Arrgh!

[Braidy]

Hey guys and galls,
umm ive just started fly fishing and im loving it!
i can cast about 20m with floating line but as soon as i put a fly on it messes up my tight loops and i cant cast too far at all...
can someone tell me wat im doing wrong or tell me how to fix this?

cheers Braidy,

[madkeen87]

perhaps you are hauling too early?

[crusty]

Hard to know what is happening from only this info.

But best guess at this point.
The fly being more wind resistant than the fly line on its own will slow the flyline down some and will make it harder to make the line fully turnover(especially a weighted fly). This has probably thrown your timing out so you maybe starting your cast too early at on both the forward and back cast. Make sure you have all the slack out before you start to pick the line up. If the first backcast is bad it is harder to recover.

Learning to double haul to get extra line speed will help, especially with weighted flies?

How big is the fly?
What line weight rod do you have?
What weight line is on it?

[Ratbags]

As per Crusty's comments & Q's, also is it hooking up on your back cast or your forward cast?

[Braidy]

Hard to know what is happening from only this info.

But best guess at this point.
The fly being more wind resistant than the fly line on its own will slow the flyline down some and will make it harder to make the line fully turnover(especially a weighted fly). This has probably thrown your timing out so you maybe starting your cast too early at on both the forward and back cast. Make sure you have all the slack out before you start to pick the line up. If the first backcast is bad it is harder to recover.

Learning to double haul to get extra line speed will help, especially with weighted flies?

How big is the fly?
What line weight rod do you have?
What weight line is on it?

A:big fly Ahah i know its harder
A:7/8 weight rod with i dont know what line

[crusty]

Number 1 start with a smaller fly. A 7/8 weight will handle a 1/0 or 2/0 or bigger fly easily enough in the right hands, but start with a size 6 or 4, preferably without too much weight on. This might limit you fishing options a bit
Does the rod load properly when you practice cast?

Is it only the delivery cast that stuffs up or does it stuff your false casting as well?

When you practice cast put about 5 cm (or more) of wool on the end of the leader. This will provide some resistance and will make practice more reallistic.
One of the other common faults is not making a good stop on the delivery cast. Back cast is perfect, false cast is perfect then on the delivery cast people get excited (cause they start thinking fishing rather than casting), they start early so the backcast doesn't properly straighten, they put in extra effort, but not applied smoothly and they end up with a tailing loop, they drop the rod straight to the fishing position (this opens the loop up and doesn't transfer the power to the line as well) rather than stopping and letting the loop clear the tip.

Do you stand side on and watch the line as you cast. this will help your timing.

[Braidy]

Number 1 start with a smaller fly. A 7/8 weight will handle a 1/0 or 2/0 or bigger fly easily enough in the right hands, but start with a size 6 or 4, preferably without too much weight on. This might limit you fishing options a bit
Does the rod load properly when you practice cast?

Is it only the delivery cast that stuffs up or does it stuff your false casting as well?

When you practice cast put about 5 cm (or more) of wool on the end of the leader. This will provide some resistance and will make practice more reallistic.
One of the other common faults is not making a good stop on the delivery cast. Back cast is perfect, false cast is perfect then on the delivery cast people get excited (cause they start thinking fishing rather than casting), they start early so the backcast doesn't properly straighten, they put in extra effort, but not applied smoothly and they end up with a tailing loop, they drop the rod straight to the fishing position (this opens the loop up and doesn't transfer the power to the line as well) rather than stopping and letting the loop clear the tip.

Do you stand side on and watch the line as you cast. this will help your timing.

A:yer it loads properly its a good rod buti just need more practice and its just the delivery cast that stuffs up

[dazwah]

usually if your fly falls short there are a few things wrong; leader length and diameter, for heavier flies you need heavier leader and shorter. the heavier the fly the more critical the casting speed and rythym. practise practise practise :-)

[Hillster]

There is plenty of casting tuition on U-tube. Maybe something you are doin not quite right that is not noticeable casting flyless although your achieving good length. These clips may point you in the right direction....
Try videoing your cast and slow it down watching for the hand/wrist position and stops..

[Mickyj]

Are u fishing in the fresh or the salt .
I probably cant cast as far as others bad technique etc .but once a Bream etc hit a fly it doesnt matter you just keep going and going and going and going and going .
Some of my bad casts have produced fish just keep that in mind .

[kamikazeghost]

Not knowing how you cast, there are 5 basic fly casting principles to really understand to become more proficient and efficient at casting:
1. elimination of all slack line.
2. Maintain a straight line path
3. Have a good pause and timing in relation to the amount of line aerialised
4. The casting stroke correlates to the amount of line out
5. appropriate and proper application of power

With heavier flies, you might be finding that you're introducing slack line, and thus you try to "heave" the cast and thus causing it to drop short or worst, tangles. Crusty's advice is worthwhile and a great suggestion. The cast you have with a heavier fly does not change even with a smaller fly.

The other thing with heavier flies, is to widen the loop so as to not cause the risk of collapsing the line, inproper timing, etc. You also look at the application of power with increasing the speed to keep the velocity of the line up but not changing the casting arc, but changing the casting stroke by increasing it so as to keep a straight line path.

Without seeing the cast, there is a few things that might be happening. So it is always worthwhile to go back to basics and look at what is happening. Especially, going to the 5 principles of fly casting.

When you're beginning, there is greater risks of introducing bad habits or "casting errors", so it is advisable if you can, find a casting instructor to look at your cast and identify and resolve any casting errors that maybe occurring.

Hope this helps in some way.

Michael
FFF CCI

[The Growse]

^Great advice Kamikaze Ghost, as you'd expect from a FFF CCI fisho!

It's pretty simple really, don't start your forward or back cast until the line has straightened out in front of/or behind you........


Also, I'd just about guarantee your not waiting long enough before your delivery cast/shoot!
Cheers and stick with it, you'll get there.

[kamikazeghost]

Yes Growse, that is good advice, in relation to Principle 3 & 4 that I have written.

If you have a short amount of line out, then you only require a short casting stroke. This means that you have a shorter pause between the foward and backcast motions. You can begin to imagine if you don't have correct timing, a good pause and a poor length of casting stroke in relation to the amount of line.

Another point in casting is to remember that what you do during the false cast is what you do upon release. A lot of people early in fly fishing try to "heave ho" the release cast.

It really does pay to have a fly casting instructor look at your cast, especially if you have just begun to fly fish. It is worthwhile, as a casting instructor will recognise what errors and "bad habits" may be developing which does inhibit your cast.

When and if you are double hauling, timing is essential and there is a very nice practise tool to use when learning to properly time the double haul.

If you live in Qld, there are some good casting instructor's here. In NSW, you have a number of them as well. In fact, if you live down the East coast, there are a number of fly casting instructors.

One good thing to do though, is to join a fly fishing club and more than likely you will find a fly casting instructor in the club.

Michael
FFF CCI

[kamikazeghost]

Braidy,

I just realised that you have put Gold Coast on your profile. If you live there, there is a very good Fly fishing club, South East Qld, Fly Fishers from memory, and two fly casting instructors are there in that region:
John Burgess and Shaun Ashe. They are two top blokes and awesome fly casting instructors.

When you fly fishing for bream, especially around canals down the Gold Coast, the use of the roll cast is most effective, over the "normal" overhead fly casting technique.

Remember one thing: good casting does not equate to long casting. Being an effective short caster is also important to practise.

When you're practising, set up "hoop" targets at 30ft, 45ft and 75ft. Also, an ugly 75ft cast is not a good cast. Work out why the loops look "ugly".

Michael
FFF CCI

[vlad da''lad]

your over casting on your back cast. and not pausing on the back cast, so the line can tighten and straigten ,the rod should be about 70 degress on the back cast and about 70degrees on the front cast with the wind behind your back .start fo with 10m cast and work your way gradaully .your fly could be a bit to heavy aswell for a novice ,exp flyfishos can cast bigger flys on smaller weight rods ,i hope this hase helped you a little bit .

[kamikazeghost]

Sorry Vlad, I disagree with your comments. I do not feel that over casting the backcast is the error in Braidy's cast.

Braidy's concerns were his delivery and not putting in the cast properly, ending up being a yukky cast.

An error probably most common amongst "beginner" fly casters, is the want to rip that delivery cast, and end up with tailing loops - breaking the 180 degree, creep is very much a big one - that typical drive from the angler to get that cast out, rather than keep it all smooth like they were during the false casting process.

I agree that having a good pause and good timing is going to improve the cast, but it is common to lose the straight line path or straight rod tip path postion causing tailing loops leading to a terrible looking cast that falls short of the mark.

I also agree, that the flies may be heavy, but, I don't think that they are too heavy for the rod, but you could consider them "too heavy" for the "fly line" so to speak, and as you release, the tight loops and the weight of the fly cause the fly to collapse onto the fly line, and hence, it is actually more a correct application to open up the loops on the forward cast, but in doing so, you're not introducing a convex tip path, but keeping the straight rod tip path and more wrist at the point of delivery to open up the loop.

Practising the basic cast and understanding the basic casting principles is essential for the very fact that they apply to every fly cast.

The best thing that any caster can do is do not think that casting long means you're a good caster. A good caster can cast long well, short well, put it in the spot, understand and utilise different casts in different situations and do it well as well.

The best thing that any caster can do is stop the long cast, and get right down to the basics, and look at your cast, look at the loops, look at the pause and timing, look at the fundamentals and therefore, start just casting and false casting 40ft.

Michael
FFF CCI