Fly Casting Basics and Where to Start
Fly casting has to be one of the funnest things to watch someone do. And once you have all of your essential fly fishing gear together, learning the fly casting basics is your next step. Previously we discussed what fly fishing is and the differences in spin fishing and fly fishing but here is a brief review.
In spin casting, the weight of the lure pulls the line off the reel. In fly casting, the weight of the line carries the fly to the fish. In fly casting, you must learn to use the fly rod to cast the weight of the fly line. You can do that quickly by following five basic principles of good fly casting:
- The fly line (and fly) goes in the direction you point the fly rod tip during the cast.
- Good fly casting is not strength-related; it is timing-related. You need to practice the timing of the cast to become a good caster. How much practice? At least 15 minutes a day to become a good fly caster in a month.
- Proper stroking and stopping of the fly rod are fundamental to good fly casting. The caster loads energy into the fly rod during the casting stroke. The fly rod releases the energy into the fly line in the cast. The fly caster loads a little energy (a short, low-energy stroke) into the top of the fly rod for short casts; he loads a lot of energy (a short, powerful stroke) into the middle and bottom of the fly rod for a long cast.
- Casting arcs (the arc the rod makes in the air during the cast) in fly fishing are small for short casts and large for long casts.
- Stopping the fly rod after the casting stroke is critical to forming the casting loop, and it allows the fly rod to unload, thereby casting the line.
TakeMeFishing.org has some other essential tips and tricks to help you get started with the fly casting basics. The key is practice. You always hear that practice makes perfect and that is no more evident than in fly casting. Spending even 15 minutes a day a few times a week can drastically improve your experience learning to fly cast and getting out on the water and catching that first fish on a fly.
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