Flycasting Skills: for beginner and expert

by John Symonds, Philip Maher

Overview

Master all the casts you will ever need from this clear, comprehensive and international, modern manual.

- Step-by-step diagrams and instructions will take you through the stages of each cast
- Learn to correct common casting mistakes
- Choose the right cast for the right conditions
- Overcome challenges:
strong winds
eddying currents
overhanging trees
restrictions on the bank behind you
casting round rocks
- Includes international casts: from the traditional Scottish Spey cast, to the Skagit cast, the Galway, the Belgian wind cast and the Scandinavian shooting head techniques.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781906122492
Publisher:	Merlin Unwin Books
Publication date:	03/07/2013
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	645,283
Product dimensions:	7.76(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

John Symonds became a certified casting instructor and guide and has successfully qualified to Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructors (APGAI) single- and double-handed levels, and is an International Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) Two-Handed Casting Instructor (THCI). Using his graphic and photographic skills, John has been able to convey on paper — in a clear, accessible style — the current methods used for teaching students how to cast.

Philip Maher grew up in Ireland, where he mastered the art of dry fly fishing for wild brown trout on slow-moving water, where presentation and accuracy are essential. He won the first of many Munster Juvenile River Championships at the age of 8, going on to win All-Ireland Senior at the age of 20. He was Captain of the Irish Team in the 1996 World Championships in the Czech Republic, finishing top Irish rod. He's an FFF Master and an APGAI instructor.

Read an Excerpt

Tips for the Double-handed Spey cast
- Instead of looking at where the upstream loop is formed, pay attention to where the line-tip lands to ensure that it pulls round to 180 degrees opposite the forward cast.
- At the start of the cast it is best to keep the fly-line as far away as possible, out in the river, because this will help to create greater rod loading, whilst sweeping round to the key position.
- Keep the rod tip close to the water's surface at the end of the upstream anchor formation - even touch the water with the rod tip if necessary.
- Peel the fly-line off the water, slowly at first, the rod tip moving up a low, inclined path. Accelerate as the D-loop forms.
- Allow a pause for the D-loop to fully form
and look at it out of the corner of the eye
to make sure that it has done so.

Table of Contents

Foreword Gordy Hill vii

How to use this book ix

Symbols used in diagrams x

Introduction 1

1 Before You Start

Holding the single-handed fly rod 2

Casting terms 4

Useful casting rules 5

2 The Casts

The Key Position - Single-handed fly rod 6

The Key Position - Double-handed fly rod 7

Acceleration to a stop - Single-handed fly rod 8

Acceleration to a stop - Double-handed fly rod 9

Single-handed lift 10

Double-handed lift 11

Pause and drift 12

Overhead cast 13

Overhead forward cast (double-handed) 14

Overhead back cast (double-handed) 15

Overhead forward cast (single-handed) 16

Overhead back cast (single-handed) 17

Static roll cast (single-handed) 18

Static roll cast (double-handed) - setup 20

Static roll cast (double-handed) - forward cast 21

Spey casting 22

Spey casting reference lines 23

Jump roll cast (double-handed) 24

Jump roll cast (single-handed) 26

Anchors 28

The D-loop and V-loop 31

Single Spey cast (double-handed) 32

Single Spey cast (single-handed) 34

Snap-T cast (double-handed) 36

Snap-T cast (single-handed) 38

Double Spey cast (double-handed) 40

Double Spey cast (single-handed) 42

Snake roll cast (single-handed) 44

Snake roll cast (double-handed) 46

Hauling 48

Other change-of-direction casts 50

Tension cast, Star cast, Barnegat Bay cast 50

Galway cast 51

Drag-free casts 52

Reach mend and Curve casts 54

Belgian cast 56

Skagit cast 57

Wombat cast 58

Underhand cast 60

3 Fly-Lines and Casting

Shooting Line 62

Line Management 63

Retrieving 63

4 The Physics of Flycasting

Fly rod characteristics 64

Casting mechanics 66

Fly-lines 69

Fly-line characteristics 72

Planes 73

Side casting 76

Loops 77

Leaps 79

Glossary of casting terms 81

Index 83

Editorial Reviews

"...invaluable information on fly rod and fly line characteristics, casting terms, casting mechanics and line management." — Gordy Hill, Florida, USA, FFF Master Certified Instructor and FFF Board Governor

"...essential reading." — Alberto Laidlaw, Chairman, Game Angling Instructors' Association

From the Publisher