How To Cast A Fly Rod

Casting should be defined as placing the fly, which is at the end of the collar, in a desired spot, in a desired manner, and at a desired moment.

There are at least five distinct styles of casting, which should be understood by every dry-fly fisher. They are first, the over-handed or ordinary cast; second, the downward cut; third, the under-handed or horizontal cast; fourth, the steeple cast; and fifth, the dry switch.

The beginner must start by learning the first of these, or the ordinary over-handed cast. The easiest way for him to learn is to place his elbow on a a table, by using his wrist and fore-arm only. From the start he must content himself with only a short length of line, and it is essential that he should thoroughly master the art of casting this short length before attempting anything longer.

The rod should be grasped tightly in the right hand, with the thumb, or thumb and forefinger, extended up the butt. The more usual way is to grip the rod with the thumb up the butt; enabling them to direct the fly with greater precision than with the more usual method.

Holding the fly in the left hand, with a short length of line out, wave the rod back in a curve shaped somewhat like a horse-shoe, at the same time feeling the weight of the line with the tip of the rod, and letting go the fly. Wait until the weight of the short line, say five yards, just commences to bend the top of the rod backwards before making the forward cast, noting, however, not to carry the hand much farther back than the perpendicular.

In fact, this may be taken as a golden rule in all styles of casting. When the weight of the line behind is only just sufficient to bend the rod-top backwards, or, in other words, when the line is just felt behind, return it forwards with a slightly increased velocity of swing. Lower the point of the rod as the line comes forward, and see that it is extended at the level of about one yard over the water, and then check the forward motion.

Carefully note the time of casting, like music, counting 1, 2, back—3 forward. It will be found that the time will vary very little for short or long casts; but the longer the cast, the farther the line will extend backwards, and the loop turning over it forwards will also be longer.

With the ordinary over-handed cast, in throwing a long line the upper arm will come into use in addition to the wrist and fore-arm, as the angler will have to feel the line of the backward cast through the arc of a larger circle. The force required to propel various lengths of line without over-casting or under-casting, and only just extending the line, varies directly with every yard of line used (the first of these terms meaning the use of too much, and the other too little, power to extend).

This instructive adaptation of the power to cast constitutes the whole secret of how to cast well.

These fundamental rules apply with equal force not only to dry-fly fishing and to wet-fly fishing. The two essential points to be attended to are, in fact, an exact appreciation of the force to be used, and correct timing, and these are the secrets of effective and elegant casting. It must always be remembered that hearing much sound proceed from a rod making a cast is an indication of unnecessary force being used; and it may be laid down as an axiom that nine anglers out of ten use far more force than is required for the throw, and that excess of force only does harm.

In all over-handed casting, note particularly that the hand should never be carned backwards far beyond the perpendicular. As a general rule, the great fault in casting made by beginners is in not giving sufficient time behind.

Many men who can cast a great distance and throw a pretty fly, do it in so awkward a manner as to detract very much from the pleasure experienced in seeing their performance, and it is as easy to cultivate a good style from the commencement as it is difficult to cure an ugly style by any amount of lessons after having once acquired it.

A student can do no better than get a friend, who can cast, to start him in the right road, which he can do at first by standing close behind the pupil; and, grasping the hand holding the rod, with his fore-arm lying close over his pupil's, guide the cast, counting at the same time " one, two, three," until his pupil appears to have acquired a good idea of the timing and motions.

He should then stand clear of him on the left-hand side, criticising each cast, carefully impressing upon him the necessity of giving plenty of time between the casts, and explaining to him what fault in the motion of the rod caused the corresponding defect in the fall of the line.

After a few days of this practice, which should, if possible, be made over water, or, if water is not available, over a lawn, the student can be left to his own devices for a few days, when he can practise until his wrist is tired, at which time, however, he should be cautioned always to stop and rest.

After a few weeks' interval, the teacher may look at him, praise and encourage where possible, point out any faults, whether of style or execution, and nip them in the bud. At the end the pupil should be sufficiently efficient to try his hand at an easy stream, where, if he has got it in him, the killing of a fish or two will make him a life votary of the charming pursuit.

Drying the fly is merely a repetition of the cast made in the afore-stated method, only that the fly, instead of being allowed to touch the water, is recovered in the air, and the action is repeated five or six times. Note, too, that the longer the line, the farther the fly has to travel, and hence the more rapidly it is dried.

Another point is, that, when thoroughly dry, the fly will not soak up water nearly so fast as a half-dried one; and the fly, therefore, should not be allowed to get water-logged, as it takes a very long time and very considerable exertion under these circumstances to dry it perfectly, thirty or forty false casts with a very long line being insufficient to make it float three or four yards, especially on fast water. The over-handed cast, it may be noted, is chiefly useful for light or up-stream winds.

The next two methods of casting, the downward cut and the under-handed cast, are specially useful for casting into or against the wind, and except in a gale, any fisherman who cares to take the trouble of mastering these two methods of casting can, after a little perseverance and c areful attention to detail, render himself practically independent of the direction of the wind.

If he finds himself unable to get the line out in either of these ways when casting against the wind, he must try less force and give more time behind. If still unsuccessful, he must shorten his gut collar by removing from it some few strands of the coarse end, and if the weather should be very rough, and he is still unable to force his fly into the wind, he must still further shorten the gut at the fine end ; and in very rough weather it is well to note that a slight set back of the line on the water is not so very important, so long as it does not curl over on itself.

In the downward cut the fly is returned by the ordinary over-handed motion, and in the act of throwing, when the arm attains the angle of 45 degrees with the level of the water, it should be extended to full length forwards, the knuckles turned downwards, and a drawing circular cut in towards the body must be made as the line is delivered, the elbow being slightly raised at the same moment, and the point of the rod brought down to the level of the water.

If this downward cut is made too soon, the whole of the line will be blown back in coils. If too late, a heavy splash on the water will be the result. If time and force are quite right—and again remember no great force is required, the line will extend itself in the teeth of the wind, the fly going out nearly straight, and the back motion of the cut pulling the slack line back, and the result of the backward motion will not really be more than the check used in the ordinary cast.

The downward cut is a difficult cast to describe, and a difficult cast to attain, but it is an invaluable one when throwing against a strong wind, especially when the grass is high behind the angler, under which conditions it is at times quite impossible to use the next method, which I will now describe.

The under-handed cast, as the second method of throwing against the wind is called, is only acquired after considerable practice and perseverance, but is, as a general rule, to be preferred to the over-handed cast, and hence should be used wherever practicable.

Although at the first glance in the case of one accustomed to the ordinary over-handed cast it may appear difficult to accomplish the action of returning and throwing under-handed, yet, when once acquired, no other method of casting into the wind is to be compared to it, especially as the motion of the rod is far less visible to the fish.

The whole secret consists in keeping the rod in a nearly horizontal position, and moving it, whether returning or throwing, in a line parallel to the surface of the water. If, while drying the fly, the hand holding the rod is raised when returning, the action of the wind is very apt to force the line back too quickly, and the fly may be cracked off.

If sufficient time is not given behind, or, in other words, if the cast is made too soon, in this, as in every other style of casting, the fly is also cracked off. If in the act of casting the hand is raised, the force of the adverse wind on the line prevents the fly from going out in the desired direction, and it is curled back on the reel-line, in which position no highly-educated fish is likely to look at the fly.

If in the act of casting the hand is unduly lowered, the effect is a decided splash on the water. If in returning the hand is lowered—an almost impossible action—the fly is generally securely hooked to a blade of grass on the bank. Hence, to make this cast, the horizontal position of the rod moving parallel to the water is absolutely necessary.

Continual practice, and the presence of a friend to correct faults which are frequently invisible to the fisherman himself are the best means of learning the action. At every opportunity, and in every possible place, this cast should be patiently persevered in.

Although naturally preferable, the river is not an absolute necessity, as the cast can be practised in a field or on a lawn. Bear in mind that the primary difficulty consists in overcoming the natural tendency to raise the hand holding the rod; and the next point is to get over the severe cramp in the hand, wrist, and fore-arm, which is caused either by bringing a new set of muscles into play, or by straining in a different direction to the accustomed one those muscles which have been hitherto used in the ordinary mode of casting.

This method is especially useful when casting across wind to a fish feeding under the opposite bank, or under overhanging boughs, if they are not too low. It may also be advantageously employed in fishing a place where the trees are growing on the angler,s own bank; and in this case it is necessary to remember that the rod-point should be as far as possible kept over the water while drying the fly, and that the line should be returned under and delivered over the rod-point.

Above all, note where the bushes or trees are situated, and avoid them. A step to one side or the other will, as a rule, save the fly from touching them; so, look back at the line when drying the fly, and see where it touches in the first false cast or two, and correct before absolutely putting the fly on the water; and even if it should be caught behind, it will invariably be low down within your reach, so that you can recover the fly and save a smash.

Accuracy of direction is, however, far more difficult to attain in the under-handed cast than in any other style of throwing; and this is due to the fact that the rod-point, and consequently the fly, travels in the arc of a circle or ellipse across the point to which the fly is directed, and not in a straight line down on it, as in the case of the over-handed cast.

Having once fairly mastered these difficulties, the angler will find that he has not only acquired the art of throwing a fairly long line in a manner which makes it unlikely for the waving of the rod to be visible to the fish, that he has not only at the same time practically rendered himself independent of the direction and of the force of the wind, so long as it is short of a gale, but, strange to relate, too, his fly will in the majority of instances land on the water cocked or floating with its wings up in their natural position—a most important point when dealing with very shy fish in very clear streams.

The majority of angling books impress on the fly- fisher the desirability of following the old maxim to fish " fine and far off." As to the first part there can be no doubt. To achieve success in the present day the lower end of the gut collar, for at least a yard from the fly, must be sufficiently fine.

The thinnest of drawn gut in the longest lengths compatible with the strength required to handle the fish when hooked is an appreciable advantage in every stream, and an absolute necessity on those which are heavily fished. The finer the gut the greater, and the coarser the gut the smaller, the number of fish risen and hooked.

On the other hand, the coarser the gut the greater, and the finer the gut the smaller, the relative proportion of fish killed when once hooked. In point of fact, the problem is to arrive at a thickness of gut which is sufficiently invisible to rise, and consequently hook, a fair proportion of feeding fish, and which, at the same time, is not so thin as to make it almost a certainty that too large a proportion of the hooked fish break the tackle either at the moment of striking, or when sufficient strain is put on to prevent their plunging headlong into the nearest bed of weeds.

No better advice could be given the adage to fish "far off;" but the tendency of the present age is to give a far wider signification to these words than they were ever meant them to convey. To fish "far off" in the sense that you should, under all circumstances, keep yourself as much as possible out of the range of vision of a rising trout, by crouching, kneeling, or even lying down, is an axiom for the dry-fly fisher; but to fish "far off" in the sense that you should fix yourself in a position where you have to keep on throwing an unnecessarily long line is an absurdity.

The shorter the cast in reason, the greater is the probability of hooking the fish. The action of the strike is delayed by the action of the water on a long line. Get as well within your distance of the fish as possible. By this is meant that particular length of line which the angler finds by experience he can manage to the greatest advantage, i.e., not too long to cast with comfort, and not so short that drying the fly becomes a heavy toil; and this medium distance is the length of cast to select wherever practicable.

To most people it is about ten to fifteen yards, and very frequently one can locate oneself at this distance from the fish.

Instead of placing yourself at what you consider the most favourable point for casting, and then regulating your length of line to reach a fish rising under your own bank, it is a good plan to keep some thirty yards below, to let out the above length of line, and dry the fly thoroughly in the air.

Keeping your fly working backwards and forwards in the air with the under-handed cast, so as not to scare your fish by showing him the reflection of the rod waving to and fro, work yourself in a crouching attitude gradually into such a position that your length of cast will cover the rise, and, above all, bear in mind the importance of the first throw being delicately and accurately made.

Occasionally the position of a tree, bush, or other natural obstruction, or the shape of the river-bank, will necessitate your being much closer to your fish than you would desire, and make the cast a very short one, possibly only just the length of the gut. In such a position the dry-fly fisherman is placed at some disadvantage—first, because it is very difficult to make a clean short throw, owing to the invariable fault one makes of using far too much power.

To correct this excess of force, it is a very good plan to put the left hand as well as the right to the rod (I am supposing the angler to be fishing single- handed), grasping the rod tightly in the right hand, and, just holding the spear between the left thumb and forefinger, to make the cast with both hands in this position. The effect of the left hand is merely to check the forward action, and thus prevent the exertion of undue force in the act of throwing.

A second difficulty with the very short throw is to direct the fly accurately, especially when casting against the wind, and using the taper form of line. Even with a short length of gut, the absence of weight in the fine end of the line increases this difficulty, and nothing but continual practice will enable the tyro to overcome this. Another practical inconvenience under such circumstances is the great exertion required to dry the fly, as many as twenty or even thirty false casts in the air being found requisite to free it thoroughly from moisture.

Here again the use of both hands does, distributes the strain, and will be found of considerable advantage.

The throw known as the "steeple-cast" commencing with quite a short line, the right hand holding the rod is extended nearly straight from the shoulder, and carried up almost perpendicularly so as to lift the fly well up into the air, as if trying to clear some high obstacle immediately behind the angler, and hence the name of the " steeple-cast." While drying the fly backwards and forwards, the length of line required is gradually drawn off the reel with the left hand, and allowed to pass through the rings.

Plenty of time must be given behind—in fact, it is barely possible to give too much ; and the action of throwing should be a steady swing without the slightest jerk, and very little force should be exerted in making the cast so as to allow the rod and weight of line to do the work.

After the first cast has been made, the line is gathered in with the left hand in loose coils, until short enough to return with ease; and while drying, the line is gradually liberated, a coil at each forward motion of the rod, and paid out from the left hand, the action in front being so timed as to let go a coil as the rod is in the position where the cast would have been made, and thus allow the fly to travel out in the air to the full extent of the line, but not sufficiently to let it touch the surface of the water.

By the time all the coils are out the fly is thoroughly dried. If it is a very long cast, keep two or three coils in hand, and let them go when casting. to throw into wind with the steeple-cast. The distance to be accomplished after a little practice, by means of this style of throwing, is quite astonishing to the fisherman himself.

The switch-cast is often used amoung salmon and trout fishermen for wet-fly fishing, but there are cases in which it may be of very great service to the dry-fly fisherman. Say, for example, that there is a wall or a closely grown hedge, extending to a considerable height, a few yards behind the bank on which he is standing. On the opposite side of the river, fifteen yards off, or possibly in the middle of it, a fish is rising; and it may be most advantageous to give such a fish a well-dried fly, because he seldom sees such a thing as an artificial presented to him properly, and is consequently likely to be deluded by it.

The ordinary switch, as used by the wet-fly fisher, is accomplished by drawing the line towards you on the water, and throwing the fly with a kind of roll outwards off the water—in fact, a sort of downward cut—the possibility of making the cast depending upon the fly being in the water at the moment that the rod-point is brought down; hence it is evident that the ordinary switch-cast must be made with the fly wet.

The dry-fly fisherman can make a cast something like this, if there is room up and down the stream, by turning his face in that direction and drying the fly in the air parallel to the course of the river. If it is impossible to dry the fly in a direction parallel to the course of the river, this may be accomplished, especially when standing on a high bank, by shortening the line considerably and drying in a vertical direction, keeping it in front of the rod- point.

The angler then takes the dry fly between the finger and thumb, and turning his face towards the stream makes a false cast or two with the point of the rod, describing a figure of 8, but still retaining the fly between the thumb and finger. At the forward position of the rod, when the cast would in the ordinary course of events have been made, the hold of the fly is let go, and the line travels out to the desired point. Care must be taken not to strike the obstacle behind with the point of the rod, or to entangle the line with it; and for this purpose the action of the rod should be somewhat steepled.

This cast is certainly a very difficult one, and whether you can accomplish it or not depends much on the nature and distance of the obstacle behind.

Wherever possible the dry-fly fisherman should cast up-stream. This may be taken as the first fundamental principle, and often applies with equal force to the sunk as to the floating fly. The reasons are so many and so obvious, that it is only necessary to refer briefly to a few of them.

When throwing up-stream the angler is below his fish, and the invariable position of the fish being with head up-stream, not only for the purpose of feeding, but for the mere mechanical process of breathing, as carried out by the action of the gills, the angler is in the most favourable position to keep himself out of sight, or what an old keeper I once knew used to call " very private." Where the stream flows evenly, the artificial fly, when fished from below, sails down in its natural position without drag, following the exact direction of the current, and presents itself to the view of the trout or grayling in much the same way as the natural insect.

When the fish has risen and taken the fly into his mouth, the slightest raising of the hand, or better still the fore-arm, drives the barb of the hook firmly home in his jaw, or, to be precise, in my experience more frequently into the side of his lower jaw, which is what I should expect from the position of the hook in a floating fly when cocked. When a large fish is hooked it is a great advantage to the angler to be below him, and to be able at once to commence working him down-stream, which is at one and the same time the best and most expeditious way to tire him, and serves to take him farther and farther from his home, a place where he has many more chances in his favour from his intimate daily knowledge of every weed, stone, post, or other impediment likely to assist him in cutting the connection.

Where it is impossible to fish up-stream, the best direction to select is partly up and partly across. If impossible the cast must be made at right angles to the direction of the stream, and again, if this be impracticable, across and slightly down. "When throwing across the stream attention must be paid to counteracting the tendency to drag in the manner pointed out in a subsequent chapter. Casting across and partially down is called the half-drift, and here again attention is requisite to prevent dragging by throwing a slack line, lowering the hand, or even walking along the bank as the fly floats down on the surface.

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