Importance Of Casting

[briansII]

Things are starting to slow down on the forum, so I thought I'd bring this up for discussion.

How important is fly casting to your fishing. Do you high stick/ short line nymph a lot. Cast only upstream with dry flies? Strip streamers. Creeks, rivers, and or stillwater. Species of fish make a big difference?

How did you develop your fly casting. Do you practice. Are you any better now, than say 3-4 years ago. Any future plans to improve.

Does casting hold any enjoyment for you, or is it just a function of delivering the fly.

briansII

[rkfiske]

I think watching people cast was what piqued my interest in fly fishing in the first place. When well executed, it's a beautiful thing to watch. When you grew up hurling a bowling ball sliding egg sinker with some brightly colored dough into the air like a trebuchet, the fly cast just looks way more elegant.

I used to practice all the time in my front yard, the park,etc. Recently I haven't had any time to, but I am constantly wanting to improve my cast. Definitely a facet of fly fishing just like fly tying or rod building in which we can further immerse ourselves in the craft.

Do I need a good cast for my fishing? Definitely not. Maybe if I can get my cast to look nice though, I'll end up converting another young fisherman/woman to fly fishing!

[NorcalBob]

<<<How important is fly casting to your fishing>>>
For some fishing (stripers/shad/salt) casting is very important, if you can't get it to where the fish are, you go home fishless. Beginner casters have a huge disadvantage compared to experienced casters. For some fishing (short line nymphing) casting is not as important, and a beginner can do quite well.
<<<Do you high stick/ short line nymph a lot>>>
Yes, sometimes for trout!
<<<Cast only upstream with dry flies>>>
Cast only dry flies upstream??? Most of my dry fly casts are downstream!!!!
<<<Strip streamers. Creeks, rivers, and or stillwater>>>
Yes, absolutely!
<<<Species of fish make a big difference?>>>
Yes, absolutely!
<<<How did you develop your fly casting>>>
Went fishing a lot!!! Took one class, but mostly on my own.
<<<Do you practice>>>
Not really, I find that too boring. I go fishing a lot, that's my practice!
<<<Are you any better now, than say 3-4 years ago>>>
About the same with single handed casting, much better with double handed casting.
<<<Any future plans to improve>>>
Only my double handed casting. Need to be able to throw over 100' with spey rod. I can already do that single handed.
<<<Does casting hold any enjoyment for you, or is it just a function of delivering the fly>>>
Single handed - just a function of delivering the fly. Double handed is elegant stuff!

[midger]

Casting is very important. If you can't put your flies where the fish are, you won't catch many fish.

Flycasting for me is a means to an end. I don't practice casting at all but have improved my casting over the past %%% (many) years by finding myself in situations that demanded certain presentations. I use roll casting a lot when fishing rivers like the lower O. and others that offer little to no backcasting room. Double hauls when throwing weighted lines/flies to steelhead on large rivers. Parachute casts when intentionally dropping a dry fly above a feeding trout to give myself a longer drag free drift. Others as the situation dictates.

My goal with my casts is to place the flies where I want them and to maximize time on/in the water. While I find the long, graceful flycasting enjoyable to watch, false casting doesn't catch fish unless the fly is on the water and many falsecast more than necessary to get placement of fly(s).

You also need to fish your casts out. If you don't drop your flies right where intended, fish the drift anyway. You'd spook the fish more by ripping your line up and beginning your cast over again. The movement of the line leaving the water, the shadow of the false cast over the water, the splash of your indicator (if you're bobber fishing )--all will tend to put the fish down.


I have no problem with the artistic casters though. Some folks are more into form than function. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, as different strokes for different folks makes the world go round.

[Bernard]

Midger for President

[beachbum]

Casting really comes into play when fishing for selective trout that spook easily, as Midger pointed out so well. I have never been a good caster, but manage to catch a few fish. One lesson I learned this spring on the Henry's Fork was to spend more time getting in good casting position, and making shorter, more accurate casts.

The other situation where casting plays a big part is when you have to lay out long, accurate casts, while throwing big flies. Now I want to go fishing again...

[DrCreek]

Every day on the water is like the first day of school for me. I hope I never stop sponging information from things that I see other people do.

As long as I can get the fly (1) in the trouts field of vision and (2) make it stand reasonably still for maybe two heart-stopping seconds, I'm happy. No need for any other worry simply because I don't have time or desire to worry about anything else.

[fly addict]

When I think of casting I’m thinking of dry fly fishing, making a few false casts, measuring the distance and accuracy to the target. But even if you fish subsurface you need to make some sort of cast.
I guess I’m from the school of thought that casting is very important. I practice almost every day because I enjoy it and when I’m on the water I don’t want to think about casting fundamentals. It is like any sport, if you want to get better you need to practice. There is practice time and then there is fishing time. If anybody says casting is not important, they are either a bad caster or full of *. The average fly fisherman can improve their catch rates by improving their casting ability.
The longer the distance to your quarry, the more critical a cast becomes. I think Joan Wulff said it best, and I use her quote as my signature.

Mark

[meb]

I used to practice single handed casting all the time, and I have been practicing spey casting two or three days a week for a year and half. Casting, especially for dry fly fishing which is 95% of what I do for trout, is important. However, equally important is the ability to achieve a drag free drift. There's lots of ways to do it, but keeping the fly from dragging is what makes the difference. A lot of that can be accomplished with the initial cast, but mending comes into play too, and you can't really practice mending unless you're on a stream or river.

Mark

[fflutterffly]

casting for me is the art of fly fishing.

[RiverRat]

Some of the best casters are the worst fishermen. They sling line all over the river casting over fish, scaring fish, and letting it drag all over the river. Casting means nothing if your presentation sucks. When teaching newbies I teach getting in position, proper presentation, a simple roll cast.......then overhead casting.

casting habits are easier to break than bad presentation habits.


shane

[briansII]

IMHO, I think you need to be relatively proficient at fly casting, to be proficient at catching fish. I'm not saying you have to cast 100', but I think if you can only cast 30', you'll be limited to what situations you can catch fish. I used the 30' mark as an example, since it is often used as the distance most trout are caught at(or under). The waters I fish for trout, you'll be at a disadvantage if you can only reach 30'. 50' will open up more opportunities. More than that, you can reach those "impossible" fish.

Line control, and presentation is a big factor in catching trout, and other species, but I have not found where a good caster is seriously lacking in those departments. It's more the inexperienced casters. The guys I know that have the best line control are good, to very good casters. They can also present a fly in all sorts of situations, and conditions.

I used to practice weekly, but now I just don't have the time. I do try and critique my casting while fishing, and make improvements. I recently found some little tweaks to help my casts, then I started having some inconsistencies. Last trip I worked through it, and I'm back in the groove......or was. Who knows how that plays out this weekend. I have not spey cast in a while. I hope to get out an practice/fish soon, since I have an upcoming trip. On that trip, I will ask the guide to help with my spey casting.

A big part of the reason I enjoy fly fishing, is the casting. If it was just about catching fish, I could do that more effectively(for the most part), and with less effort, on conventional casting gear. Fly casting is a challenge. I think that's why I'm drawn to spey now. It's a challenge to learn, and catch fish with this method. I tend to get bored with things, if they get too easy, or repetitive. Fly casting is something that never gets boring for me, and there's always more to learn.

briansII

[phunhog]

I am pretty new to flyfishing and I see the importance of proper casting. But....most of what I fish are little, brushy SoCal streams. I quickly realized that the casting you see in videos and books isn't going to work in most places where I fish. Just not enough room. I have found that in those creeks 95% of the time I am roll casting , dapping, or some other hybrid just to get the fly in the right spot without hanging up. So I would say casting is of vital importance for me...just not "textbook" casting.