Tips on Fly Casting
Take a Stance
Walt Robinson, Casting Master
Take a Stance
Walt Robinson, Casting Master
Last month's article on the Double Haul along with our practice session at the meeting led to an observation about getting more distance in the cast. Stance is often overlooked as a factor in helping or hindering the cast. Carrying more line when lengthening the cast calls for longer travel of the casting arm, both front and back. While trying to lengthen their cast, many fly fisherman tend to use the same 30-foot casting motion they use for in-close trout fishing which means the arm only comes back to about the ear on the back cast. This is coupled with the fact that their right foot, for a right handed caster, is either square to the left foot or slightly ahead of it. To lengthen your cast, work on the following steps:
(1) Open up your stance. For the right handed caster, bring your right foot back to a comfortable position with your foot toed out about 45 degrees.
(2) Make some extended false casts concentrating on accelerating to a stop and maintaining a fairly straight travel of the rod tip on a plane parallel to the ground.
(3) Learn to watch your back cast and strive for maintaining good loop control, and
(4) with your more open stance, be careful that you are not rotating your body to the point where your rod tip begins to travel in an arc on the plane that is perpendicular to the ground. This rotation will cause a curved cast affecting distance and direction.
These steps along with your double haul will begin to give you the distance you are looking for. Did I also mention PRACTICE?!! Have me check your casting stroke at the next meeting.