That Side Arm Cast

[FrequentTyer]

troutbert wrote:
For those of you who have ever taken formal casting classes, did they ever include a segment on small stream casting, i.e. casting where there are obstacles, such as tree limbs overhead, or behind you?

I took a class from Joe Humphreys and that was the focus of most of the class. Fist thing he had us do was kneel down and start casting overhead and then rotate the cast to the sides until we were casting next to the ground on either side. Quite a challenge cross body. He called it "casting around the arc." My formal casting stroke is laughable, but I use the tricks I learned in that class every time I fish and have never felt handicapped by my inability to cast a full fly line in a perfect vertical plane. I also have never felt that I couldn't make a cast because I'm not supposed to do X.
Mike.

 

[k-bob]

I assume you make a lot of side arm casts on small streams because the open space left to right is greater than the open space up to down. Shoot some line and it works. The open space up to down may be just a few feet, or even less. 25 foot cast under a two foot high branch 20 ft away.

 

[afishinado]

FrequentTyer wrote:

troutbert wrote:
For those of you who have ever taken formal casting classes, did they ever include a segment on small stream casting, i.e. casting where there are obstacles, such as tree limbs overhead, or behind you?

I took a class from Joe Humphreys and that was the focus of most of the class. Fist thing he had us do was kneel down and start casting overhead and then rotate the cast to the sides until we were casting next to the ground on either side. Quite a challenge cross body. He called it "casting around the arc." My formal casting stroke is laughable, but I use the tricks I learned in that class every time I fish and have never felt handicapped by my inability to cast a full fly line in a perfect vertical plane. I also have never felt that I couldn't make a cast because I'm not supposed to do X.
Mike.

Joe H is right (of course). You can and should be able to cast with your rod at any angle in a 180* arc. Casting principles are the same at any angle - move the tip in a straight line and accelerate to a stop. Many great casters, Lefty Kreh and Ed Jaworski come to mind, use and teach a side-arm casting stroke.

 

[k-bob]

went through some of my on-stream fishing images from small PA brookie streams.. low branches everywhere. often much more horizontal than vertical casting space, frequently twice as much.

sidearm may be less accurate, but you dont need a perfect cast... just get the fly nearby without too much leader drag and the brookies will sometimes move to it.

 

[RCFetter]

I'm not experienced enough to comment but I did find an Orvis article on the subject:

"Sidearm fly casting has limited applications because it is inherently inaccurate and difficult to keep the backcast out of the fauna. It will, however, allow you to fly fish in windy situations that would collapse your overhead cast, and it is great for casting a fly under branches overhanging the river. "


Here's the full write up:

Practice Sidearm Casting to Improve Your Casting and Your Fly Fishing.

 

[geebee]

Chaz wrote:
Just about everytime out I use the side arm cast to avoid catching trees instead of casting over hand.

this.

I NEVER ever overhead cast, even for stripers. i watched a demo with Bernard Kreh and he sidecasts pretty much 100%.

from an energy point of view the overhead cast is not as effective at generating line speed as the side arm cast, where you are using your body as a fulcrum to put leverage on the arc of the rod.

without a side cast,how does this plank expect us to reach, pile or tuck cast ?

an example of the blind leading the blind me thinks.

 

[troutbert]

RCFetter wrote:
I'm not experienced enough to comment but I did find an Orvis article on the subject:

"Sidearm fly casting has limited applications because it is inherently inaccurate and difficult to keep the backcast out of the fauna."

Fauna?

Fauna is the animal life of an area. Be careful not to hooking passing deer, bears, etc.

 

[Cornholio]

This guy who degraded the side arm cast clearly hasn't spent much time in Pennsylvania.... He sounds like on of those "By The Book" idiots. For example; the casting that works in Montana doesn't work here and the casting that works here doesn't work in Montana (for the most part). My point is that there are many, many, many schools of Fly-Fishing and they all have their own unique tactics.