VIDEO: The Lagging Curve Cast — Dead Drifts for Days (Fly Casting Skills)

by | Sep 5, 2024 | 10 comments

Dry Fly Fishing | Fly Casting | Tactics | Videos

** NOTE ** Video for The Lagging Curve Cast Appears Below.

The Lagging Curve is a beautiful way to provide slack to a dry fly, and it’s my favorite way to get perfect dead drifts to a dry fly rivers. I fish a lagging curve at just about any angle, using both a forehand and backhand cast, and it provides slack to a dry fly for days.

The lagging curve is really the opposite of what most people mean by a curve cast. This is an underpowered curve and not a power curve.

The leader design matters a lot, and so does the casting stroke.

In this video, I cover the following . . .

  • Gear
  • Baseline cast
  • Two types of curve casts
  • How the lagging curve is a setup in the air
  • How it makes for better mending on the water
  • Leader adjustment
  • Tippet adjustment

Here are a few other resources to support this concept of the Lagging Curve Cast:

READ: Troutbitten | Dry Fly Fishing — Stop and Drop
READ: Troutbitten | Ten and Two
READ: Troutbitten | Dry Fly Fishing – The Forehand and Backhand Curve Cast
VIDEO: Troutbitten | The George Harvey Leader Dry Fly Leader — Design, Adjustment and Fishing Tips
READ: Troutbitten | Dry Flies Need Slack — So Give It to ’em George Harvey Style
PODCAST | Troutbitten | Dry Fly Skills Series
READ: Troutbitten | Put More Juice in the Cast
READ/WATCH: Troutbitten | Casting Forehand and Backhand (with VIDEO)

And here’s the video . . .

(Please select 4K or 1080p for best video quality)

Got It?

The Lagging Curve is an essential part of my dry fly fishing. I use it at all angles. The Lagging Curve is the magic ingredient for using a slack leader, like the George Harvey leader design. Building in slack, having control and watching your dry fly drift down one seam for what seems like an impossibly long drift is where good technique blends with good fishing.

Fish hard, friends.

 

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Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com

 

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Domenick Swentosky

Central Pennsylvania

Hi. I’m a father of two young boys, a husband, author, fly fishing guide and a musician. I fish for wild brown trout in the cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round. This is my home, and I love it. Friends. Family. And the river.

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10 Comments

  1. Bill on September 5, 2024 at 6:30 pm

    This video is so helpful. Hope you will do a video on spiral cast (or did I miss that?).

    Reply
    • Domenick Swentosky on September 5, 2024 at 6:40 pm

      Thanks, Bill. I think you mean the Corkscrew Cast. Yes, I definitely plan on that one, along with the Crash Cast.
      Cheers
      Dom

      Reply
  2. Alex Argyros on September 6, 2024 at 10:11 am

    Very instructive video illustrating an important, and often neglected, cast. Thanks, Dom.

    Btw, the lagging curve cast is a powerful reminder of how difficult nymphing is. The same potential for drag exits under the surface of the current as on it, however, we can’t use a curve cast because then we would lose strike detection. So, we muddle along best we can.

    Reply
  3. Bob Vince on September 9, 2024 at 10:16 am

    Great description. I fish this cast on the quick Montana waters and didn’t know it had a name! Thanks for the instructional video!

    Reply
  4. Matthew Wilson on September 11, 2024 at 10:32 am

    You guys are getting pretty good at these videos. The camera work nailed it. Thanks

    Reply
  5. Matthew Wilson on September 20, 2024 at 8:14 pm

    Hey brother. Spent a few hours messing around with drys today. Have you found that modern taper/weight lines make this cast difficult . I rejigged my Harvey multiple times but I found on casts under 30’ the leader wouldn’t cooperate.

    I have air cell on my other rod. I don’t remember having this issue with it. Either I lost this skill or I never had it lol.

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  6. Gerald Flack on March 20, 2025 at 2:58 pm

    What are you using for tippet now that rio suppleflex isn’t available?

    Reply
    • Domenick Swentosky on March 24, 2025 at 11:04 am

      Hi Gerald. To my knowledge, it is still available. I just checked the Rio website. Still listed.

      Cheers.
      Dom

      Reply

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Domenick Swentosky

Central Pennsylvania

Hi. I’m a father of two young boys, a husband, author, fly fishing guide and a musician. I fish for wild brown trout in the cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round. This is my home, and I love it. Friends. Family. And the river.

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