Cast Like a Pro Basic Fly Casting Tips, Tricks &

Techniques©

by Doug MacNair

Here is a truth—regardless of how

much you learn, or what level of

expertise you attain, all fly fishers

experience good, bad, and mediocre

days fly casting. It is a phenomenon fly

fishers share with golfers. The

difference is few fly fishers admit it

while golfers do … The point to be

made is this—the bad cast is usually

the result of an error somewhere in the

basic mechanics of the fly cast. Return

to the fundamentals, find the error, and

fix it.

1 Getting Started

The Grip. Not surprisingly, gripping

the fly rod is about like gripping a golf

club. Most skilled casters place the

thumb of the rod hand on top of the rod

with the index finger immediately

below the thumb under the grip. The

remaining fingers simply grasp the rod,

securing it in the palm of the hand. The

thumb and index finger control the rod;

the remaining fingers are relegated to a

supporting role. Don't bother listening

to arguments favoring other styles of

the grip such as putting the index

finger on top. They are wrong!

The Wrist. Little doubt that you use

the wrist in making the cast. But having

said this, be warned that the movement

of the wrist must be tightly controlled.

To illustrate what the wrist does and

when it does it, do this: take a pencil

and hold it in the rod hand as if it was

the slender grip of a fly rod. Point the

forearm and wrist away from the body

in a straight line. The top line of the

forearm is at the same height as the

thumb, forming a straight line with the

wrist. I call this the wrist's DE-COCKED

position.

Now, without moving the forearm, flex

the wrist raising the pencil about 10°.

The thumb is now angled slightly above

the line of the forearm. This is called

the wrist's COCKED position. Now,

hinge and move the wrist between the

de-cocked & cocked positions, and hold

this thought—the movement between

the two positions must be tightly

controlled. There can be no sloppy

flapping side-to-side, flopping up and

down, or any other wiggle of the wrist!

Failure to heed this warning will result

in a poor cast!

Flickstop. To begin educating your

wrist, I want you to learn a new

word—FLICKSTOP! Think FLICKSTOP

when "flicking" between the de-cocked

and cocked position. FLICKSTOP is a

controlled "flick" of the wrist followed

by the immediate and abrupt halt to all

movement. The two movements, the

flick and the stop constitute the power

stroke of the fly cast. To understand the

dynamics of the "flick & stop," think

about these examples of other flicks

most of us are familiar with:

The flick of the wrist when

aunching a Frisbee.

The flick of the wrist when

popping a towel.

The flick of the wrist when

tossing a dart.

The ability to associate with one or

more of these examples of flicking the

wrist, helps in understanding two very

important points:

(1) how little distance the "flick"

physically travels, and

(2) the micro-second in time it takes

for the "flick" to cover that distance.

The "flick" is short and very, very

quick!

One last point of amplification—with

fly rod in hand, flick the wrist

between the cocked and de-cocked

positions. Watch the rod's tip. Note

that it takes very little wrist action in

the "flick" to move the rod tip

several feet. If the "flick" of the wrist

moves the tip three feet or more,

that is too much. Try again.

The Stance. The proper stance

for fly casting is relaxed and open.

Face the target at an angle—about

45°—with the open side favoring the

rod hand and arm. If you are right

handed, this means the right side is

angled to the rear with the left foot

advanced, loosely in line with the

target. For those of you who cast

with your left hand, as I do, reverse

the setup as in the photo: right foot

advanced and parallel to the target

line, left foot to the rear and angled

about 45° to the side.

The stance, like the grip, has a

relationship to golf, especially in the

hips and legs—so be certain the

knees are bent slightly and the hips

swivel on command. A stiff position

that prevents the body from being

freely in motion will ruin any chance

of making the cast. Being well

balanced is important. The feet

should be a comfortable distance

apart enabling a weight shift as the

rhythm of the cast demands.

Here is a very important point: a

long cast requires the use of the

entire body, to include shifting

weight and turning, just as striking a

long iron on the golf course or

driving a baseball into deep left field.

Short casts, on the other hand,

require little more than the motion

of the hand and forearm. In other

words, the longer the cast, the more

the body comes into play to help

make the cast. For now however,

that distance is short. Begin all casts

with the rod tip low, close to, or

barely touching, the water. This

means low! If your tip is pointing

toward 8, 9 or 10 o'clock, you are

wrong! Learn now to PUT THE ROD

TIP DOWN!

My 6-Step Casting Drill.

I teach casting a bit differently from

others. I think it is very important for

you to feel the rhythm of the cast, the

flex of the rod, and see the impact of

your arm and hand on the rod's actions

as quickly as possible. The drill I've

developed has helped others learn "the

knack" of seeing and feeling the fly cast

almost immediately.

Step 1 With rod assembled, strip

out about 15 to 20 feet of line

from the rod tip. Then grip the

rod, just as you would in

preparing to cast. Trap the fly line

running between the reel and

stripper guide by placing it

beneath the second or third finger

of the rod hand. This freezes the

line allowing focused attention on

the DRILL. For now, the other

hand plays no role.

Step 2 Position the rod to the front

or side, elbow close to the body,

with the rod hand turned palm up

so that the fingers can be seen,

but not the thumbnail. The tip of

the rod should be angled upward

slightly to about eye level. Being

relaxed and comfortable is

important.

Step 3 Now, put the rod into motion

using the forearm to move it

swiftly back and forth from left to

right. Use enough speed to

aerialize the line so that it

smoothly follows the rod's

motions. Concentrate! Watch the

rod tip! Use peripheral vision to

observe the fly line. As the rod

moves from side to side, observe

how the rod tip bends, and then

straightens when stopped.

Forcing the tip to bend is called

"loading the rod." Loading the rod

gathers and stores the energy that

will be released when the rod's

motion is abruptly stopped. The

tip springs forward releasing the

stored energy, in turn, launching

the line. This process is otherwise

known as making the cast.

Step 4 Now, add to the slower

rhythmic movement of the arm by

"flicking" the wrist between the

de-cocked and cocked positions at

the end of each back and forth

movement. Focus on the rod tip

and remember—FLICKSTOP! By

"flicking" the rod tip, the

aerodynamics of the line will

change. The FLICK will cause a

bigger deflection in the tip and

the STOP will instantly release the

tip's energy. It is the tip of the rod

that casts the line. If you develop a

rhythm to the movement of your

forearm complimenting

FLICKSTOP, the line that probably

had been traveling in a sweeping

oval, will now take on the

appearance of the fly cast—the

line will form a loop—a tight

oval—as it flies back and forth.

Should you lose your timing or

rhythm, stop and begin again.

Step 5 As your confidence grows,

gradually extend the amount of

line in the air. You will, of course,

need to adjust your timing and

rhythm as the rod is paused to

allow the line to unroll at the end

of each stroke. Keep the line in the

air. Begin each back and forth

motion at the moment the line

begins to straighten. Remember—

watch the rod's tip throughout the

drill.

Step 6 Practice the DRILL until it

becomes second nature. Why? For

three reasons: First, the DRILL is

a "miniature" fly cast. To complete

the cast, merely FLICKSTOP the

rod and, as the line unrolls and

settles to the ground, follow-

through by dropping the rod tip

toward the ground. Second, by

extending the amount of line in

the air, the distance of the cast is

being increased. Third, the

sidearm casting motion taught by

the CASTING DRILL becomes a

necessity when mastering

advanced casting techniques.

More on this later.

By practicing and mastering the

CASTING DRILL, effective and

efficient fly casting is not far away. It

is, after all, timing and rhythm that

make the fly cast. Once the "feeling"

of the fly cast becomes etched in

your mind, the other fine points of

the fundamentals are easy to add

beginning with the stance.

Quick Summary. Thus far I've

covered the grip, the wrist, the casting

drill, and the stance and made other

general observations regarding the

cast. This FIGURE illustrates several of

these points. Don't forget, I'll be

demonstrating with my left hand. If you

cast with the right hand, simply reverse

the procedures. First, the rod tip is

down—that's always the starting point

for making the cast. Next, note the

stance. It's relaxed. The feet are placed

comfortably apart for balance, and my

weight has already shifted forward as I

prepare to make the cast. Also note that

my hands are close together. The hands

should never become widely separated

during the cast.

2 The Backcast

Emphasizing the critical importance

of controlling wrist movement, this

is how the wrist plays out during the

cast: with the rod tip down almost

touching the surface, and with the

line straight ahead from the tip, take

up the proper stance. Now, turn the

wrist to the open position—this

means turned, out or away from the

body, about 45°, thumb out. It is the

same position used in the DRILL.

Now, begin the backcast by lifting

the line and, at the same time,

sweeping the rod up and to the rear.

The sweeping action should travel

along an ever-increasing sidearm

arc. The open stance allows you to

look to the rear and to pivot almost

90 degrees in the direction of the

backcast to watch what is

happening. Do it! Look to the rear.

Watch the backcast! Apply power

progressively. This means begin

slowly, but steadily, accelerating the

speed of the cast. Be sure as you

make the backcast your upper body

pivots to the left (left-handed) or to

the right (right-handed). If the line

were straight at the beginning of the

cast, the fly moved immediately as

you began the backcast. (I suggest a

piece of yarn in practice.)

Watch the tip of your rod. As the

sweep to the rear increases, you can

see the rod tip is loading (bending).

The arm and body are using the rod

as a long lever to drive the line up

and to the rear. Neither the elbow of

the rod arm nor the rod hand pass

above the level of the shoulder,

except at the very end of a long

backcast. Stop the backcast at about

1 o'clock. Just how the backcast is

stopped is critical to the success of

the cast. The time of maximum

acceleration—maximum power—

occurs at the very end of the

backcast. How? It's done by

"flicking" the wrist from the DE-

COCKED to the COCKED position—

and immediately locking the wrist

and stopping the rod abruptly.

FLICKSTOP! Once cocked and locked,

the wrist remains in this position

until the very end of the forward

cast. Locking the wrist into a firm

position is extremely important. Do

not fail to heed this point!

Once the backcast has been stopped,

allow the casting arm to extend, or

drift to the rear, without power

applied. This is a very important

point: The "drift" will help you

prevent a tailing loop as well as

extending the arc through which the

rod passes. The greater the arc the

better it helps the cast.

In this FIGURE, I have completed a

very long backcast; in fact, as this

image was captured and sketched, I

am in the act of "shooting" line to the

rear. There are several things you

should note in viewing this sketch.

Since I am making a long backcast,

my entire body comes into play

during the cast. You can see my

weight has shifted to the rear and is

on my left foot. My stance is

open. My body has pivoted in the

direction of the cast. Because it is a

long backcast, I have fully allowed

my casting arm to drift to the rear,

and, as you can see my rod hand is

turned palm up—I can see my

fingernails but not the thumbnail.

When practicing the backcast, if the

thumbnail is visible, try again.

Seeing the thumbnail at the end of

the backcast is a sure way to know

your technique is wrong. Among the

most important points to be noted in

this sketch is the fact that I am

looking back at the cast. The result

of not watching the backcast is

usually a faulty cast. In effect, it

becomes a blind cast. Considering

the ramifications of wind, casting

blind is stupid.

One other point—on a long backcast,

where the entire casting arm should

be allowed to drift to the rear after

the stop, stab up as you execute

FLICKSTOP. This simple act, slightly

stabbing up with your rod hand, will

help prevent the wrist from "going

over the top," or cocking 45° or

more. This is what I've done as

evidenced by the short piece of

visible fly line just off the rod tip: it's

going up and out. Stop the cast with

a stab up and out and the line will go

up and out. The line always goes

where the rod tip stops. Do not let

your wrist go over the top!

3 The Forward Cast

At the end of the backcast the line

should be up and rolling out as the loop

straightens—now is the time to begin

the forward cast. That's exactly what I

am doing in this photo. Importantly, the

wrist is still locked in the cocked

position. Begin the forward stroke body

just before the line fully straightens by

pulling your elbow back to the side of

your body. Important: the elbow leads

the rod in the forward cast until power

is applied (FLICKSTOP) at the end of

the cast. Sweep the cast forward on a

more vertical plain than the sidearm

arc used during the backcast. In sum,

the path of the back and forward casts

inscribe an oval when viewed from

either above or the front.

You can see that I've begun to retract

my arm and that my elbow is still

leading the cast. Already my rod hand

is turning to the vertical position, the

overhead plane the forward cast will

follow. Note, too, my weight has shifted

to a balance point between the left and

right foot as I begin to put my entire

body into making the forward cast. It is

quite evident that my rod and line

hands remain in relatively close

contact. Like a very good artisan at

work on the putting green who keeps

the head down on the putt, I am still

watching to the rear.

In the foregoing photo, I have started

forward following an overhead or

vertical plane driving the rod and line

forward. The moment of greatest

acceleration will be at the very end of

the forward cast. You can see my hands

are still close together, and my arm is

retracted from the extended position.

At this point in the cast, my forearm is

almost vertical. The wrist remains

locked in the cocked position. My

weight is shifting forward. Importantly,

I am still watching my line, just as you

should do. As I continue the cast and

begin my acceleration, the rod begins

to load.

In this photo, I have driven the rod

forward along a near vertical plane. My

hand has turned from the open to

vertical position. Turning my hand is

important because my thumb, on top of

the rod grip, is critical to giving me

absolute control in applying power.

Remember this: to maximize your cast,

inscribe an oval pattern in the air. Take

the rod back along the high sidearm

path and drive it forward using the

near vertical or overhead thrust. This

image was taken at the very moment I

am doing FLICKSTOP—flicking the

wrist back from the cocked to the de-

cocked position—and "shooting" the

line forward.

I am now nearing the end of the casting

sequence. My weight is shifted well

forward and having completed

FLICKSTOP, my wrist is returned to the

de-cocked position, as the fly line

shoots forward. My rod arm is now

fully extended, as I follow-through, and

the line loop is well forward and out of

view. Note the straight line of my rod

arm and hand in the final position.

Again, note my hands remain in close

proximity, one to the other. Why do I

still have line in my line hand if I am

"shooting" it forward? The answer is

that the line is passing through an "O"

ring I've formed with the thumb and

index finger. This allows me to

maintain line control at all times. It is a

desirable habit all fly fishers should

imitate without conscious thought.

Keep this firmly in mind—there is no

reason for the rod hand to ever rise

above the line of the eye at any time,

except to follow-through (or drift) at

the end of a very long backcast. Stop, if

you find yourself reaching up. This

error usually results when the caster

decides to "help" the rod achieve a little

more distance. It is a silly error that

everyone makes, especially when they

begin to tire. Instead, try to accelerate

and apply power smoothly as in the

backcast. Do this gradually and

increasingly until the moment of

maximum power at the end of the

cast—the very fast "flick" as in

FLICKSTOP. How do you apply

maximum power in such a short

distance? It's easy—it's done by

"flicking" the wrist back to the original

de-cocked position, locking it and

stopping the rod immediately, as in the

backcast. Depending on the intent of

the cast, wind, and other physical

factors, stop the rod at about 11 to 10

o'clock. Remember this—if you stop

the rod between these points, the rod

tip will continue to spring forward

(deflect) until all of the stored energy is

released. As soon as the fly line's loop

passes the rod tip, however, you can

follow-through dropping the rod tip to

the water without affecting the flight of

the line. The objective is to be ready to

fish as the line settles to the water.

I have reached the end of the cast or, if

you prefer, the start point for the next

cast. The rod has been dropped so that

the tip of the rod almost touches the

water. I am ready to fish. My balance is

restored and I've assumed my normal

relaxed stance after making the cast.

4 Practice

To Learn the Fly Cast, Follow this Set-

Up Routine. Since you will be learning

new body movement, Rote memory is a

great way to fix in your mind what you

should be doing. Unfortunately, I won't

be with you when you practice the art

of the fly cast; YOU, however, ARE

FULLY CAPABLE OF SELF-CRITIQUE,

PROVIDED YOU CARRY THIS BOOKLET

OUTSIDE WHEN YOU PRACTICE.

Remember: no practice, no

competency. When checking yourself

out, follow these steps:

1. With the rod safely lying on the grass,

strip off about 20 ft. of line and lay it

out straight in front of you.

2. With the rod at your feet, assume an

open position to the target line that

allows you to easily pivot in the

direction will make the backcast. Do

not place your feet too far apart. The

position should be totally

comfortable.

3. Pick-up the rod at the reel seat and

take up the grip, but in doing this,

DO NOT RAISE THE ROD TIP. Leave

the rod tip in contact with the grass.

If you lift the tip, you no longer have

direct contact with the fly; instead

you have slack—the kiss of death to

the fly cast.

4. The grip has been previously

discussed. Be sure that your thumb

is on top of the cork grip with your

index finger beneath the grip. Your

wrist is in the DE-COCKED position.

5. Turn the rod hand about 45 degrees

from vertical so that you can see the

finger tips of your fingers, but only

the side of the thumb, not the

thumbnail.

6. With elbow close to your body, begin

the backcast slowly and, at the same

time, pivot your upper body in the

direction of the cast using your hips

and legs.

7. Accelerate the cast with increasing

speed until your rod hand reaches a

point about 90 degrees from where

you began the backcast. At this

point, execute FLICKSTOP.

Remember: THE QUICKER THE

FLICK AND THE STOP THE TIGHTER

THE LOOP AND THE GREATER THE

LINE SPEED. This is the power

stroke of the fly cast.

8. If you have done this properly, you

will see the line going up and out

and the loop of the fly line as it

unrolls. You will also see the edge of

you thumb—but not the fingernail!

9. If there is no LOOP, STOP! Do not go

further because it is a waste of time.

Start over and follow the guidance

STEP-BY-STEP.

10. If there is a LOOP, go forward …

11. Just before the line fully unrolls on

at the end of the backcast, begin the

forward cast movement, SLOWLY. (A

failure to follow this guidance leads

to a "wind-knot", better described as

a casting failure.)

12. As you move the rod into the

forward cast, be sure the casting

elbow leads the rod until the final

moments of the cast. Watch the cast!

13. As you make the forward cast, begin

pivoting your body back to its

original position.

14. With the elbow leading the rod and

returning to the side of the body, the

speed of the forward cast is

increased. It ends when you unload

the rod with a FLICKSTOP at about

11 o'clock, but be sure to follow-

through dropping the rod tip until it

is once again returned to the fishing

position—close to the water.

15. Simple? Yes! But the obligation is

yours—keep this booklet close at

hand. Read it over and over again

until you have memorized what's

been said. Practice the techniques,

stopping when you foul-up and

beginning again at the point where

you made a mistake.

Remember: The Munchkins told

Dorothy: "The best place to begin is

always at the beginning." Simply

follow the Yellow Brick Road. If you

do, know this: you will master the

cast.What went right? If all went

well, your cast formed a beautiful

loop in the fly line that unrolled

perfectly. It is tribute to your grip,

stance, low rod tip, attention to

watching the backcast and, most of

all, executing FLICKSTOP.

What went wrong? Sometimes it

doesn't go right. Instead of a perfect

loop, the end result is a non-loop. A

non-loop looks a little like this

depiction. Non-loops are typically

caused by one or more of errors: (1)

passing the rod through too long an

arc; (2) dropping the rod tip too low

at the end of both the back and

forward casts because of a limp

wrist; (3) not driving the rod with

sufficient speed to cause it to bend

or load. Correct these errors by

narrowing the arc, controlling the

wrist and stopping the rod

immediately after the final

acceleration.

There is also the problem of the

Tailing Loop. To some degree, it

stays with all fly-rodders throughout

their casting life. If you do not think

it a problem, be advised—it is! The

first time those little teeny-tiny

knots show up in the end of the

tippet, know that you, too, have been

bitten by the evil tailing loop bug.

Most folks call them "Wind Knots."

They are, of course, anything but

that. The truth is the first time the

rod is "jerked" forward into making

the forward cast, that jerky start will

leave the mark of the tailing loop.

Jerking the rod unevenly applies

power at the wrong time forcing the

rod tip to sharply dip. The dip

results in the rod tip following a

concave line during the cast. Where

the rod tip goes, the line will follow.

The tailing loop is always lurking,

waiting to tell a fly caster the sad

truth: "You did bad!" Over the years,

the average fly fisher repeats this

error many times. The lesson is

obvious—do not jerk the rod

forward when beginning the forward

cast.

A tailing loop can also result if the

backcast and forward cast travel

along the same plane. Avoid this

circumstance by following this

guidance—backcast using a high

sidearm stroke but do not allow the

forward cast to follow the same line;

instead follow a slightly different

track that's a bit more vertical. In

other words, allow the strokes of the

back and the forward casts to follow

a slightly oval. With experience and

practice, modifying the casting

stroke will become natural

depending on the specifics of the

cast desired.

From experience, I know that if you

will follow these guidelines, you will

become a fly caster in very short

order. Please know that advanced

casting techniques have deliberately

not been mentioned. And for a good

reason … Mastery of the basics is a

prerequisite to what follows …

Happiness!