Articles With the Tag . . . Fly Casting

There are two types of fly casting curves: a power curve, and the one no one seems to mention, the lagging curve. Understanding both leads to a complete set of skills to match any situation with a fly rod. Mastering these concepts — and these casts — can change everything on the water for you.

Fly rods were designed and built to be balanced. So a rod and reel in perfect balance is ready for the job, making casting and fishing seem effortless. A well balanced rod feels light in the hand. It feels comfortable, because the muscles in your hand don’t have to struggle or work to keep the rod in place. We’re more in tune with a balanced system, and casting accuracy greatly improves.

So how should we hold the fly rod? Where should the balance point be? And how do we balance the reel with the fly rod? If the balance isn’t right, where can we add weight to the system?

With a dry fly I’d rather face into the wind. With a tight line, I’d rather have the wind push from behind. There are several ways to beat the wind or manage it. But perhaps the most important thought, our primary consideration, is direction . . .

Some very common ways of doing things out there are just wrong, in the sense that doing it that way hurts the angler’s effectiveness. There are a few of these bad habits that stand out to me every day.

Hanging your arms out there is the worst of them.

When casting, drifting, stripping, hook setting and fighting fish, the arms should be in, with the elbows in a natural position. Think of it as your fighting stance. It’s an athletic position, your baseline posture, and you’re read for anything. Arms extended is a bad way to spend any day. It limits your range of motion, changes your reaction time and put’s you in a tough spot to land a fish.