Fly Casting Competition

gfen wrote;

"60' not a difficult distance, you could do it in a cast... I think you probably have. :)"

Making sixty foot casts, and hitting a target, is by no means a cake walk. I'd venture to say that there are far less than 40% of the Forum members who can accurately throw 60' with relative ease.

If you take the time to actually measure out 60' of line you will see it is a significant distance. Also the ability to throw sixty feet on the grass is far less demanding than to throw that sixty feet while standing mid thigh in the river.
 
Old Lefty and I fish quite a bit together. Believe me, Dave can cast much further than 60 feet and do it with the utmost accuracy. Once on Big Pine I saw him hook and land a trout that was feeding on the surface about 90 to 95 feet away. Not only was the cast accurate but I could not believe he got a good drift and hook set at that distance. Dave I know you don't want me to say it but YOU ARE THE MAN my friend.
 
PM sent
 
I think that most apart from the 60ft should be pretty easy with a bit of practice.

I have had a go at this, it's something you have to work at but doable with a standard double haul.

My attempts were spot on up to the 45' then I found it hard to judge the distance at 50/55 upwards.

Orvis in Vermont has an obstacle course outside the flagship store which is fun.
 
First name of Dave, user name of old lefty, fishing on Big Pine, can cast 95 feet accurately. There are only so many people this could be. If this is the papa smurf I think it is he can certainly handle this competition. That is unless I get in, Lol. Dave (oldlefty), if you are going to come down you better come see me... this time.
 
i love to see old lefty cast!!!
 
According to some my reputation would have me standing somewhere in the 9' tall range. I'm just an average short guy who likes to cast a fly rod. Set someone up on a pedestal and they're bound to fall off.

Yes, I'm thinking of entering the competition and am looking at which line I would consider using. Since long bellys are verboten I have received clarification that any 5 wt. with a head no longer than 50' is acceptable.

Next will be: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!!

I would recommend to anyone thinking of competing that the accuracy performance is more heavily weighted than the distance performance.

I feel that, for distance, a competitor should be able to measure casts in the ballpark of 100' consistently. If one can go longer, so much the better.

For accuracy, practice casting to a target ring. This gets the caster used to judging distances to a target flat on the surface. Casting to a target which is upright, such as a cone, is not the same.

BTW, there are a lot of very good casters out there. I've seen a number of them.

If anyone wants to get together to cast, just let me know.
Dave R.
 
The hardest 60' cast is an actual 60' cast.

If you look at your reel and can see backing through the line gaps... you are in the 60+ range
 
Dave I wish you could make the get together on Saturday. You are always so helpful in correcting my mechanics.
 
does this mean I could use a shooting head setup Dave ??? as long as it is a 5 wt. ??
 
.
 
Bob (sandfly), no. Lines have to be in the range of 90' long to qualify. Too bad.

 
Dave R - I use a dinner plate for accuracy. You know you nailed it if the broken off hook end 'tings' it.

 
Dave,
I laid out a course and am not sure about the distance for the third target. is it measured from the center of first target or the obstacle target ?? if I lay it out from the first it touches the Obstacle target, which would put all three targets touching?
 
Dave, I would be interested in getting together to throw some line. let me know if you're interested.
 
Sandfly, I can't answer your question. Regardless where your targets end up, the goal is to hit them so as to score the most points. So, does this mean you're going to enter the competition?

Tim Robinson, just let me know when you want to get together. Let's throw out the invitation for anyone who's interested. I'm always up for a gathering of casters.
 
OldLefty wrote:
Tim Robinson, just let me know when you want to get together. Let's throw out the invitation for anyone who's interested. I'm always up for a gathering of casters.
Click to expand...

I would be up for the gathering...

I'm not sure about the comp, is there info on registering?
 
Name a place and I would show up.
 
Having always been curious about casting comps, and mildly inspired by this thread, I tried out the course they had set up at the Heritage Days a couple wknds ago at Allenberry. And met OldLefty, you sure do make it look effortless.

The setup there was a hula hoop with a plate inside for the 5pt bullseye, 2 or 3 for the hoop with them set at 25-40-55ft. Three consecutive shots at each, with a break in between each set. Rod was an 8'6" TFO Lefty Kreh plastic something or other, 5wf. Got used to the rod waving some line in the air, got a feel for the target distances and will say that 25ft is closer than you think, 40 was comfortable fishing distance and 55 looked just a smidge furthur out there than you'd think.

Also learned it's best to leave your 'presentation' techniques on the water. Just slap that fly down with a straight leader. Ingrained habits are ingrained I guess, and I missed a lot of hoops as the wind flipped the last bit of tippet w/ the yarn just off to the side. Hit the 25' plate to open my round and then I guess I only hit three other hoops @ 3each, I think I only had 14pts total for the accuracy.

Distance was also interesting, especially with OL over there casually moving 90+ ft of line thru the air. I'll just say that my arm was kinda shot by now and technique definitely fell apart and a stiff breeze rolled thru and a bug got in my eye just I stepped on a pebble and yet somehow I managed to lay out all of 71' for my best of three distance. Add that 71 to the accuracy points and you have your score.

Then for fun I grabbed a pair of cane 5wts I had along, one 7'6" and the other 8'. Found I was pretty much the same on accuracy whether it was graphite or bamboo, but at distance the cane rods topped out at a bit over 60' in my hands. Which for me is just a bit further than what I usually need on the water, for the fishing I do. Would be nice to develop the ability to reach out a bit more though, practice, practice, practice I guess...and maybe a tip here and there.

And I'll add that it's real easy to practice this stuff, I usually pace off distances based on rod length in hand and mark the spots with the reel case, rod bag and/or a pile of leaves/mulch, rod tube toes the line.. Doesn't take much to put numbers to concepts, if you're into that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top