I am still learning to cast a fly, or rather the line. I see references about “strip off about 30 feet of line” in J. Castwell’s articles on casting. My question is, is that in reference to 30 feet of fly line which would be about 40 feet total or 30 feet including leader and tippet? I get the impression that it is the latter, but then I think maybe it is 30 feet of line off the reel for a total cast length of 40 or so feet.
Maybe I’m just over thinking this and should just cast to the fish.:rolleyes:
EDIT: Forgot to mention, I mostly fish freestone streams in the Seattle area. Lot’s of times there is not a lot of room for a backcast, so a lot of roll casts.
Fly line weights are based on the first thirty feet of line. by stripping off thirty feet of fly line plus whatever leader you have you are getting enough line to load your rod properly if you have a balanced outfit.
Well, let’s say you’re ready to begin practicing. You need to ‘string ’ your rod(put leader and line through the eyes and out the tip top) and should have roughly a 9’ leader/tippet with a tiny fuzzball thingy at the end(so you can see how and where your ‘fly’ is going) plus about 3 feet of line sticking out from the tip top of the rod. NOW follow J. Castwell’s instructions!
If you took your rod/reel and just walked out to a lawn without ‘stringing’ and stripped off 30’ of line from the reel, that line would simply be piled under you on the lawn.
To clarify, that is 30 feet of fly line outside the rod tip. For rank beginners, I suggest going up one line size and our TU chapter use 6 wt lines on 5 wt rods to teach casting.
A beginner should not actually start with 30 ft of line but work their way up to 30 feet. Start with about 10-15 feet and then extend line as your loop formation improves.
Gee, now why didn’t I think of that? Getting the line out that little thingy at the end would make it so much easier to toss the line out in front of me. Thanks for the chuckle Allen, I needed it today.
I have this absolutely huge backyard that I practice in. Its of 300 by 300. Well, in inches anyway, in feet it 25 by 25. Ain’t it wonderful living in a modern subdivision. All of .2 acre lot with a house right in the middle of it. Oh well, at least from the corner of the deck, to the corner of the yard it is right at 30 - 35 feet. So, it’s just about the right distance, maybe a little short, but a good distance for the for me. For the backcast, I have the distance for 30 - 40 feet of line, but I have to put it through about a 4 - 5 foot gap between my house and the neighbor’s shed, which if I screw up there is this nice puddle of line in front draping over my shoulder with the end behind. But it is also good, cause I can use the 3 rose bushes in the corner as targets. They are about 2 - 3 feet apart and make good targets for the little fuzzball thingy.
So, I have space, barely, to practice in the backyard. Got a 9’ 5wt rod, WF5 line, and now know to pull 30 feet of that line off the reel and have a little out that little round thingy at the tip. Then flail away.
OBTW, what are those other ring thingies that are stuck all along the rod for? Must be 6 or 7 of them and all different sizes, starting with an itty bitty one right at the handle. Can’t be for the line cause that first one’s too small.
You can mark your line with a sharpie at 39 feet for a 9 ft rod. Then you will have about 30 feet our of the guides when the mark is just off the reel.
Some fly line/rod combinations have a “sweet spot” that seems to produce the easiest cast . This length can differ for different casters. If this happens with your outfit, you can mark that spot with a sharpie or whip a bit of tying thread on the fly line and cover it with some Uv cured resin so you can feel it with your line hand when that amount of line is off the reel.
IMHO I think there is not enough attention paid to the “sweet spot” concept by or for beginners. Why would you want to practice with a less than ideal rod loading?..for beginners I mean.
Maybe some beginners don’t have the access to an experienced fly fisher who can help with instructions? Some, out of necessity have to learn with the help of computers, acquirred DVDs or books. Does a rod have the same ‘sweet spot’ with the same weight lines by different manufacturers or designs(dbl taper, wt forward, rocket)? Does a rod with a ‘matched’ line have the same ‘sweet spot’ for everyone who casts with it? Personally, I’ve never heard of the ‘sweet spot concept’ but I am certain that it means nothing in certain casting situations.
I think the sweet spot differs with different anglers.
The sweet spot concept is that there is a degree of rod flexion that just feels “right” for want of a better term. Rod flexion depends on the amount of line out of the rod and how fast that line is accelerated. Different anglers have different casting strokes.
Similarly, some fly rods seem to cast better with some lines. Not all lines feel the same even though the first 30 feet of the identical “weight” fly lines theoretically have the same mass. The matching of fly lines to the fly rod and the matching of rod action to the casting style, is why I believe anglers prefer certain lines and fly rods.
Are you interested in casting or catching fish? There’s difference, IMHO, at least when fishing moving waters. Most of the fish I caught were within 4-15 feet of me. Once I got beyond that, getting a natural drift was hard. Still and salt waters are different.
First off if you are fishing freestone streams I’m using a Tenkara rod. Varying lengths of rods and lines can create an array of options. With the Tenkara rod you have better line control and drifts through the pockets. Just my humble opinion.
Here’s the thing though. When rod manufacturers design and build a rod, they don’t know how each person will be fishing the rod, under what conditions, etc, etc., etc.
SO, they have to pick SOME sweet spot, and they do know that a “trout rod” is more than likely going to be fished somewhere between 20 and 40 feet. So, they pick a weight against the flex in the rod at 30 feet of line given the rod’s weight of line designation and assuming that weight of line is used.
You an defeat this by under-weighting the line for the rod, or overweighting to adjust that sweet spot for your particular normal casting distances.
This is not to say that it won’t cast just fine and shorter or longer distances. It is just that they have to pick one for the rod design…
I have a 5wt Reddington Classic Trout, 4 piece 8’6" with 5wf line. Think I said that somewhere above. Its not top of the line, but its not a bottom dweller either. I have been told it casts very good for a $150 rod by the guys at my LFS. It’s what I can afford, and I like it.
Somewhere around 25’ and the rod starts loading pretty good, when I make a decent cast, and continues to feel good out to 35 or so feet, about my current limit. Fishing where I do, mostly freestone streams and rivers, 30’ is a long cast and it is more like 15 - 20’, ala Oldfrat, and a lot of roll casting. Occasionally I will go to one of the local lake and do some still water and test my distance, but not often as I prefer working a stream or river.
I get the impression that it is the latter, but then I think maybe it is 30 feet of line off the reel for a total cast length of 40 or so feet.
