Do you practise your casting ?

[Wolfie]

Hi Guys

In acheaving these lengths do you use a "Traditional Casting" style or do you double haul the line?

[Buzzers]

To practice accuracy is fine, but to practice double hauling (distance) is not a good idea if you are not doing it on water. The friction causes heat and ruin the fly line and the line guides of the rod.

It cost me a fly line and new guides when I started and need to learn to cast.

[ShaunF]

To practice accuracy is fine, but to practice double hauling (distance) is not a good idea if you are not doing it on water. The friction causes heat and ruin the fly line and the line guides of the rod.

It cost me a fly line and new guides when I started and need to learn to cast.

Sounds to me like there could have been a problem with the flyline to start with. As I mentioned, this old Cortland 444 that I have is probably around 10 years old and the only damage it has on it are as a result of silly things I did with it while fishing, like standing on it, ripping it off grass tufts, trees etc. I normally lend this line out to guys new to the sport and so it continues to have a hard life. I think it goes without saying, that the line is prone to damage and wear while practicing on dry dusty surfaces, so don't do it with your brand new, fancy flyline.

[Arthur]

Thanks for the excellent post Shaun.

I practise when I get the chance too, but it is not enough.Finding a decent bit of field to cast on where you aren't having to wait for people, dogs, motorbikes, etc to go past before you make the next cast is a bit of a problem in my area.

Cetainly your success has encouraged me to keep at it till I can cast over 30m consistently.The point you raised about reducing effort required to make these casts is probably my single biggest goal at the moment, especially when you are partial to waving a 9wt around in the salt.

[Chris Shelton]

On the subject of practicing, how many of you tank test your flies to see how they move though the water and how long it takes them to get to the desired depth? This could be even more important than practicing casting.

[chris williams]

I 'swimming pool' test every batch of flies I tie - usually on the steps or the shallow end - whilst the creepy krawly is unplugged. I often also chuck them in the filter flow (with tippet attached) to check how they move and how quickly they sink if e.g. Czech nymphs. Not totally objective but at least a step closer to same!

[Scythe]

I've gotten into the habit of testing every dry fly I tie, especially when I am experimenting with new flies/designs.

The old drop it into a glass and check it out from the bottom thing really works for me.

Don't need to test the Nymphs and Control Caddis for use on the Vaal, they pretty much behave in one way and one way only.

It's also interresting to see how your emergers and surface nymphs behave, same approach, drop 'em into a glass. I've also started attaching tippet when dropping them in with a 'hand cast' to see how that affects how they swim/ride.

[Chris Shelton]

Some excellent comments on practicing casting here
http://www.noreast.com/discussion/vi...opic_ID=106632

[Pisina]

Not in line with the original post but still very interesting subject, maybe an area that can be explored further.
I think that you should test all flies fished with a retrieve in a swimming pool. Most flies look and behave different than what you think they would. (Sink rate might be important when fishing to cruising fish).
Use an old floating line (different leader lengths vs. actual fishing depth of fly) to do a few retrieves to get a good idea of what the fly action will actually look like when fishing.
It might sound extreme but it’s the thinking fisherman that catches the fish.

[Ron Clay]

I think a lot of you spend too much time on your casting and not enough time perfecting your fly presentation. For most still water applications you don't need to cast more than 25 metres. Learn to do this smoothly and easily and with the minimum of false casts.

The best South African fly caster I ever met was the late Rod Cross. And close to him were people like Bill Steele and Angelo Komis. All were capable of putting out a 25 metre cast, with a forward taper line, smoothly and accurately with only two false casts.

In truth, many people over estimate how far they can cast in an actual fishing situation.