Wes,
First, I should of proof read the post, lot's of spelling mistakes. It
was late and I am not a good typist.
When I started flyfishing, the streams I fished were real small and all
the casting I did was kind of a roll cast. This was with slow bamboo and
glass rods. After years of spin casting , I got back into fly fishing
and had to learn to really cast as I was fishing for bass on open ponds.
I bet I looked like a fool.
My fishing partner at that time learned to cast from Lefty, when you
watched him cast, it was like watching watching Lefty. As good as he
could cast, he was not able to help me at all. I learned the casting
basics from a 17 year old salesperson at LL Bean in Maine. After he
showed me the 1,2,3,4 method, I was able to put out a line where I
wanted it. I finally got some confidence in myself and kept improving. I
don't consider myself a great caster, sometimes not even a good caster
but I can teach it better than I can cast. I really learned to cast
after moving to Arkansas and fishing the White.
I too, see the O---- suited fly fisher people on the river that don't
know one end of a rod from the other. It is a real pity. Last Thursday
at Redbud, there was a guide with two clients in a boat drifting down
the river. Both were dressed to the gills with fine fishing apparel.
Neither could cast, the guide would cast out a long cast and hand the
rod to the clients. When the clients would try to cast, in most cases
they would tangle up with one another.
If I had them, the first thing I would do is teach then the basics of
casting. Both clients were swinging the rod in a full 180 degree arch, I
would at least teach them to make a pause at 1 o'clock.
I can go on with more stories but it would sound like I "know it all". I
will tell one more story.
A guy I met at a show I was doing wanted to get into flyfishing for him
and his wife. We got to be friends and I offered to take them on the
river. They went up to the "O" shop and spent big bucks to get
outfitted. A couple of weeks later we got together and headed for the
river. They had been practicing casting at home. needless to say,
neither could cast a rod. I worked with them but I was really not making
much headway. I thought I would cast one of their high priced rods to
get the feel of it so maybe I could better know what the problem was.
The rod was as stiff as a telephone pole. It was a real fast rod and it
was not a rod I would recommend for a beginner. Well here is the rest of
the story, I let them share my rod for the rest of the day. By time the
day was over, both had caught trout and could make a decent cast.
Neither could make a good cast with the rods they brought with them. My
rod was a 17.00 Blem blank I got at the local rod makers.
They took the rods back to the local "O" shop, theshop would not take
them back or exchange them. He finally got an exchange from the main
company but still was not happy with the rods. He finally had me build
them a couple of rods like mine.
A lot of the casting problem for beginners is the rod itself.
I am rambling on too much.
Tony
Wes Wada wrote:
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
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