off on the power a little so the line remains below the rod tip and above the ground, but still forming a loop. Bring the rod up a little and do it again. Bring the rod up again and try the cast. You will find that you bring the rod up near vertical and still make the cast with the line remaining below the rod tip. The loop always unrolls upside down compared to a standard cast. By varying loop size and rod angle, you can have the lead and fly skim right along the water, or keep it up a feet. Since the loop unrolls upside down, even if it hits overhanging structure, the leader and fly will kick under the obstruction.
tailingloop,
Yes, I fished with KD…great trip, I learned a lot. He knows his stuff and the Delta seems like a wild place you could go hide for a longtime. And a great, diverse fishery as well…
Good description on the cast. Here’s a video I found that shows the cast towards the middle.