Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Friday, 9 October 2009
Fundamentals of good fly casting.
You don't have to be good at fly casting to catch fish but very few bad casters catch many fish and good fly casting is part of the satisfaction and enjoyment of fly fishing. Fly casting is easy if you satisfy the physics related to the method being attempted and fortunately the physics is simplified by observing a few basic rules. I call these rules of substance because they are facts of nature, laws of physics and natural forces such as gravity. Style is a different thing, we each may move differently, our bodies are different, our senses and timing skills are different and we cope with tasks in the manner that we think is best for us. It is the job of the fly fishing instructor or fishing coach to point out improvements to style that may be beneficial to you but only after he/she is happy that you are complying with the basic rules of casting, the rules of substance. Every decent cast ever made, overhead cast, spey cast, roll cast, side cast, switch cast, underhand cast, etc. complies with these rules and they form the basis for teaching fly casting in fishing schools.
1. Start with the line straight or organised. Just as it is impossible to pull a car with a slack tow rope it is impossible to move a fly with a slack line. If the line is not straight movement is wasted to straighten it and your effort is not only wasted, you have now got the rod in a bad place to start. Always start tight and this of course applies whether your line is on the water, in the air or formed into a roll casting D loop. If the fly moves when the rod tip moves a little the line is sufficiently organised.
2. Every casting stroke is a smooth acceleration followed by a stop. In this context acceleration can be interpreted as meaning that the rod pulls all the line, all the time throughout the cast. The "cast" completes when the rod stops. The acceleration bends the rod and loads it as a spring. Whilst it is accelerating the bend increases, when it stops the rod recovers and straightens, it is the stop that transfers the stored (potential) energy from the spring (rod) to the line adding it to the (kinetic) energy already possessed by the line and thereby makes the cast. That is why descriptions "like flicking paint off a brush" are applicable to casting. Most people understand that action and can replicate it. The better the "stop" the better it goes because the energy transfer is more efficient if the rod is stopped abruptly.
3. The line always follows the rod tip and when the rod stops the line projects in the direction that the rod tip was going in when the stop was made. This is perhaps the least understood rule but it is absolutely fundamental to the construction of every casting technique. Every direction that the line takes was produced by movement the rod tip. This is so obvious and equally obviously, often forgotten! If you want your line to go in a straight line - make the rod tip move in a straight line, the direction of the line is the same as the direction of the rod tip and the same thing goes for circles or parts of circles, eclipses or any other shape that can support continuous motion for the duration of a casting stroke.
You don't have to be good at fly casting to catch fish but very few bad casters catch many fish and good fly casting is part of the satisfaction and enjoyment of fly fishing. Fly casting is easy if you satisfy the physics related to the method being attempted and fortunately the physics is simplified by observing a few basic rules. I call these rules of substance because they are facts of nature, laws of physics and natural forces such as gravity. Style is a different thing, we each may move differently, our bodies are different, our senses and timing skills are different and we cope with tasks in the manner that we think is best for us. It is the job of the fly fishing instructor or fishing coach to point out improvements to style that may be beneficial to you but only after he/she is happy that you are complying with the basic rules of casting, the rules of substance. Every decent cast ever made, overhead cast, spey cast, roll cast, side cast, switch cast, underhand cast, etc. complies with these rules and they form the basis for teaching fly casting in fishing schools.
1. Start with the line straight or organised. Just as it is impossible to pull a car with a slack tow rope it is impossible to move a fly with a slack line. If the line is not straight movement is wasted to straighten it and your effort is not only wasted, you have now got the rod in a bad place to start. Always start tight and this of course applies whether your line is on the water, in the air or formed into a roll casting D loop. If the fly moves when the rod tip moves a little the line is sufficiently organised.
2. Every casting stroke is a smooth acceleration followed by a stop. In this context acceleration can be interpreted as meaning that the rod pulls all the line, all the time throughout the cast. The "cast" completes when the rod stops. The acceleration bends the rod and loads it as a spring. Whilst it is accelerating the bend increases, when it stops the rod recovers and straightens, it is the stop that transfers the stored (potential) energy from the spring (rod) to the line adding it to the (kinetic) energy already possessed by the line and thereby makes the cast. That is why descriptions "like flicking paint off a brush" are applicable to casting. Most people understand that action and can replicate it. The better the "stop" the better it goes because the energy transfer is more efficient if the rod is stopped abruptly.
3. The line always follows the rod tip and when the rod stops the line projects in the direction that the rod tip was going in when the stop was made. This is perhaps the least understood rule but it is absolutely fundamental to the construction of every casting technique. Every direction that the line takes was produced by movement the rod tip. This is so obvious and equally obviously, often forgotten! If you want your line to go in a straight line - make the rod tip move in a straight line, the direction of the line is the same as the direction of the rod tip and the same thing goes for circles or parts of circles, eclipses or any other shape that can support continuous motion for the duration of a casting stroke.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Welcome To Worldwide Fishing Tales
The website dedicated to sports fishermen the world over
You may have fished the gulf of Mexico for big Tarpon or the Florida Keys for Shnook and Redfish or you may have been on a trip to Costa Rica fishing for Sailfish or even the Bahamas for Bonefish. You may have been fly fishing for Salmon in the rivers of Scotland, Norway and New Zealand or Australia fishing for the big Marlin.
Wherever your fishing trips might have taken you and for whichever species of fish you have been catching your tales and exploits are important to us at World Wide Fishing Tales.
If you would like to become an author for Worldwide Fishing Tales please send your stories to us via email with text & photographs to authors@worldwidefishingtales.com.
Once a month we will publish two of the best stories for everybodys enjoyment. Your fishing tales could be read all over the world by like minded fishermen. So get out there and fish then when you get back home fire up your computer crack open a beverage of your choice and get writing your fishing adventures.
Good Luck and Tight Lines From The W.F.T. Team.
The website dedicated to sports fishermen the world over
You may have fished the gulf of Mexico for big Tarpon or the Florida Keys for Shnook and Redfish or you may have been on a trip to Costa Rica fishing for Sailfish or even the Bahamas for Bonefish. You may have been fly fishing for Salmon in the rivers of Scotland, Norway and New Zealand or Australia fishing for the big Marlin.
Wherever your fishing trips might have taken you and for whichever species of fish you have been catching your tales and exploits are important to us at World Wide Fishing Tales.
If you would like to become an author for Worldwide Fishing Tales please send your stories to us via email with text & photographs to authors@worldwidefishingtales.com.
Once a month we will publish two of the best stories for everybodys enjoyment. Your fishing tales could be read all over the world by like minded fishermen. So get out there and fish then when you get back home fire up your computer crack open a beverage of your choice and get writing your fishing adventures.
Good Luck and Tight Lines From The W.F.T. Team.
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