Wind, Lift, the Sweep and Tap, How and when we use them, The single Spey,

The Double Spey, The Snake Roll, Rod and Line Selection



Casting with the single hander.

Getting started.

Before we can learn the basics of fly-casting, it is essential that the tackle or outfit be balanced, that is the fly rod should match the fly line we intend to use. (See table in rod and line selection). To make things a little easier there is a guide we can refer to, it is the AFTM scale (Association of Fishing Tackle Manufactures.) For freshwater fly lines the scale starts at zero and goes through to twelve, the higher the number the heavier the fly line. The weight of each line (in grains) is measured by taking the first ten yards from the start of the taper from the level tip, back along the belly of the line.

The same also applies to fly rods, the higher the number on the rod (located above the handle with a # sign), the stiffer the rod or the stronger the spring is.

So now think of the fly line as a long thin flexible weight, and the fly rod as a simple long spring/lever. We will need a certain weight to match the spring of the rod, too heavy a weight and it will be slow and unresponsive, too light and it will not flex the spring or rod enough to be of any use.

For our purpose we have chosen a # 7 weight forward fly line with a ten-yard head, which includes the front taper, the main belly and the rear taper before reducing to a thin running line. It’s a floater and we have attached a nine foot tapered leader plus a piece of wool instead of a fly. The rod is a nine foot middle to tip action, and looking above the handle it says # 6/7, and the reel is a light aluminum three and a quarter inch diameter with at least seventy five yards of backing which together with the fly line should fill the spool to within a quarter of an inch of the lip. Now is a good time to assemble the outfit and pull off enough fly line until the rear taper is just outside the rod tip, now mark this line with an indelible pen between the first stripping ring and the reel with one band. Now pull off another yard and mark again with two bands.

To make this spring work, it needs to be bent or flexed then the base (handle) held solid so it can unflex or straighten rapidly, propelling the fly line over and off the end (rod tip).

Unpeeling all the fly line off the surface of the water on the intial lift prior to the speed up and stop (the flick/ tap).

The rod straightens rapidly and sets the loop unrolling off the tip.

The loop continues unrolling until it is almost straight, then...

The forward delivery begins, as the stroke is accelerated, the rod increases it's bend...

An abrupt stop lets the rod straighten rapidly to deliver the forward cast. After the unrolling loop is set on its way, the rod tip can be directed to make any form of slack line, curve, wiggle, mend or shoot that is required.

Any open piece of water with a clear backdrop will suffice for our purpose, having arrived there ship the rod together making sure that the eyes (snake rings) are lined up before firming together. If you are right handed then the rod is held lightly with the thumb on top in the right hand (all the time).

The reel is inserted into the seat on the handle, the sliding seat is located onto the other foot of the reel and the locking ring screwed up to lock it in place, the reel is then wiggled side to side and again the ring is tightened.

Which side should the reel handle be located? I think it is entirely up to you as long as the fly line comes from below, I just can't see the point of casting with the right then changing to the left to play a fish.

The reel handle on the spool face "should" be on the left side if you are right handed with the fly line coming of the bottom of the spool with it rotating clockwise. Pull off enough fly line to go through the rings and back down again, six to eight yards, or two full arm stretches.

Yard by yard give the line a stretch between both hands to get rid of any reel memory, those little coils will drive you nuts when your casting. Grease up the braided loop, if you use one, and treat the leader and wool with a floatant.

If there is a clutch or drag knob on the back plate of the reel, adjust this so when line is pulled sharply the spool doesn’t over run and cause a birds nest, but not so tight that line cannot be pulled off freely.

Double the fly line over two feet from the end and feed this loop through the rings, this is easier than trying to thread the leader through then dropping it near the end and watching the weight of the fly line pull it back down through the rings, with the loop you have made it jambs in the next ring down.

Lay the thumb on top of the handle and lightly wrap fingers around the cork so there is a light but firm grip as you would hold a screwdriver, extend the forefinger slightly so it is directly under the thumb and you feel you have control of lifting with the finger and pressing back down with the thumb.

For right handers, stand with shoulders facing square to the direction you want to cast and the right foot slightly forward, flick out the couple of yards of fly line and leader onto the water out and away from the bank side, pull off the reel some more fly line until you come to the mark you made (the single band).

With the tip almost touching the water and the loose line in your left hand holding it above the first stripping ring, begin sweeping the rod side to side using the forearm with a stiff wrist, we are now using the surface tension to grip the fly line, and the rod as a spring, as you sweep back and forth feed the loose line through the rings. We have not disturbed the water we are about to fish by aimlessly false-casting.

We now have ten yards of fly line plus leader on the water, the correct casting weight for an overhead cast, only we cant do an overhead until the line is all laid out straight with little or no slack. We can achieve this by doing a roll cast, it does what it says and rolls the fly line over and above the surface.

The Roll-Cast

A very useful cast to use, it not only can straighten out an untidy line as we have here but can be a cast in its own right or a part of a combination of cast. It can raise a sunken line to the surface making it a floater for a second prior to a cast, useful in a boat and many other situations where there isn’t much room for a back cast, it is safe too with the fly staying on the water in front of the angler and never going behind the caster. Also it is the final part of any Spey-cast.

There are a couple of basic rules that go with the roll-cast, the first one is it is not a great cast for big changes of angle, shallow changes are o.k as long as the direction of the cast is directed over the standing line on the water or cast inside. I.e., if your casting arm is the outside of your body (if it is held in your right hand) you must cast over or to the left of the standing fly-line (the inside). If an angle change to the right is required you will have to change shoulders with the rod tip and again cast to the inside of the fly-line. This will eliminate a crossover of the fly-line when the cast is performed.

How do we do it?, stand relaxed with upper arms down in line with the body and point the forearm at the direction you want to cast, you will notice that the rod tip is one or two feet above the surface. Turn the thumb down and at the same time pull back with the little finger, we now have a rod tip that is touching the surface, the handle touching the underside of the forearm making the rod an extension of the forearm. This is a good starting position for all cast.

Every movement we make with the rod from now on will be a constant acceleration with the fastest movement at the end.

Keeping a stiff wrist, bend at the elbow and lift the forearm until the rod is around forty-five degrees above the horizontal and come to a stop. The line you have lifted will now sag toward you and come to a halt, this loop of line that has formed from the rod tip to the water is to be transferred to the right side.

Imagine that you have a sombrero on your head, the rod is on the rim in front of your nose, and it now has to follow the path of the rim out and to the right. Keeping the elbow under control, sweep the rod around the rim slowly cocking the wrist to accommodate this.

The finishing position after a hundred and eighty degree sweep is the rod at forty five degrees behind, a mirror image of the rod before it was swept around, the forearm is now vertical, the wrist cocked back, the elbow is pointing at the target and about a fist away from your side, the thumb is at eye level.

The line is now laying from water to rod tip in line with the direction of the cast, the rod just slanted off the vertical to the right side, the fly line is a few feet to your right and just outside the rod tip, a glance there and you will see that the fly line has formed a rounded loop called a D-loop from the tip to the ground/water much like a tilted capital D, now take the sombrero off.

The line laying on the water will act as an anchor using the surface tension for a split second when we make the forward cast, with the elbow pointing at the target and the thumb in line with the ball of the shoulder, as we begin the forward movement everything should go in the right direction.

Begin creeping forwards with the forearm, (your elbow joint works best back and forth in the same plane, it is very important that you point your elbow at the target, so when the cast is performed it goes there naturally) running the thumb along a straight line down a shallow slope, all the time the forearm is coming forward the wrist is beginning to uncock slightly. All we are doing is keeping a bit of tension on the rod tip, it is a very slow acceleration until we just go past the vertical with the rod. Anything more than a smooth acceleration at this point will slip the anchor on the water which we will need shortly and send the fly line in an upward direction spoiling the whole cast.

Just as we go past the vertical there is a rapid acceleration with the forearm, coming to an abrupt stop at forty five degrees in front this stop can be best described as a hammer tap with the wrist snapping over at the last of the movement, pressing the thumb and pulling the little finger back with this the whole arm locks up for a split second giving the spring a firm base to kick off.

A loop will form and roll out and above the surface lifting the standing line as it goes, it was the anchor point and the spring kicking off that created this movement of line, as the loop travels out gravity takes over and we follow the line down with the rod tip at the same rate of decent. The loop finally unrolls and turns the fly (wool) over, the moment it straightened it touches down on the water at the same time as the rod tip. We now have a straight line with no slack, had we have left the rod in an upright position, we would have created a couple of yards of slack, lost distance and been in no position to make an overhead cast.

What was the left or line hand doing while all this was going on, initially as we lifted the rod it was keeping tension of the fly line to the first stripping ring, if there was any slack much of the movement of the rod would have been ineffective as we swept it around. It then follows the rod hand (all the time keeping tension) its next function is to hold the line with a firm grip between finger and thumb so it doesn’t slip when we execute the forward cast.

Return to the top

The Overhead Cast (basic).

With the ten yards of line plus leader straight out in front, and the rod tip touching the water we can begin the overhead cast. Keeping the same stance as for the roll-cast, the first movement is the lift.

For now keep a stiff wrist and feel the butt of the rod touching the underside of your forearm for both the back and forward cast.

How fast do we have to lift?-if the lift is too slow the fly-line will not leave the surface of the water, so when the final speedup and stop (the tap) is introduced there is a good chance that the fly-line will hit the rod or you (dangerous and rod damaging). If the lift is too fast the surface tension will not release the fly-line and it will catapult back toward you in a spaghetti like kind of fashion when it does also leaving a noisy and big line of fish scaring foam behind.

Think of peeling the line off the water in one steady acceleration, only putting the final rapid speedup and stop when the end of the fly-line is about to leave the surface. I think the ideal speed for the backcast to try and achieve, is to lift and accelerate the rod as fast as you can prior to the tap without leaving a mark on the water (if there is a slurping noise and a line of foam you lifted too fast).

What direction does my thumb take?- put your casting thumb out straight in the handshake position, place your rod butt on the ground and lean the rod against your thumb. Keeping the rod on your thumb tilt the rod to touch the eyebrow. Run your thumb up the rod without coming off of it, you will see that as you get near your face the elbow has to lift slightly to keep a straight line of travel. If the elbow does not rise the thumb will come off the rod and arc over your shoulder, this will cause the rod tip to do the same and result in a very low backcast.

Ideally if you think of an up-cast instead of a backcast and concentrate on casting the line vertically, that is stopping the rod abruptly vertical, the line wont actually go vertical but up at a nice climb with a narrow loop giving that feeling of tension that is so essential to good casting.

At the completion of the tap, hard stop, stab, poke or whatever does it for you, the fly-line needs to unroll behind until it is almost straight (looks like a walking stick). The rod will almost be vertical (with a slight cant out to the side) looking from behind.

I like to look at my backcast and encourage that when teaching, yes it can cause the body to twist and thus the rod tip path, but if you open your stance (put the right foot back) this can be controlled. A sense of timing, direction and loop shape is soon developed by watching the backcast and things progress a bit quicker

A big mistake at this point would be to let the rod creep forward as the fly-line is unrolling, this will leave a very short forward stroke (tailing loops etc.). If you must drift (and it can be very useful) drift back and up under tension, this will leave a much longer distance to perform the forward cast stroke.

Another no-no is to begin the forward delivery while the fly-line is still unrolling, this will let you know that occurred by a very loud crack!

If you wait for a tug on the rod tip as the straightens as some suggest, the fly-line will bounce back and create a lot of slack, a lot of useful forward delivery will be used up picking this slack up.

Wait too long and the backcast falls to the ground behind, timing is of the essence, the longer the line the longer time the backcast needs to almost straighten. The harder or softer the stop on the backcast the faster or slower the loop will travel, so there are a couple of factors to take into consideration.

All being well the unrolling loop travels up and behind and as it is about to straighten it is almost parallel, it is at this point we deliver the forward cast. If we get the backcast right the forward cast unbelievably almost looks after itself providing that we give the rod tip (via our thumb) the correct acceleration and direction.

Look at a point six feet above the surface that's our target.

Stroke the thumb forward halfway back down the slope it came up, again stopping your arm and the rod abruptly at forty-five degrees, a loop of fly-line will unroll off the tip of the rod and begin to straighten, drift the rod down only when the fly-line begins to drop. Both rod tip and fly-line should land together, (pickup and lay down complete).

A bit more distance.

Pull off a couple of yards from the reel, keeping the same length of line out of the rod tip (the ideal casting weight) do the normal backcast holding on tight to the slack line with your left/line hand. As you deliver the forward cast and abruptly stop the rod, the unrolling loop is what will pull the slack line through the rings, thus the time to release the slack into the cast is after the rod has stopped.

There is only so far you can cast like this, what limits this is the speed and profile of the unrolling loop, a slow unrolling loop will not travel far, neither will an open (big wide loop) compare the profiles of a Jumbo jet to a fighter planes nose or a tanker to a speed boat.

Hauling. (The use of your line hand to do some work)

There is only so much bend that can be put into a rod with one hand, by putting a haul in with the line hand we can almost double the ammount of flex in the rod and produce a much faster release of energy to propel the fly-line off the tip. Along with this we are giving the fly-line a running start as opposed to a dead start and this certainly helps, put the haul in as late as possible, almost on the stop.

This haul will not only increase the speed of the traveling loop, but narrow the profile giving less air resistance, add a bit of trajectory and we have distance.

I think ideally the time to introduce the haul is the exact time the speedup and abrupt stop of the rod hand commences.

Put out another yard of fly-line outside of the rod tip, this extra yard will disappear back into the rod when the haul is made, very important when using weight forward profile lines where you need the thick part of the fly-line to receive the energy from the rod tip.

Starting with a straight line the backcast can now begin, with the thumbs together, there is the steady accelerating lift to the point where the speedup and stop begins. As the hands reach that point, the rod hand carries on as usual to the stop but the line hand pulls/hauls away in the opposite direction the same speed and same stop as the rod hand (accelerate and stop at the same time).

The loop is formed and unrolling behind, as it does you will feel tension on the line hand, go with this tension and follow with the line hand feeding the line back up through the rings until the hands are once more together. (Down and up is what you say to your line hand) this gives the right timing

As the loop is about to straighten, keeping the hands together stroke the rod forward and again haul down at the point you do the speed up and stop with the rod hand, stopping both rod and hauling hand at the same time, then release or shoot the line.

Hauling is not just for distance but for lots of other applications of line control, you may need line speed to keep a side cast up off the water or create tight loops under overhanging trees as a couple of examples, not just for overhead cast either could be used for roll cast as well.

Longer distances require a longer stroke/rod arc walking/running, as a deeper flex occurs in the rod while hauling, to keep a straight path of the rod tip a wider/longer stroke is needed to accommodate this otherwise the tip of the rod will take a concave direction and cause the line to go under the tip and cross over itself, a tailing loop (windknots). This is opposed to a convex path which will cause open loops, straight paths of the rod tip are more efficient for narrow loops.

Tailing loops can be caused many ways, here are just a few, a jerky start to the cast, putting in the speed up and stop too early, putting in a haul to early. Too short a stroke for the ammount of weight/length of line outside of the rod tip and stopping the rod too high.

No more effort with the rod hand is required, use the hauling hand with the correct length of stroke and speed to do the work.