Perfect conditions today for chasing snook off the beach! In usual fashion I broke off more than I landed. Fished a VXP 6 wt. that I recently built.
I had accidentally ordered black guides. I used them anyways. Fishhawk green/black thread with the intentions of using CP first, but, I found out at the last minute family was visiting Sanibel island. If I wanted to fish the rod there, I only had two days to complete it (while working mandatory OT that week). I skipped the CP. I beat the dealine. I fished. I got skunked.
Pairs perfectly with a Konic 2 and Wulff BTT. All the descriptions include “smooth” as an adjective. They are spot on. The rod is perfect for short, quick casts. For some reason, however, NONE of my rods are dead accurate.
I thought my rods all cast to the left until I noticed that it always happened when I turned my head to look at my backcast. That head and body turn made the rod track along a slight arc to the right and when I turned back for the forward cast, the rod again racked a bit to the right and at the stop, the line curved a bit to the right.
If the distance is off, you can do what I do.
This is the way I “cheat” to match power and distance so the fly lands exactly where I want with the delicacy I want.
I “brake” my cast.
I overpower the cast a bit and shoot line through an “O” ring formed by my index and thumb of my line land. I can control the amount of my shoot. By closing my fingers around the shooting line as slips past my fingers, I can use friction to bleed off the excess energy. The fly will land with both precision and delicacy.
Trying to land a fly at a given distance with exactly the correct amount of power is a bit like trying to park a car by allowing it to glide into place without using your car’s brakes.
The same thing happens when trying to “park” a fly during a cast into the right place. Rather than casting and allow pure physics to determine where it will land, over power it a bit, and then “brake” the fly much like your would park your car. The "O’ ring shoot gives you absolute and instant control of the fly line during and after the cast.
I would say that this would be “pilot error”. In the past 2 weeks I have cast over 30 different fly rods and all of them went where I pointed them. If they went ahead or behind the target, it was me…not the rod’s fault.
If most of your casts puts the fly to the left of where you wanted it, assuming you are right handed, it may be because you are not making the rod travel in a straight back and straight forward cast. It is hard for me to explain what I mean but,…I have seen a lot of people who “swing” the rod back and forward. In other words, they turn their wrist back on the back cast and then turn their wrist forward on the forward cast. A lot like turning a screw driver left and right a little. This puts the cast in a small arch instead of a straight line to the target. Just a thought that was not explained well enough I am sure…
Those eyes disappeared with the first fish I hooked on that fly. The next two casts resulted in two more fish… We may need some more research. I’ll volunteer.
