Tony Spezio wrote:
The client could not cast to save his life
Great post, Tony. I really felt I was right there looking over your
shoulder.
On the other note above, a few comments:
I am not a great caster, but I can pop a good one fairly consistently.
I think the sea change for me was seeing a demo by Lefty Kreh, then
reading his casting book. I am saving up for his DVD. As Lefty would
say, "It's all about the physics." Your tippet size may vary.
I am in a situation where I regularly run into other anglers visiting
the northern California pay fishery Sugar Creek Ranch. I get to know,
for a very brief period, anglers who are staying in the lodge for a
night or two, or in other times, anglers who are attending a fly
fishing clinic.
It happens more in the clinics, you see guys with great gear who can't
cast (as the saying goes) to save their lives. Just being able to cast
30 feet will double your opportunities at the Ranch, and these guys
can't even do that consistently. Think of this: if you have a 9-ft.
rod and a 9-ft. leader, and just lay the rod and line out horizontally,
you can make as much as an 18-ft. cast. I've seen guys who can't even
do that, albeit, trying to cast a weighted streamer.
We often get into friendly chats, and the topic of casting does come
up. (People get frustrated with their casting, and lack of basic skill
sure gets in the way of catching fish.)
I refer people to Lefty's demo, book and DVD, and encourage them to
invest in a casting lesson. For MANY anglers, just doing that much
will far outweigh any benefit they might get by buying a more expensive
rod, reel, line, leader, etc. Learning how to cast so that it becomes
more second nature will do more to enhance an angler's enjoyment of the
act of fly fishing than just about anything.
Wes Wada
Bend, Oregon
"Writing and fishing are my passions. Like all passions, they're great
when they're going well, and awful when they're not. Like anything, the
more you do it, the better you get. They keep drawing you out. You
never get perfect."
~ John Gierach
