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February 12, 2006

Casting Lesson #7: Roll and Spey Casts

Casting Lesson #7: The Double Haul

1:43 7.6MB (Streaming)

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Few casts are as downright useful as the roll cast, but it is one area of casting that most people are weak in. The main tendency is to overpower the roll cast.

To make a basic roll cast, lay out some line on the water, then ease it back to you as you lift your rod. Your rod should stop when it is “cocked” over your shoulder, and the line should droop in a big capital D shape behind it. Roll casts rely on this amount of aerialized weight to load the rod, then the surface tension of the water to hold the energy of the cast down and direct it forward. One cannot roll cast on dry pavement; you will “blow your anchor” and all the energy will spill out behind you.

The first demonstration is, for many people, the easiest. The off-shoulder roll cast makes use of the caster’s deltoid and tricep muscles: frequently stronger than the forearm and wrist muscles most casts rely on. This is a good cast to get started on, but be warned that it is harder to aim and shape loops casting off shoulder. Your wrist muscles still must stop the rod in a short path of the tip, just like on a regular cast, and some people need practice to transfer energy from big muscles to small muscles with ease.

Loops are just as important on a roll cast as on a regular cast. Small loops go further. Small loops are caused by a short path of the tip of the rod, just like before. Stop your rod tip forcefully and aim the cast at a point on the water, just as if you were casting normally. Shooting line on the roll cast is possible, especially with more backcast room than seen in the video. Consult a spey caster about the “switch” cast to learn more.

This clip ends with a cast borrowed from spey casting: the Snake Roll. Snake rolls are really useful for turning a cast 90 degrees, as you can see. When a fly is on the dangle after the drift, try tracing a lower case letter “e” in the air, with the leg of the “e” being the start point. This cast works like flag twirlers with their ribbons. The line will follow the tip of the rod as the tip circles back around, aerializing enough weight to load the rod when it cocks back (the crossbar of the “e”) and lays out a traditional roll cast.

Posted by Zach Matthews at 04:52 PM | | Comments ( 0 )

Casting Lesson #6: The Double Haul

Casting Lesson #6: The Double Haul

0:51 3.7MB (Streaming)

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The Double Haul, in all likelihood, is what you’ve been waiting for. This is the clearest line of demarcation between the intermediate and the advanced caster, and it is being good with the double haul that sets good casters apart from great casters.

The Double Haul is more than a way to add distance to your cast. Get that out of your head right now. The Double Haul has two primary effects: #1 it removes any slack that may happen to be in the line; #2 it increases line speed.

Line speed is critical to developing a deeper load on the rod and to casting further. What the haul does is pull the line back to the angler. Whether in the forward or backward cast, pulling line in to you rapidly increases its speed. Thus, you should haul “down through the guides.” You want to hear the line snicking downwards just as the rod reaches its maximum point of load, usually right about when it goes by your ear in either direction. Hauls should begin short and sharp, speeding up to the stop just like the power phase of the cast. A haul mirrors the power application on the rod.

The trickiest part of the double haul is timing. This is where videoing yourself might really help you. The sharp forward tug should come before the rod has unloaded (that is, unbent), but not so early that it spikes the rod and drags the tip out of plane or causes a tailing loop. When you nail it for the first time, you will feel it, because the line will leap out of your hands into the shoot. Pause in that moment and visualize what you have done; then try to repeat.

Remember that the double haul has many applications besides distance. It can be used to add enough power to turn over an ugly cast. A third, quick yank, after the cast has lost power, will flip the fly over almost on top of itself – saving a cast that might have piled up. The Double Haul is especially useful for developing enough line speed to control a cast that starts out bad, either because the angler misapplied power or because he tried to pick up and carry too much line. Do not be afraid to use the double haul on short casts – it will help load a stiff modern rod. Most anglers who learn to double haul use both hands at all times, regardless of the distance of the cast, because of the added control.

Posted by Zach Matthews at 04:50 PM | | Comments ( 0 )

Casting Lesson #5: Tip Tracking

Casting Lesson #5: Tip Tracking

0:40 3.8MB (Streaming)

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The number one element distinguishing the intermediate from the advanced caster is the caster's ability to control the path the tip of the rod takes.

This clip demonstrates the Belgian or elliptical cast and the over-the-shoulder or traditional cast. Both are effective means of presenting the fly and you should learn both.

The Belgian cast differs only in the backcast. Instead of moving over the shoulder, here the rod is brought back at approximately a forty-five degree angle. This allows the angler to adopt an "open stance," it allows him to keep his backcast below underlying trees, and it permits him to exploit a much longer stroke length for some low-power distance casting.

However, there are disadvantages. The rod must be rotated into the vertical plane at the end of the backcast. Pay attention to how the reel goes from face-up to face-sideways. Failure to complete this move will result in a sidearmed forward cast and a sideways loop, which will turn over to the side (an "easy curve" cast).

Also, the tendency is to draw the rod around the caster in an arc as the angler rotates his hips back forwards. This results in a circular path of the tip top, and imparts a sideways loop. In order to successfully cast in the Belgian style for distance, the angler must learn to have his "wrist on a swivel" - meaning the wrist and hand must maintain a straight line path on the forward cast regardless of the swinging motion of the caster's torso and arm. This is a style of casting that also imparts flawed habits that can be very hard to break.

Posted by Zach Matthews at 04:47 PM | | Comments ( 0 )

Casting Lesson #4: Basic Hauls

Casting Lesson #4: Basic Hauls

1:07 4.6MB (Streaming)

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Invariably, the benchmark beginning anglers set for themselves is to "learn to double haul." Although this is a laudable goal, the first step might very well be all you'll ever need. Fortunately, it is also much easier to pick up.

The backcast haul is the first step in the process. The correct way to "single haul" is to hold the line in your left hand, then tug it down through the guides about 6" as the rod accelerates in the power phase. Usually this occurs right about when your hand passes your ear.

The idea here is to increase the linespeed of your line in order to develop a deeper "load" or bend in the rod. Just like a spring, the deeper a rod is loaded, the more energy it can release into your line.

When you tug, be sure to pull "down the blank". Don't yank line out to the side; you risk pulling your tip out of plane and causing an undesirable curve cast. Also, your tug should accelerate to a stop just like the power phase of the cast. In many ways, the speed up and stop on the rod mirrors the speed up and stop on the line.

When the tug is complete, release tension on the line, but don't drop it. It will slip out of your fingers in the backcast, "shooting" backward. Stop the shoot by pinching the line tight, then make a normal forward cast. This technique could add as much as 25% to your overall casting distance.

Posted by Zach Matthews at 04:42 PM | | Comments ( 0 )

Casting Lesson #3: The Tailing Loop

Casting Lesson #3: The Tailing Loop

0:51 3.8MB (Streaming)

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Few casting flaws are as likely to cause a caster to burst into a string of expletives as the godless heathen tailing loop. Yet most casters endure a "tailing loop phase," and even excellent casters periodically screw up and throw one.

The tailing loop is caused when the tip of the rod (I told you it was important) tracks a concave path. That's the physics of it. The cause of the concave path can be hard to identify.

Most basically, the tip will track a concave path when the power applied is too great for the length of the casting stroke. The caster could be "punching" the rod, causing the tip to lay back as the rod compresses and then uncompresses, creating the concave path.

Or, the caster could be "creeping" - letting the rod drift forward in a more or less upright manner without turning over. This video demonstrates both forms, first "the punch", then "the creep."

Other, less common possibilities exist. The caster could be casting from a very high backcast plane to an equally high forward casting plane, effectively "swooping" the rod down in the middle of the stroke.

Fix tailing loops by concentrating on accelerating into the stop, keeping the rod tip moving in a straight line (arcing down at the end of the stroke), and applying power smoothly. Be especially careful to rotate the rod downward as it moves forward to avoid "creep."

 

Posted by Zach Matthews at 01:56 PM | | Comments ( 0 )

Casting Lesson #2: Loop Size

Loop size is critical. Watch the different results.

Casting Lesson #2: Loop Size

0:38 2.85MB (Streaming)

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Loops are crucial to delivering the fly to the fish. A flyline unrolls in the air in the shape of a loop. As it unrolls, it loses energy. The most important facet of casting accurately is being able to control the amount of energy to put into a cast to make it stop unrolling exactly where you want it.

There are two easy categories of loops: big loops and small loops. This clip demonstrates both.

The big loops differ from the small loops because the tip of the rod is moving through a longer path. Look closely. When the caster demonstrates a small loop, the tip of the rod stops moving. That hard stop causes energy the caster has put in to the rod by waving it to transfer into the line, propelling it forward. The tip of the rod moves only a short distance, and the caster accelerates to the stop. This acceleration is known as the "speed up and stop" or power phase of the cast.

The big loops are formed when the rod slows to a stop, or doesn't stop at all, causing the tip of the rod to move in a wider arc.

Posted by Zach Matthews at 01:52 PM | | Comments ( 0 )

Casting Lesson #1: Original Sin

Welcome to the Itinerant Angler Online Casting Lesson!

These lessons work best with Windows Media Player. For best results, review them in order and read the accompanying descriptions. If you have any casting questions, please feel free to bring them to the Bulletin Board or to email them to me here.

 

Casting Lesson #1: Original Sin

0:27 2.04MB (Streaming)

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The first thing most people do when they pick up a fly rod is wave it around, because, as Norman Maclean said, "Man is a damned mess." It's the natural thing to do, but it won't get you very far. This first clip demonstrates how a caster looks when he picks up a rod for the first time. As you progress through these lessons, you might see if you have an old video camera laying around somewhere so you can study your own cast.

The hallmarks of the rank beginner are the broken wrist and the flipflopping, windshield-washer path of the rod tip. The path of the rod tip is very important, because the line will always follow the tip of the rod. I call this cast the "snake charmer." In order to make this line actually carry a fly to a target, the caster needs to try forming a loop.

Posted by Zach Matthews at 01:44 PM | | Comments ( 0 )