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A Guide to Fly Fishing Casting for NovicesThe art of fly fishing casting may look extremely difficult to the beginner angler, but with a bit of practice it is not that difficult to become a good fly caster. You can have the ideal fly fishing equipment and the perfect fly fishing fly, but unless you know how to cast property, you are wasting your time. With fly fishing casting, it is important to be able to land your fly fishing fly in an exact location on the water. This guide explains about the fundamental fly fishing casting skills required by the beginner fisherman. It is recommended that the beginner learn fly fishing casting from a fishing instructor, but there are plenty of books, DVDs, and online guides that teach fly fishing casting. The two main fly fishing casting techniques used today are the overhead cast, and the roll cast, and all other fly fishing casting techniques are variations of these two techniques. The beginner will start with the basic dry fly fishing method where a floating line is used which floats on top of the water. With dry fly fishing, it is easier for beginner anglers to see the line, and to detect a strike on the line. Also, using a bulky fly fishing vest can impede your casting stroke, and beginners are advised to use a smaller fly fishing chest pack or lumbar pack – there are a wide range of Fishpond pack models to choose from for the beginner angler. When practicing fly fishing casting it is important to ensure you practice in a location with enough clear space, such as a open field. If you want to practice 45 feet casts, it is important to have 45 feet of open space behind you as well as in front of you. For 45 foot casts also check that you have 20 feet of space on either side of you. Wear glasses or protective goggles and a hat for safety. It’s also recommended that you use a fly with no hook (called a yarn fly) on your fly fishing line. For your fly casting practice sessions, place targets out in front of you, then you must try to hit these targets when fly casting (hula-hoops can be used). Overhead Cast This is the most commonly used fly fishing casting technique, and most beginners should start using this technique. This technique has two sequences, the back cast, then the forward cast. With the back cast, you are lifting the fly line off the water in front of you, and up over your head until the fly line is behind you. Before the fly line touches the ground behind you, initiate the forward cast sequence. With the forward cast, you bring the fly line back over your head, and land the fly line on the water with the fly landing on the location you were aiming for. Roll Cast The roll cast is used when you have obstructions behind you, such as bushes or trees, that prevent you from doing the back cast using the overhead casting technique. As the roll cast technique does not lift the line too high, it is also ideal for fishing in windy conditions. To do a roll cast, slowly lift the rod up vertically to the one o’clock position just past your ear, and this effectively slides the line back on the water’s surface without lifting the line off the water. From this position, you do a firm forward cast to complete the roll cast.
For more information about saltwater fly fishing gear, take a look at the Feedcat.net news feed for Fly Fishing Elite.
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