fishing under a bridge

[JackM]

I have no problem practicing in the backyard if you want, but choose an obstacle made of soft cotton or smooth wood or anything at all other than an SUV. And keep it more than 11 inches from the ground.

 

[JF_]

You could always find a Notre Dame lineman and cast under him.
They seemed pretty soft on Sat.

John :lol:

 

[Chaz]

Well if the nridge is 5 feet above the ater that ought to be plenty of room for a side arm cast to at leat cover some f the water. The water tension thing works really well when casting in tight spots. I've used it many times.

 

I have to agree with the "no casting under a Jeep"!
True, if Joe managed to unroll hip loop, underneath the jeep, he obviously never hit all the grime and line destroying debris on the Jeep's undercarriage. However, true, unless you already can "cast like Humphreys", I sure wouldn't try it! Of course, if you could ALREADY "cast like Humphrey's", this post would never have gotten started!?!
When I saw the famous spin caster and egomaniac "Ernie St.Clair", stand 75 feet away from a china tea cup, then with the flick of his wrist, he'd toss his little, rubber, demo-casting-plug, into the teacup.......... I was, like everyone else I suppose, "duly impressed". Until, I realized, that "There are not too many fish worth catching in your average teacup!" So, when it came time to learn to fly cast, I took to the water, only, as has been suggested here,already.
Sorry, but "lawn" does not load a rod, the way water does and can, so what are you really learning? No matter what I'd learn in practicing anyplace, but at this bridge that has you stumped, I know that when I got back to the bridge, the currents, the wind, the angle, everything...... would be totally different, than from where I'd practiced to fish it!??! :-D

 

[VINNYT]

ok thene i wont lol

 

[pete41]

Had to laugh at the ``lawn does not load a flyrod the way water does''.
The only rod I ever broke in 60 plus years of fishing was a new glass flyrod[in the 60s]practicing casting on a lawn.
Don't even remember the details but I was just married and money was lacking so it was a shock.

 

[Phillyfisher]

Ok guys, my bad...II should not have not recommended he use an SUV for practice. However, IMO, even if he does use an SUV for casting practice, his leader is the only thing likely to get beat up on the undercarriage. Our SUV is about 6 ft wide, and I bet he has at least that length for a leader.

 

[Maurice]

Vinnie,

Chaz touched on this...use the water load your rod by roll casting downstream on an angle. Lower your rod tip to just above the water surface and allow the line to travel down stream then pick up slowly and punch the rod side arm under the bridge.

Side arm casting is less complicated if you think about as if you were casting overhead. Just lower your hand to make your forearm level or a slightly above level with the water. Just remember your cast will likely land a few feet to the right of your line if you don't roll out all the leader. Compensate by finishing your cast a few feet left. You will quickly learn based on your experience where to "point" the tip at the end of the cast.

Of course, this is based on being at the downstream end of the bridge opening. If you want to do this under the bridge you will likely have trouble with the roll cast part.

I think side arm casting helps you to better understand the timing of the forward and back strokes of fly casting moreso than traditional casting where a loose loop can be undetected. Side arm casting is much less forgiving in that aspect.

Maurice

 

[OhioOutdoorsman]

Don't be afriad to use a shorter or slightly larger sized leader and tippet to help turn over or "punch" the fly in there. A long 6x leader just isn't going to unfurl. This isn't finesse fishing.

If you are using a 9 ft leader the first thing you should do for small stream fishing is switch to a 7.5 ft leader or a short furled leader. Then if you still need more "oomph" for punching those lines in small spaces, try overlining if you have the next line up available.

 

[afishinado]

While I lawn cast once in a while to test a rod or get some practice, I find that casting on the stream is the best way to learn and improve. When the fishing is bad, or really good, and I caught enough fish for the day, I spend some time practicing different casts and/or working on my accuracy and mending in tough lies and around or under obstructions. I also try out some new ways of rigging to see if they work. I don’t worry about catching fish, but sure enough, when I get it right, I come up with a fish that I normally won’t catch, but when I get it wrong, I usually end up with a tangled mess or an entire pool of terrified trout. Don't worry about catching for a while and take some time to practice new stuff.

As others mentioned, side arm casting is usually the best solution for the under a bridge situation. Practice casting at all angles. The text book way of casting with the rod in a vertical postion is great for learning, but you will need to learn to cast at every angle to deliver your fly in tough places effectively, including casting sidearm, and casting across your body the other way.