Improving casting distance

[Sean Steele]

Are there specific exercises or “cast thoughts” that assist you in generating more distance in your casts? Assume ideal conditions and a typical setup for our local tidal waters. 

Asking for a... friend.

Thanks,

-Sean

[Kevin KB]

Sean brings up a good issue regarding his, ahem, friend.  There are a number of us that might, or in my case definitely, require help in our casting ability.  Right now with casting church is not being active and some are unable to attend casting church due to religious conflicts.  Are there any FFI certified caster instructors or others that are skilled that would be willing to watch a video of someone casting and mentor from afar?

I have my son tape me on occasion and it really makes me aware of how bad my casting is.  I have watched Lefty Kreh's, Joan Wulff's and other casting videos and see some of my faults, but not sure how to fix or improve.

Kevin

Kevin

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/DM5PR0102MB33337EDAC848E74103DE2C77A29A0%40DM5PR0102MB3333.prod.exchangelabs.com.

[Yambag Nelson]

Do you know how to double haul?

[Cary Pugh]

I suspect we can figure something out. But I am intrigued by your comment that you can see your faults or issues. Would you mind describing them for starters?

And when I was working on (and as I continue to work on) distance i am reminded it’s all about line speed (without getting a tailing loop). That is a function of your speed up and stop (power stroke) plus your double haul. You have to make sure it’s an acceleration to a stop and not a deceleration for example. And things have to stay in the same plane (or if you change it has to be controlled). So at home I mostly work on my speed up and stop. Going both directions - back cast and forward cast.

[Dennis McMorrow]

I find that the use of a stripping basket helps keep control of the line. Not going to shoot very far if your running line gets snagged on something on the ground. My back cast is stronger, so when I'm casting for distance I tend to lead with that, and I also get really silly with it. You'll basically see me holding the rod high over my head to functionally make the rod longer so I can cast further without much of a backcast (which is actually my forward cast.) 

Short answer just practice a lot, watch a few videos, and then go out and try it. Don't fixate on being perfect, just have fun, experiment, and stick with what intuitively feels good. 

My cast kinda developed from casting from a kayak with extra fly rods stacked vertically behind me, and a big camera pole looking over my shoulder. My cast is weird to watch but it gets the fly within a couple feet of where I want it. 

On Wednesday, June 17, 2020 at 6:20:08 PM UTC-4, Sean Steele wrote:

[Dalton Terrell]

Sean and Kevin,

Most "distance" issues are ultimately rooted in fundamental flaws in the cast. If you're stuck at 40 or 50 feet, something like a double haul or even silicone spray may improve distance somewhat, but likely serves as a crutch unless you fix the real problem. If you're at 75+ ft and want to go farther, absolutely a double haul (or improvement in double haul), other casting "tricks", stripping basket, change in equipment (line/leader/rod), etc is probably what you need.

I'm a bit out of practice teaching, but would be happy to take a look at any videos and provide feedback.

Dalton

[Carl Z.]

Dalton's advice is spot on. 

My best exercise involves no hauling, but cast tight loops with as little power as possible. 

Work on keeping the legs of your loops parallel.   I would look at Carl McNeil's Youtube videos,  "Casts that catch fish".  Despite its name,  it is basically a great set of training that is task focused. 

 

Carl

--

Carl Zmola

--

http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tidal-potomac-fly-rodders/3931a170-aa59-4aa3-9b4b-e2be718e5fffo%40googlegroups.com.

[Owen Williams]

You can download that great video series by Carl McNeil from here for free: 

https://swiftflyfishing.com/collections/video-downloads

It's been a sanity-saver during this time when we can't get to Casting Church. 

Best, 
Owen Williams

On Monday, June 22, 2020 at 11:18:53 AM UTC-4, Carl wrote:

Dalton's advice is spot on. 

My best exercise involves no hauling, but cast tight loops with as little power as possible. 

Work on keeping the legs of your loops parallel.   I would look at Carl McNeil's Youtube videos,  "Casts that catch fish".  Despite its name,  it is basically a great set of training that is task focused. 

 

Carl

--

Carl Zmola

On Fri, Jun 19, 2020 at 9:03 AM Dalton Terrell <daltonb...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sean and Kevin,

Most "distance" issues are ultimately rooted in fundamental flaws in the cast. If you're stuck at 40 or 50 feet, something like a double haul or even silicone spray may improve distance somewhat, but likely serves as a crutch unless you fix the real problem. If you're at 75+ ft and want to go farther, absolutely a double haul (or improvement in double haul), other casting "tricks", stripping basket, change in equipment (line/leader/rod), etc is probably what you need.

I'm a bit out of practice teaching, but would be happy to take a look at any videos and provide feedback.

Dalton

--
http://www.tpfr.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tidal-potomac-fly-rodders+unsub...@googlegroups.com.