Casting Help??

[noclue]

I'm planning a trip to S.C. for redfish and have been practicing my casting. They say to be prepared for making long casts to reds as they are spooky fish. I have been practicing my double haul casting and I noticed that as I get around 30 or 40 feet of line out and my casts are losing I don't know what? On the forward cast the line goes out for about let say 20 feet and then the last 10 feet of the loop and the fly are getting under the the bottom portion of the line and in some cases hooking the line. If it does not hook the line, the flast 10 feet of line and the fly seem to whip down to the surface of the water. This is the best way I can explain it, don't know if it sounds right or wrong? all I know is something is very messed up with my casting!!!! Any Advice?

 

[tomgamber]

Accelerate through the cast. Don't use up all the umph at the beginning and expect the line to continue to move. Long smooth casts increase their speed right to the very end. It also take longer to complete a full motion the more line you feed out during your hauls. If you complete the last the false and fore cast in the same amount of time as you did your first, it'll all fall into a heap. That entire motion must slow down. Make sure you practice on water. lake or pond. You cannot do this well on the lawn.

Also, if you are going with a guide and they offer a lesson, just do it. First, no one does more of that kind of fishing then they do and it'll make your trip more enjoyable. Second, almost every guide I have ever seen charges more for lessons on the water than before leaving the dock.

 

[jayL]

Dave Rothrock told me that ugly loops are the result of improper applications of power...

So yeah, what tom said. If there's a punch at any point during the cast, it will cause a misshapen loop. A misshapen loop won't fly right, and will foul.

 

[SonOfMartin]

If you'll be fishing from a boat - stand on top of a picnic table to practice your casting. Practicing the angle will make a difference.!

 

[noclue]

What I noticed the other day when I went to the lake. was that I seem to be trying to push as hard as I can on the forward cast. And when I was practicing my double haul I found that I would sometimes forget to do the second haul on my forward cast. Listening to what you guys are saying makes sense to me now.
Also the 9wt rod that my dad loaned me is a sage 9ft GFL 990RP and it has a softer action to it compared to my 5wt beginners rod so I think I'm having difficulty adjusting to a softer rod? Oh ya the rod is also from 1986 according to the owner of the fly shop I visit.

 

[bam]

Youtube can be a great learning tool as well. Search fly casting double haul and I'm sure there will be a few quality vids that come up. Sort through the junk.

Good luck on your trip

 

[osprey]

A line basket/casting basket helps.

 

[gfen]

I bought a 10wt and expected to be able to cast a country mile with it, only to realize that I was terrible with it in my hands. All told, I could cast my 4wt far better than my 10wt, despite the fact that the 10 was a longer and faster action.

Turns out, the lighter rod lets you cover finesse mistakes with the application of power. That doesn't fly when you move up to a heavy rod and suddenly there is no real easy to overpower your casts to cover for poor technique.

I worked with OldLefty/Dave and HeritageAngler/Ed here and received the same basic advise that JayL did. He also suggested that I not concentrate on double hauling at this point in my game, and work on the basic fundamentals.

So, as others have said, remember to increase your stroke as you aerialize more line. It takes longer for all that stuff to unfurl behind you, and you need to compensate. Remember its a smooth, steady application of power, as well.

Practice with your lighter rod and only do short sessions with the big one, its easy to overstress things when you're not used to it, and the damage will only make the whole thing harder.

Finally, the last thing I took away from my time with those two was that accuracy was important, and easy to adapt into the "distance" training. PIcking an object on the ground, then casting to it was a good way to develop the overall feel to better casting. I also think that when I picked an object within easy(ish) reach and shot for it, it was then easier to pick an object just beyond it and continually build up my distance.

I can't throw an entire line to the backing, but I've found I can cast good enough to get the job done.

 

[GreenWeenie]

Good advice by Gfen.

I would simply add that one of the keys is making sure your tip doesn’t drift on the back cast/forward cast and the more line you let out, the longer you have to wait to let the line straighten.

With heavier lines you really need to snap the rod backwards and forwards in a powerful but controlled manner and stop the tip of the rod and wait for the line to uncoil and pull/load the rod. It’s all timing and technique and letting the rod load to do the work.

To help, turn a bit sideways and watch your line uncoil on the backcast so you get the timing and feel. If you start your forward cast too soon before the line fully extends you’re not letting the rod load and you are also wiping out a good amount of energy you put into the line and your cast will ultimately fall apart probably around 40-50 feet of line. Casting lines a greater distance is all about the progressive addition of more energy. As Gfen pointed out, with a light line you can compensate poor technique and inefficient power transfer simply by overloading power but with a heavier line you pretty much need efficient energy transfer to keep the line aerialized.