“The longer the distance the rod travels on the back and forward casting strokes, the less effort is required to make the cast.”
Lefty Kreh
There is more to casting than a mere turn over of the rod. By enunciating this important principle Lefty was giving —probably inadvertently— due consideration to the capital role of translation in a casting stroke.
I started studying fly casting reading the classics: Mel Krieger, Joan Wulff and Lefty Kreh. I still enjoy to re-reading their books.
More than twenty years after, seeing a quote from me beside one from Lefty is, simply, amazing.
Thanks, Jason.
“I heard one of the pros say:
—Look at Harvey. He holds the club like it is a fine musical instrument.That is how a golf club feels to me: like a fine musical instrument…
… Sam said, “I don’t have any callouses”. Sam said he holds the club as if it is a live bird in his hands, with just enough pressure that the bird can’t fly away but not so tightly that the bird can’t breath.”
The Wisdom of Harvey Penick
Harvey Penick and Bud Shrake
— Don’t get into golf! You will get hooked on it! I know you!
That was what a fishing buddy told me some years ago. I followed his advice.
A good golf swing has a lot of allure; not only that, it has some resemblance to our casting stroke as well.
Continue reading“Because adding bend makes hand paths become less extreme for a straighter tip path, bend also gives us a bio-mechanical advantage. We are able to input more force, more smoothly and control the force vectors more easily the fewer changes we have to make to the direction of our hand path.”
Mark Surtees
When reading about “rod load” think of straight trajectory of the rod tip, instead of bow and arrow.
“New Zealand trout in gin clear waters require a higher degree of casting performance than many are accustomed to, but you can get ahead by starting to practice now. Practice with 12′ leaders casting accurately at dinner plates at 20′, 35′ and 50′, and don’t neglect windy days: wind is a constant here.”
Chris Dore via email
Chris Dore –top class kiwi guide– giving advice on how to prepare for a guided trip to New Zealand. No mention of flies, obviously.
“Yet with any grip, it is possible to hold the rod too tightly. One old saying recommends holding the rod as if holding a bird in the hand, tightly enough to keep it from escaping, but not so tight as to squeeze it.”
Guide to Better Fly Casting
Al Kyte
“No matter what you think ”advanced fly casting” entails, make no mistake: it is from the devilish details that make up the basic stroke that truly masterful fly casting emerges. No fly-fisher can hope to master the fly rod without first mastering the basic stroke. In some ways, no fly-fisher ever really moves beyond the fundamentals.”
Master the Cast
George V. Roberts Jr.
One of the most useful fly casting quotes ever!
Whatever the technique you are using or distance you are fishing at, if things go wrong get back to the basics! Something I have repeated to myself during my practice this morning.
Some fly casting manuals to reread during the off-season. I have got a couple more in digital format.
All of them have, at least, one interesting insight to absorb; a few of them have a lot to distill from. Some are good for you to check your knowledge of fly casting mechanics by filtering the wrong concepts.
Always enjoyable to read them again.
When I started the onemorelastcast.net project four years ago I was well aware of the fact that casting mechanics isn’t precisely the most popular field of interest for fly fishers, even among those few keen on casting.
So, to be honest, checking the statistics page has been a pleasant surprise. 🙂
Thank you all for being there!
Aitor
Time flies. It was 15 years ago when I bought my copy of Jason Borger’s first book, Nature of Fly Casting, at the Denver’s Fly Fishing Retailer Show. I even had the pleasure of getting it signed by Jason himself.
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