Common Casting Faults

by Al Dozier

A couple of issues ago, I wrote an article on how to learn to double haul to increase distance. I am now flying back from our Islamorada trip reminiscing about the camaraderie with old and new friends, delicious seafood, a great CE program and oh yes, the great fishing too. All day on a flats skiff allows me to get to know some great folks. When requested, it also allows me a chance to help with someone's fly casting. So I thought I would I would go over a few common casting faults I have observed on the trips I have attended. Maybe you will recognize some and be able to avoid them.

1) Killing the last cast. This is probably the most common error I see. We make a few false casts, working the line out with nice tight loops and then wanting to get the most distance, we "lower the boom" on the last forward cast. The rod comes down much farther, perhaps down to the 9 o'clock position or lower, which opens the loop into a big wind-resistant curve and the cast dies short of our intended target. The solution is simply to stop the rod up higher the same as it was while we were false casting and don't try to add a lot more force to it.

2) Coming back too far on the backcast. It difficult for us to know how far the rod tip has come at the stop on our backcast. It may feel like we stopped the rod at 1 o'clock but we really stopped at 3 o'clock. My guide in Islamorada had to tell me a couple of times that I was dropping my backcast too low. Try to learn how to turn your head and watch your backcast occasionally. This is easier to do if you open your stance some (face your body more to the right), which also makes it easier to extend the length of your casting stroke which is necessary when you cast further. When you do this, you may be surprised to see where the rod tip ends up on your backcast. Another tip is to say to yourself: "Thumb up!" when stopping the backcast rather than letting your thumb point to the rear. By stopping the rod higher in the arc, you will tighten your loop up considerably.

3) Rushing the cast. This is not usually a problem when blind casting. But when you see a big tarpon roll or a big push of water by a school of bonefish coming at you, your heart rate goes off the chart, your knees get weak, the guide is telling you to "Hurry, Hurry, Now, Now", is it any wonder that your rush your cast? What can I say but try to stay cool and wait for your backcast to straighten. Sometimes, even if we haven't intentionally started our forecast we unconsciously start bringing our rod hand forward before the backcast has finished rolling out. This is what we call creep and it shortens our stroke on the forecast which shortens our distance and can cause a tailing loop (a subject for a future article). Other than watching the backcast, the best cure I have found is to learn to drift. This means to extend your hand further back after the stop. This drift may be a short distance for a short cast or much longer on a long cast. If you drift you cannot creep!

4) Don't fish a bad cast. Even the best casters will make bad casts but the experienced ones recognize it and immediately pick it up and recast. When sight casting, continuing to fish a fly that the fish doesn't have a chance of seeing probably doesn't have much of a chance for success. I hope this helps you avoid some common errors. Next issue I will try to give you some tips on increasing line speed and subsequently distance, even if you already know how to double haul.

Allan practices small animal medicine in Charlotte, NC and is an FFF Certified Casting Instructor.