The key to becoming a better fly fisher....

[afishinado]

Interesting article from HATCH Mag >

https://www.hatchmag.com/articles/key-becoming-better-fly-angler/7714836

 

[redietz]

I've seen it before.

I pretty much disagree, unless you're talking something like fishing for bonefish on the flats.

I'm a competent, but not great caster, and am hard pressed to think of a single occasion in five decades of FF where casting was the limiting factor in the number of fish caught.

I wonder how many competition anglers, where Euro-nymphing is most often the winning technique, feel that casting is the single most important factor in their success.

(I suppose it might be more important in still water FF, but I don't do that.)

 

[afishinado]

Casting ability is one of the important things that account for success in fly fishing.

I've been in a drift boat or on a stream with guys that couldn't cast well enough to cover fish and/or not being able to have proper line control to get a good drift to fool the risers.

Even when nymphing, accurately casting to the spot and/or executing a tuck cast while maintaining good line control to get a good drift in the zone is more important than anything else.

In small brushy streams being able to execute all kinds of casts in tight quarters is the difference between catching fish and catching trees.

In big rivers, being able to reach out where the fish are holding and controlling your line is often the difference between catching or not catching fish.

Put a beginner and an experienced and proficient caster on the same stream fishing the same flies and in the end the proficient caster is more likely to pick apart the water with accurate casts and good line control resulting in good drifts and more success on the water.

 

[pcray1231]

Eh, it says right up front it's the biggest impediment for beginner and intermediate flyfishers. I kinda agree with that.

And in PA, we're not talking about distance casting really. It's not about who can cast 70 feet and who can only cast 50. Your fishing at 15-30 mostly! But many times on bigger water, especially on dries, it's about pinpoint accuracy and doing it with line in position to get a drag free drift. I can't say how many times on bank risers you gotta put one in the slow water behind a rock and have it float right around the rock point. It's not easy.

And on small water it's about a tight cast up under an overhanging branch.

They did say beginning and intermediate anglers. I'd venture to say that most on this board, who take part in a fly fishing online forum, rank somewhere above that and most of us have sufficient casting ability for PA's waters.

 

[redietz]

pcray1231 wrote:

And in PA, we're not talking about distance casting really. It's not about who can cast 70 feet and who can only cast 50. Your fishing at 15-30 mostly! But many times on bigger water, especially on dries, it's about pinpoint accuracy and doing it with line in position to get a drag free drift. I can't say how many times on bank risers you gotta put one in the slow water behind a rock and have it float right around the rock point. It's not easy.

I don't disagree, and it never hurts to up your casting skill. But once you reach a certain level of competence, which I would define as being "intermediate" it's no longer the "one single thing" that would improve your catch rate. Line control once on the water become just as important, for example.

For me, beyond a certain distance, getting a good hook set is probably is probably the greatest limiting factor when fishing dries upstream.

 

[Swattie87]

There's some truth to that for sure. But it's one piece of the puzzle, not the whole puzzle.

IMO conditions is what matters most. A relative beginner, who can at least kinda sorta cast and control line, in good conditions will out produce a pro fishing in tough conditions. By relative beginner I'd say the level of skill that most folks acquire by the end of their first year attempting FFing. Anyone who's even remotely serious about learning FFing can rather easily acquire this level of skill. So I think knowing and learning what conditions produce the best fishing is the most important thing, if your goal is simply to catch fish. In equal conditions, yeah the guy with more technical skill will catch more fish, but conditions dictate fish caught far more than skill.

I'd argue my best FFing skill is simply knowing what conditions will produce best and where to find the best fishing at any given time. Sometimes this is Brookie fishing, sometimes it's hatch chasing, sometimes it's WW fishing...Sometimes it's chucking lead at the beach on spin gear. I'm willing to fish for what's fishing best under the given conditions.

My technical casting ability, and line control is probably only what most would consider intermediate. I'm pretty good at manufacturing casts on small streams, but on bigger water my shortcomings become more evident...I can generally catch the easy fish, but not the harder ones. Whenever I fish with anyone from PAFF, I generally feel like they are a better caster and presenter than me...If I picked the stream, they generally forgive me for it though.

 

[foxfire]

In no articular order I'd include line control, mending, reading the water, reading the conditions all ahead of casting - relative to Pa streams (assuming an intermediate level of casting is already achieved).

 

[poopdeck]

I don’t worry about anything. I just go fish. If I’m to far away I move the boat or take a couple steps. If a can’t cast in a spot I don’t. If I can I do. Sometimes I catch sometimes I don’t. I don’t stress over fishing or what others think my skill set is. The whole process is to relieve stress which I’m an expert at.

 

[foxfire]

well said poop!

 

[shakey]

The true key to becoming a better angler is spending time on the water.

 

[tomgamber]

WHAT SHAKEY SAID.

 

[rrt]

Afish's post 3 is on target, as is shakey's post 10.

I have never become a good distance caster. When I learned, the advice was to cast as though you had a book tucked under your arm. Thus, I became a wrist caster and have never been able to break myself of that. Doesn't matter most of the time, as I spend most of my time on small creeks. But, there have been times on larger streams that I could have used "five feet more."

Maybe I ought to take some lessons, but at nearly 70 that's pretty unlikely.

Anyhow, I don't know who said this (L. Kreh, maybe): There is no disadvantage in being able to cast well and for distance.

Interesting topic.

Though casting may not be the main key to becoming a better fly-fisherman, good casting for both placement and for distance certainly is helpful for fly-fishing success.

 

[FarmerDave]

pcray1231 wrote:
Eh, it says right up front it's the biggest impediment for beginner and intermediate flyfishers. I kinda agree with that.

And in PA, we're not talking about distance casting really. It's not about who can cast 70 feet and who can only cast 50. Your fishing at 15-30 mostly! But many times on bigger water, especially on dries, it's about pinpoint accuracy and doing it with line in position to get a drag free drift. I can't say how many times on bank risers you gotta put one in the slow water behind a rock and have it float right around the rock point. It's not easy.

And on small water it's about a tight cast up under an overhanging branch.

They did say beginning and intermediate anglers. I'd venture to say that most on this board, who take part in a fly fishing online forum, rank somewhere above that and most of us have sufficient casting ability for PA's waters.

Disclaimer: I didn't read the article and instead got the gist from the first few responses.

I kind of agree with that too, but not entirely. Afterall, it did include beginners, right?

My observation is that for some, the problem is even more basic. Not being able to figure out where the trout might be holding is a bigger impediment.

In other words, it doesn't matter whether an angler can cast to pocket below a rock, or close to a bank if he doesn't know that is where the fish are.

I'm self taught fly guy and learned how to fly fish when I was a kid on farm ponds fishing for bluegills and bass. When doing that, I learned it helps to impart a little bit of action on the fly to attract the fish. So, when I transitioned to using the fly rod on streams, basically did the same thing. I didn't know I was supposed to do drag free drifts. Fortunately nobody told the trout because I still managed to catch fish. ;-)

 

[FarmerDave]

poopdeck wrote:
I don’t worry about anything. I just go fish. If I’m to far away I move the boat or take a couple steps. If a can’t cast in a spot I don’t. If I can I do. Sometimes I catch sometimes I don’t. I don’t stress over fishing or what others think my skill set is. The whole process is to relieve stress which I’m an expert at.

Winner^

 

[Tigereye]

What poop said and keeping an open mind

 

[bradtheflyfisherman]

Exactly what poopdeck said, and also just knowing the water your fishing - which involves what Shakey said, spending time on the water learning about the hatches/bugs, flows, the fish and how they feed, the currents, etc.

 

[pcray1231]

I'd argue my best FFing skill is simply knowing what conditions will produce best and where to find the best fishing at any given time.

Y E S. Being at the right place and the right time is the #1 factor. That takes an avoidance of falling into "routine", and the intestinal fortitude to break out of one if it forms. PPL tend to have "their places" and go back over and over short of "terrible" conditions. But the goal isn't to avoid terrible conditions. It's to find great ones. Don't settle for a predictable "meh" day.

But, that said and agreed with, take a group of friends on the same water, at the same time. Certain individuals tend to outfish others. Consistently. Almost every time. I've been the outfisher and the outfished, depending on present company. But it's relatively consistent.

What's that difference? Casting is part of it. I've caught fish that other guys don't bother casting to because it's in a tight place. Or an inch from shore and they know they won't get the drift. I've tried and spooked fish trying too! lol. I've had buddies casting over fish to no avail, and give up, then you walk in and catch them. I've had that happen to me too. Is it fly choice? Proper weighting? Maybe. But often its casting skill. Drag free drift and all that.

But the real difference between those that outfish and those that are outfished is an attitude, I think. Focus and persistence. When things are slow some settle down into a rhythm of casting endlessly. Others move till they find what they want. Some eyes are glued to that rocky bank for hours looking for a beak to break the surface an inch off shore, and others wouldn't see that rise if they were 5 feet away, just not focused enough. Some are too out of shape, or lazy, to cover water fast on a small stream, so instead throw 6 or 7 casts to a pool you only need 1 on. Others look like they are running while fishing.

The secret to becoming a good fisherman is that drive to always want more and better. The willingness to go find it, and not settle for a status quo of "good enough". This includes pre-game of maps, gauges, and all that. The endurance to do it. The willingness to try stuff that seems difficult or frustrating. The persistence to keep trying it even after initial failures.

The rest... casting skill, knowledge, leader formulas, rig setups, proper weighting, fly patterns, experience on large number and type of streams, etc. For someone with the above attitude, they'll figure it out, and pretty quickly. For someone without the right attitude, they'll find success once in a blue moon and fall into a rut trying to repeat it by doing the same thing over and over.

 

[FarmerDave]

rrt wrote:
Afish's post 3 is on target, as is shakey's post 10.

I have never become a good distance caster. When I learned, the advice was to cast as though you had a book tucked under your arm. Thus, I became a wrist caster and have never been able to break myself of that. ...

Rich, I have the opposite problem. I suspect that I use too much arm and body when casting, and I am not a little guy. I have actually broken multiple bamboo rods by trying to get a few more feet out of a cast. Fortunately these were inexpensive production rods that I rebuilt myself.

Was Lefty the guy demonstrating long casts at the jam in 2018? That was impressive, not just the distance, but the accuracy. A couple others were doing this too, but I think Lefty was doing it with someone else's bamboo rod (Shakey's?). You know what they say, memory is the second thing to go.

When I try those distances with a bamboo rod, I usually end up walking back to the truck for a backup rod.

I alway have backups.

A few people have asked me if I wanted to try their rod. I usually refuse, but only because I fear I might break it. Or if I do, I only do short casts. Next time, offer me a beer instead.;-)

 

[pcray1231]

Nymphing test: This is to determine attitude/personality, it applies to people, not tactics, so these people will be good with dries, streamers, on big streams and small...

But, if you see someone nymphing. And they are just constantly changing something. Put an indy on, take it off. Add, remove, or move weight around. Try a tuck cast, then the next cast lay one out. Working different seams with each cast, or changing angles on the current seam. They appear restless.

That's a good fisherman. They threw a cast and weren't satisfied. So they changed something.

 

[moon1284]

So for the people saying line control and mending are more important than casting do you really think there is anyone that can cast 100' but cant mend 15 feet of fly line while nymphing?

This is similar to people saying being able to cast far isnt important it's all about accuracy and presentation. Again how many guys are there that can throw 100' but cant throw a presentation cast or hit a dinner plate at 40'? The answer is 0.

I agree with the conditions things but that's really about fishing in general rather than fly fishing.

Fly fishing starts with casting.