Five Essentials to Casting

As explained By Bill Spicer

FFF Master Certified Master Casting Instructor

As I was preparing for my Master Certification I studied the cast with Master Casting Instructor Chris Seipio. Through this study I have had to obtain reading material on this subject. One such book Chris recommended was The Essentials of Fly-Casting put out by the Federation of Fly Fishers. In this book there are five essentials all casters need to know if you wish to cast with any proficiency. These are fairly straightforward rules, and with a little explanation, they are easy to follow.

1) There must be a pause at the end of each stroke, which varies in duration with the amount of line beyond the rod tip.

This just means you must stop the rod and wait for the line to straighten out before you continue with the next casting movement. The longer the line the longer the wait.

2) Slack line should be kept to an absolute minimum.

This mostly applies to when you start the cast. Your hand must anchor the line before you start the cast. Try not to have any slack line when you pick up the rod to begin the cast. Slack line does not allow the rod to load (bend) when you begin.

3) In order to form the most efficient, least air resistant loops, and to direct the energy of a fly cast toward a specific target, the caster must move the rod tip in a straight line.

Think of painting the ceiling with your rod tip, remembering that the ceiling is flat and not domed. Or imagine a tight rope above you, trace the rope with the tip of the rod, this will help you keep a straight-line path with the rod tip.

4) The size of the casting stroke must vary with the length of line past the rod tip.

Simply put, short line short stroke, long line long stroke.
This is one of the major causes of a tailing loop. If you find that your loop is tailing and you think your stroke is O.K., try increasing the length of the stroke, this should stop the tail.

5) Power must be applied in the proper amount at the proper place in the stroke.

This is the other major cause of a tailing loop. Most novice casters apply the power too early in the stroke, thus causing a tailing loop. The power needs to be applied later in the stroke. I tell most of my students to speed up evenly to a sudden stop; this actually kills two birds with one stone. It gets the student to apply the power in the proper place, and it teaches the student to stop the rod properly.

These are the steps to get you started. You must practice though; a park is the best spot I have found, because there is no fish to distract me.

Do yourself a favor, and take a lesson or two. The cost is minimal compared to what you have spent on your graphite rod, disc drag reel, or neoprene waders, and it will make casting more enjoyable.

Good Luck!

Thanks to Bill and all of the others over at thenewflyfisher.com for the use of this great article.