Fly Fishing Casting - Overhead casting
The art of fly fishing casting may look extremely difficult to the beginner angler, but with a bit of practice it is not that difficult to become a good fly caster. You can have the ideal fly fishing equipment and the perfect fly fishing fly, but unless you know how to cast property, you are wasting your time. You need to be good enough at fly fishing casting to be able to land your fly at a specific target location on the water's surface. This guide explains about the fundamental fly fishing casting skills required by the beginner fisherman.
It is recommended that the beginner learn fly fishing casting from a fishing instructor, but there are plenty of books, DVDs, and online guides that teach fly fishing casting. The two main fly fishing casting techniques used today are the overhead cast, and the roll cast, and all other fly fishing casting techniques are variations of these two techniques. The beginner will start with the basic dry fly fishing method where a floating line is used which floats on top of the water. Beginner anglers will find it far easier to see the fly line when casting if the dry fly fishing method is used. It is also easier to detect a strike on the line. Also, using a bulky fly fishing vest can impede your casting stroke, and beginners are advised to use a smaller fly fishing chest pack or lumbar pack – there are a wide range of Fishpond pack models to choose from for the beginner angler.
When practicing fly fishing casting it is important to ensure you practice in a location with enough clear space, such as a open field. You need to have 45 feet of open space in front and behind you if you are practicing 45 foot casts, and for this distance also ensure that you have 20 feet of space on either side of you. To be safe, it is a good idea to wear a hat and glasses/protective goggles. Ensure you use a yarn fly on your fly fishing line, which is a fly with no hook. It's recommended to place targets (at specific distances) out in front of you, and you must attempt to hit these targets in your fly casting drills.
Overhead Cast
This is the most commonly used fly fishing casting technique, and most beginners should start using this technique. This technique has two sequences, the back cast, then the forward cast. With the back cast, you are lifting the fly line off the water in front of you, and up over your head until the fly line is behind you. Before the fly line touches the ground behind you, initiate the forward cast sequence. Bring the fly line back over the top of your head for the forward cast – the fly should land as near as possible to the target you were aiming for when you initiated the cast.
Roll Cast
The roll cast is used when you have obstructions behind you, such as bushes or trees, that prevent you from doing the back cast using the overhead casting technique. This technique is also useful in strong winds where you don’t want to lift the line too high into the air. To do a roll cast, slowly lift the rod up vertically to the one o’clock position just past your ear, and this effectively slides the line back on the water’s surface without lifting the line off the water. From this position, you do a firm forward cast to complete the roll cast.
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