rod or flycasting skill?

[AuSableTrophyhunter]

For conversations sake, do you agree or disagree with this old saw? That fisherman would have been better off spending more money on flycasting lesson and less on his fly rod. Do you think you are a good fly caster? If yes, how do you know? If not, do you plan to improve and how? I have a house on a popular fly fishing river and seldom see many good flycasters floating by.
Most often, what I see are fisherman relentlessly false casting and drifing their fly maybe one second before lifting and resuming false casting. I seldom see them hook fish, since the fish does not have enough time to take the fly before it is picked up. What do you think about these topics?

[Davyfly]

Now this one is a can of worms as there is more than one answer here.

W are dealing both with casting skills and fishing skills, all-be it they are closely related to some extent.
Bottom line is l could not agree more with you.

Unless the rod is a total piece of junk , and even then a good caster would be able to deal with it is down to the angler ability.

No question of doubt that casting skill an make the world of difference so far as your catch returns, and further allows for the angler to fish many different techniques.
Its not so much a issue of better to spend money on casting lessons rather than the rod assuming that the angler has a well matched rod and line outfit.
Saying that here is my view, and bear in mind l do deal with over 500 fly fishers a year both at my schools and guide days.

Its not a question of being able to cast 100ft as few fly fishers can do that to start with.
It is being able to make good average range casts from 10 to 50ft in the case of trout.
If you wish to make 100ft casts then you have to have very good basic casting skills and then build on those which will take many hours of practice.

No doubt that a entry level fly fisherman would benefit from a series of fly casting lessons.
Unless there after that individual perseveres to practice then almost always very bad inherent faults will develop, which are to a point very difficult to at a later point in time be rid of.

We then have the further issue of knowing how to use those basic skills when fishing, which as we know differs.
Casting large streamers is a very different deal to delicate dry fly presentations, all be it both have one factor in common which is knowing how to load the rod with minimum false casts, which is one of the major faults, excessive false casting, which is down to 3 main reasons.
Insufficient fly line out of the rod tip to load the rod or a line weight not matched to the rod action, or both.

Line weight not matched to rod is a common problem l see. There are many so called 5wt rods that are best suited to a 6wt and not a 5, here again there may be another issue and that is choice of line profile.
Both are likely to cause problems for a angler who is not able to recognise the problem.

High end rods will not turn bad casting techniques into a good ones, that's a fact. On the other hand a high end rod well matched with the right line will allow the angler if he works at good casting skill to be a good caster. Which may well from that point on allow the angler to match good casting skill with given fishing situations.

They both go hand in hand, they have to be a blend of skill levels.





DW

[AaronJasper]

Proper casting technique is the foundation of fly fishing. I don't care if you are fishing streamers or nymphs good casting is essential.

You can learn casting through lessons on a field or a parking lot, but the real casting is learned on stream through time. Guides and good instructors can help a great deal. However, a guide can only do so much. It has to be practiced after the trip is over.

[dooberhoopa]

I wouldnt say that Im a great caster(I've only been FF for a couple of years but fishing forever) but I can get it done. My first rod was a pflueger complete that cost 60 bucks. I fished that for 2 months and upgraded to a TFO Axiom. Once i got the TFO in my hand my casting did get better, but i think most of that was from the better gear and line, but i fished my heart out to learn how to feel a rod load, learn to mend and such. Learning to feel when the rod loads did more for me than anything else. I can pick up almost any rod now and be able to cast it in 5 or 10 minutes once i learn the feel. It's all about practice....The greatest teacher can teach you but if you dont practice it you arent going to get that fly to drift over the nose of a 24 inch brown!

[IdahoFly]

My first rod was a $15 pflueger rod that i used my entire first year, i learned how to cast fairly decently and landed over 100 fish on that rod, so I have to say casting over rod once you become a sufficient caster then a nice rod is a great investment that will make your life a lot easier and your casting a lot smoother and more enjoyable.

[AuSableTrophyhunter]

In winter it is too cold and snowy for me to practice casting. One thing that you can do, particularly if you are a beginner, is to watch a fly casting instructional dvd repeatedly while you are riding an exercise bike etc. Even now, I think I will get a dvd and watch it because you are also reminded of the obscure casts that you can do but have forgotton about. I believe our brains can pick up a lot of skill just by watching examples of excellent casters, archers, etc.

[Silver Creek]

[quote author=AuSableTrophyhunter link=topic=5133.msg39760#msg39760 date=1294758230]
In winter it is too cold and snowy for me to practice casting.
[/quote]



When I learned to fly cast, I wanted to practice during the winters in Wisconsin. There is way to do that. All you need to do is to make a "fly line" that will load a "rod"

In those days, Lee and Joan Wulff had invented the FLY-O, a fly casting teaching device that used yarn as the fly line. The original FLY-O looked to me just like a short spinning rod and so I used the top section of a 2 piece light spinning rod and bought the FLY-O yarn which was ordinary tow yarn from a Hallmark card shop. You can still get the FLY-O and replacement yarn here.

http://www.madriveroutfitters.com/pc...ctice-rod.aspx

Now Echo had "borrowed" this concept and sells the Echo MPR ( Micro Practice Rod). Gary Borger uses the MPR to demonstrate various cast during his talks os it works great for making curves.

http://www.rajeffsports.com/echo_mpr.php

You can buy the FLY-O yarn or you an make your own from Macrame cord. Then use the top section of a fly rod or spinning rod to do some indoor casting.

Read the article on the "Spey O" in the publication below on how to make your own FLY-O yarn. Then you can practice casting indoors in a hall way, basement or even in your living room. Watching videos is good but watching videos and then being able to cast indoors is even better.


http://www.fedflyfishers.org/LinkCli...=4469&mid=3361

[Davyfly]

For you guys who are having to deal with wicked climate, locate a gym or indoor arena, its just as good to practice.
I used to teach a casting school at a basket ball court at one time.

Silver.

The downside of the Fly-O is it doe's not develop the sense of feel as for a loaded rod, but l agree it is a good teaching aid for raw beginners. I have used it and so has Dave Whitlock.
The one deal l will not use is the wrist strap, The wrist has to be flexed for good casting and it restricts that. Its at the end of the day down to the student to learn proper wrist and arm control.
If there is one other major fault l see frequently it is using way too much arm movement instead of more forearm and wrist control, which will if done correctly maintain the rod tip movement more in a straight line path and limit rod rotation.

DW

[ibookje]

Hi guys, I'm new here.

Well, you don't need to be any better than mediocre caster to catch fish. And that's what 95% of fly fishermen do.

I had the urge to cast as a pro: fluid, smooth, accurate, efficient and with grace. I got my FFF Casting certificate about 15 years ago.

And yes, fishing is even more fun because I catch a heck of a lot more than other guys. Why? They false cast all day long while I cast only when needed. Most of the time it's a power snap using a single haul roll cast or one single back cast and the line is back on the water. It's funny how many false casts people need to get the line on length and on direction. I rarely need more than (usually one) two back casts and the fly is on the spot I want.

Also, people fish way too far from the fish. I try to get close as possible to the fish. One step closer and the fish would be spooked. This way you have maximum line control.

[Davyfly]

Welcome to TPO,

As my previous post added, agreed.

DW