Bow & Arrrow (FFing not hunting)

[afishinado]

Had to share this video. For all you small stream guys, this cast is perfection and the result is not surprising laying your fly in such a perfect spot unreachable by most.

 

[redietz]

More accuracy on that B&A cast than I've ever been able to achieve. Can you tell where he was holding the line/leader/fly?

 

[moon1284]

He was holding the fly in his right hand

 

[krs]

Nice video showing how you need to adapt to small stream fishing.

 

[salmonoid]

I think the he is a she and it looks to me like she is all but holding the fly, maybe on the hook bend. There are some folks that teach that you should be a few feet (or more) up the leader. Either way works. With the latter, you can get a few more feet of line out and I've seen videos of people bunching the line to extend the distance of well, basically make a few additional of loops of line, pinch that and use that as your draw back spot.

 

[redietz]

salmonoid wrote:
There are some folks that teach that you should be a few feet (or more) up the leader.

Joe Humphreys for one.

 

[Tups]

Nah, that’s a guy.

 

[PennypackFlyer]

Is that a diamond on the ring finger?

 

[lestrout]

I haven't gotten into B&A casting much, even when I saw JoeH doing it back in the 70s. Would the action of the rod influence the quality of the presentation? I would guess a soft action stick - the kind that might roll cast well - would be best. Further I would guess glass would be superior to graphite.

 

[csoult]

 

[DaveS]

Thanks Coty.
THIS is the kind of content I think we need more of around here.

Then we can debate wether they’re Wild or fake!

 

[PennKev]

lestrout wrote: Would the action of the rod influence the quality of the presentation? I would guess a soft action stick - the kind that might roll cast well - would be best. Further I would guess glass would be superior to graphite.

I think you'd be suprised. Graphite works great if not better. It stores and releases the energy really efficiently and it's pretty easy to get a nice compact and accurate B&A cast with them. With either material I think 7 ft and longer rods are easiest to use. A longer rod just makes it easier to hit farther spots.

 

[silverfox]

PennKev wrote:

A longer rod just makes it easier to hit farther spots.

That's what she said.

Few maybe overlooked observations;

A) Release the slack fly line in the rod hand a split second after releasing the fly. Rather than ball up your leader to get a longer cast, use slack line at the reel to increase the distance of the cast.

B) Angle of the rod to water. Rod is low and almost parallel to the water so that "C" below works.

C) This is like a super tight roll cast. Line impacts the water first.

D) This works well as long as there is a clear shot to the target. i.e., no branches/tree trunks across the water.

E) This method (in the video) isn't the easiest to be accurate with. You have to judge the amount of slack line to hold at the reel to get the distance needed. If the line impacts the water at the wrong place/time, it can affect where the fly enters the water.

F) Just like any other roll cast, the fly matters. A bunch of weight, multiple flies etc. changes the dynamics. Best w/ light dries like the video.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

I wonder if you could use a release like the ones used to bow hunt? I worry about a hook in the finger. GG

 

[sarce]

Hold the fly by the bend of the hook. With a small fly, or for a little extra distance, you can hold by the leader to tippet knot with fly suspended in mid-air below the hand holding the line. When you let go of the knot, the fly travels horizontally toward the target, not up toward your hand, so it's safe. Takes a lot of practice to get right. I get very aggressive with these casts, a window less than a foot across is plenty of room, if you get snagged these streams are usually shallow and you can just walk in and get the fly back.

On the plus side, you will never hook a tree behind you, if you never make a back cast. There isn't a downside to the bow-and-arrow cast that I've found, unless you aim too low and the rod tip and line slap the water.

 

[troutbert]

I've fished small streams a lot, but don't use the B&A cast.

There's an easier, better way, IMHO.

I don't even know if this cast has a name.

It's kind of similar, except that you don't pull back on the line and bend the rod.

These directions are for a right hander.

It's most easily done on the backhand side.

You can hold the fly, but I usually hold the tippet a foot and a half or so above the fly, with my left hand.

Bring the fly rod back, and then just make a forward casting stroke.

On a short cast, you just bring the rod tip back, and also bring the line holding the line back, so that the line is extended back, with no slack in it. Than you just fire it out there.

As with the B&W cast, you can make the cast travel low, by making the cast sidearm.

There is no need to pull on the line to bend the rod. With the casting stroke, the rod will flex then spring forward just as with traditional casting.

To learn this, start out with short casts, with only as much line out as the length of the rod. Try that for awhile until you get the hang of it.

Then just pull out a little more line from the reel, maybe another 2 feet, and try that, and keep going.

As you get more line out, as you prepare to cast, the line will be hanging in a loop between the rod tip and your hand.

As you bring the rod tip back, the loop will also roll back. Then you fire the cast. The loop will come right around and unroll and straighten out.

The line unrolls much like a roll cast, but it is unrolling in the air, not on the water.

And as with the short cast, you can make the line travel low by making the casting stroke sidearm or at 45 degree angle.

In this case the loop will unroll towards your left, so you will need a little room over there.

The key to getting under the branches is to cast tight loops, which means getting a lot of line speed.

This is why the slow, lazy casting style with soft action rods isn't really the best for small streams. That gives you a wide loop.

With a "crisp" action rod, i.e. medium fast, you can cast tight loops under the branches.

People worry about the rod not bending on short casts. But if you really crank the rod, it will bend under the weight of the line, then rebound and fire the line out there.

With this type of casting, you can also hold a loop of line with your right hand (rod hand) with your last 2 fingers, and release the loop and shoot that line.

Casting this way, you can cast 30 feet or more, without backcasting.

It's much easier to show this than to explain it.

And even though it might sound complicated, I think it is far easier to do than the bow and arrow cast.

 

[afishinado]

^ Good info, I do something similar.

I do bow & arrow cast where I can't maneuver the rod and need to direct the fly at an odd angle.

I also use a lot of water-load casts > flip the line downstream using the tension from the line on the water fires the line upstream.

 

[jeremymcon]

Nice! I've attempted to use this technique a few times, but I'm always afraid I'll snag my hand. I think the lack of confidence makes it unsuccessful most of the time.

 

[afishinado]

jeremymcon wrote:
Nice! I've attempted to use this technique a few times, but I'm always afraid I'll snag my hand. I think the lack of confidence makes it unsuccessful most of the time.

Try practicing B&A casting with a ball of yarn instead of a fly to build your confidence.

 

[dc410]

gulfgreyhound wrote:
I wonder if you could use a release like the ones used to bow hunt? I worry about a hook in the finger. GG

I always carry my leatherman when flyfishing. The needlenose pliers on a leatherman are perfect for yanking out those pesky hooks.