Reel & Line-D Loops-Rollcast-Jump rollcast-Spey-cast-Double Spey-Snakeroll

Salmon Casting.

Single Spey, Snap-T and Circle cast.

SINGLE SPEY- One single movement between the lift and roll cast.

An upstream/nuetral wind cast off both banks, a very efficient and dynamic cast to use with a little space behind. As with beginning all casts it is critical that there is no slack line on the water whatsoever, roll cast it straight to achieve this first. On the left bank the right hand goes uppermost on the rod (on the right bank, left hand uppermost). There are many styles of performing this cast, here is one. Stand square onto the intended target, on the left bank the line is fished out to the dangle, rod pointing downstream and tip almost touching the water.

The arms will now be crossed (first option), the lower hand on the rod going under the upper arm, turn upper torso slightly inbank. The slow lift to a stop is done with just the right forearm to 45-degrees and slightly in towards your own bank (this will unstick most of the fly-line from the surface). The second option which is more preferable is to place the reel to the left side of your body with a more pronounced upper body twist in-bank. A brief stop/pause after the lift and then the rod is then swept around (starting slowly then accelerating as you do so) in front of you as if going around a 45-degree cone (important), uncrossing your arms as you do so (first option) and bringing the lower hand out whilst twisting the upper body with the direction of the rod. Think about making the cast with body movement rather than arms.

From the lift point and into the sweep it is important that the travel of the rod tip does not rise or drop when beginning the sweep.

The whole fly-line now has to turn around and come back in straight, any less of an angle than a 45-degrees sweep/plane with a medium length head will make the fly-line/leader land in a downstream direction resulting in a cross-over when delivered. As in the jump roll, there is a shallow dip to opposite your shoulder, the lowest point, it is the weight of the fly-line that will make this by pulling the rod tip down, then accelerating to a stop up into the roll cast position (with the rod ending up at 45-degrees behind and a slight cant off verticle) turning the upper body back straight and square on to the target.

(A good way to achieve this shallow sweeping dip is to imagine that you are wearing a Mexican sombrero; the rod simply slides around the rim of the hat). As the end of the fly line alights and anchors onto the water the D-loop is formed behind, under tension and 180 degrees in line with the target. A side glance to where you want to place the anchor can help tremendously. The forward delivery begins after the anchor has landed and the D-loop under full tension, the timing is splash and then go. It is the point where the rod tip rises on the sweep that will determine where the anchor will land, the main accelleration should be saved for the intended direction of the D-loop. For larger angle changes, stand square on to where you want to cast, turn upper body and bring the tip of the rod more in-bank, make a more pronounced twist around to set up the D-loop in the right direction. Pauses in between moves are essential.

Movements: -

• Lift to 45-degrees parallel to bank for shallow angles and slightly in-bank for more severe angles.
• Sweep rod tip out and around imaginary cone and up to 45-degrees behind
• Anchor leader on water
• Pause
• Deliver roll cast.

Photo's courtesy of Tony Riley

Snap-T, C-cast, circle cast

These Spey cast are also used for an upstream or neutral wind, the end result is still forming a D-loop under tension 180-degrees toward the target. But instead of the leader and two feet of fly line anchoring on the water a rod to a rod and a half length off the casting shoulder and the D-loop forming well behind as in the single Spey, the line is unrolled at a pre-determined angle upstream and slightly or greatly across. This now creates an anchor point a couple or several feet out in the stream, and when the fly line is swept back to form the D-loop, it does not form behind the angler but level with. This means that it is a very useful cast to have if you are really tight against obstacles like trees or high banks, it can be adjusted to suit. This cast can be performed with either single or double handed rods.

The first movement is to start with the fly line on the dangle and under tension with rod tip pointing downstream. The rod tip in the case of the Circle and C-cast, is then lifted and rolled around an imaginary pulley wheel in the air at an angle of 45-degrees out and above into the stream. The rod tip should never go past square of you, and the whole movement is an accelleration over the top of the pulley wheel and a faster tuck under back downstream to return the rod tip to its original position. This will unroll the fly line fairly openly in the air to fully extend and land on the water upstream and across. This is a good cast when using sink tips and heavy flies as the opposing paths of the fly line will not collide. The next movement is to, as in the double Spey, sweep the fly line from the rested position back upstream and around to form a D-loop on the upstream side of you. From there when the D-loop is fully formed, (the fly line peeling off the water will have stopped), a roll cast is performed to the desired direction.

The Snap-T is a little different by the first movement, instead of the making of a circle with the rod tip, it is brought upstream like going up a shallow ramp to square off you, then a smart tuck under. This will send the fly line a lot faster upstream but the opposing paths will be closer, ideal for floating lines and lighter flies. The second movement is the same as the circle cast.

Photo's courtesy of Tony Riley