["Pomp and Circumstance"]
In our first tape, Basic Fly Casting,
you discovered that to become a top-notch fly fisherman,
you must learn to control the cast.
And the key to controlling the cast is educating your wrist.
Now, fly fishing instructor and author, Doug Swisher,
will show you how to apply the techniques
you learned in basic fly casting
so that you can make the transition
from being just a caster to a real fly fisherman.
Hi, I'm Doug Swisher.
In this tape, I'll quickly review
what you learned in basic fly casting,
the straight-line concept, loop control,
the basic stroke, and beginning stream cast.
Then I'll build upon these basics
and go on to the more advanced techniques
for fishing the clock.
This is what I mean by fishing the clock.
Picture yourself in a large pool
with a heavy hatch going on.
Fish are feeding in every direction.
If you move around, you'll spook the fish,
so you must be able to cast effectively at every angle.
An hour o'clock, 12 o'clock is straight upstream,
and 6 o'clock is straight downstream.
So that you can fish the clock effectively,
I'll first teach you how to improve
the basic straight-line and slack-line cast
you've already learned.
Then we'll get into the real exciting stuff,
the real nitty-gritty casting techniques
that will turn you into a super fly fisherman.
I'll teach you what I think
are the two most important casts of all,
the reach cast and the curve cast.
And then I'll show you how to get incredibly long floats
by combining the two.
I'll show you the roll cast, roll pickup,
and the line manipulation techniques
of stripping, mending, and feeding.
And then I'll teach you how to piggyback
these individual techniques together
in various combinations
so that you can effectively fish
from any position on the stream.
I'll also show you how to do specialty casts
and how to really increase your distance
with a double haul.
If you haven't seen our first tape
on basic fly casting,
but feel you're ready for this one,
that's fine, come on and join me.
If you're confused or feel you're not quite ready,
I recommend you go back and study it first.
Now, I'll quickly review some of the highlights
of basic fly casting.
Doug Swisher will be casting
right-handed in this tape.
Left-handed casters should adapt
by learning the concepts
and then applying the techniques to their situation.
In basic casting, you learn to be a line watcher.
If you can recognize your mistakes,
you can make corrections.
The yarn rod is a great visual aid
and an excellent training tool.
The most important casting basic
is the straight line concept.
By now, you've learned to make your rod tip travel
in a straight line
so that the energy of the cast
flows straight to the target.
The microsecond wrist is a physical skill
you must develop.
The loop is the path of the fly line
as it rolls out on the front cast
and the back cast.
The loop has three basic characteristics,
size, shape, direction.
You must learn to control these characteristics.
The loop is controlled by the basic casting stroke.
This is the basic physical movement
for all casts,
so be sure you master it before you go any farther.
Learn to blend the relatively slow movement of the arm
with a microsecond snap of the wrist.
I then taught you how to apply the basic casting stroke
and loop control
to learn your first presentation cast,
the straight line cast.
Learn it well
because it's the basic building block
of all the other casts.
To get more distance with less effort,
I taught you how to shoot line.
Then I taught you the control system,
which allows you to control the line on the water
after the cast is made.
Finally, I taught you the second presentation cast,
the basic slack line cast,
which gives you the ability to get drag-free floats
across currents of varying speed.
You should be able to make these two basic presentation casts
one after another,
like this.
Throw a straight line whenever you want it
and throw a slack line whenever you want it.
Now, if you can't do this,
go back to the first tape and practice
until it becomes second nature.
Now let's put it all together.
I'm going to show you how to refine and piggyback
various techniques so that you can fish the clock
or every position on the stream.
As you learn more of these techniques
and how to combine them piggyback style,
you'll continually increase your ability
to get longer drag-free floats.
The straight line cast is used for most wet fly situations
and for fishing dry flies straight upstream
or at 12 o'clock.
At this point, your ability to throw a nice straight line cast
is probably a little lacking.
If you remember in the first tape,
I told you the key was aiming the castle over the water.
Well, that aim is really critical.
You don't want to aim it higher than the horizon
or it's going to fall back in your face.
It'll never lay down straight.
And if you aim it a little bit too low,
you're probably going to stub it.
So there's an angle just over the water
that you've really got to work on
to make that cast lay out nice and straight.
So work with that angle. It's very critical.
The second thing that I want to tell you
that will improve your straight line cast
is don't change your technique between the false cast
and the delivery cast.
Most anglers make the mistake of false casting too high,
and then on the final delivery cast,
they change their technique by dropping the rod tip
out of a straight line.
Remember, we want the flow of energy
straight to the target and straight back.
So get the technique going, even on your false cast,
and all you've got to do is let it go.
The next point is after the loop forms
and the line starts rolling to the target,
then you drop your rod tip.
It's kind of like the follow through of a baseball pitcher.
That puts your rod down in the proper fishing position
and lets the fly land softly,
so you have delicate presentation.
And the final tip is the energy of the cast.
If you throw too hard for the amount of line,
it'll hit the end and bounce back.
And of course, if you throw too easy, you'll kill it.
And maybe one more little tip.
Let the line slide through your hand just a little bit
right at the last second,
and that will help that line stay out there straight.
Let me do that one more time.
This time I'll hang out of the line. There you go.
Nice and straight. That softens the cast.
Now, when you practice, practice it two ways.
Without shooting line, like that,
and then practice shooting.
Also, same thing backhanded.
You should be able to deliver straight line cast
from the back side without shooting,
and then add the shoot.
So just to quickly review, aim is critical.
Aim at below the horizon.
Keep your technique proper. Don't false cast high.
Get the energy right in a little shoot,
and you should have a nice cast
that'll roll right out to that old brown trout.
Work on your straight line cast.
Now, let's see the straight line cast in slow motion.
Aim low, keep your loop tight,
and follow through with a rod tip.
Use this cast to fish dry flies upstream
and most wet flies at any angle.
Stripping line is a method of removing slack
that allows you to fish it tighter,
more controlled system.
As a fly fisherman,
one of the biggest problems you'll encounter
is slack line.
Now, by slack line, I mean loose, crooked line
laying all over the river.
It's a real problem.
Here's what I'm talking about.
If you make a cast upstream,
and you don't put the line over your finger
to collect the slack,
and I see a lot of fishermen doing this,
look what happened under the rod tip.
All of this loose line is forming.
You can't set a hook.
It's very difficult to set a hook.
Remember back in our basics,
you need a straight line to cast.
So if you'll simply put the line over the finger,
it can be two fingers, the middle finger,
most people use the index,
put the line over the finger,
and collect that slack line
as it forms under your rod tip,
then you're in a position to set a hook,
make a good cast,
and you're under control.
So learn to strip,
take the line in at the speed of the current.
Now, there are two other forms of stripping.
One is used for streamers,
and the other one is simply
pulling line off your reel.
But for what we're talking about now,
it's when you fish straight upstream with dry flies,
you want to be able to put that line over the finger,
strip it in at the speed of the current,
keep your system nice and neat and tidy,
and you'll be under control.
And that's the name of the game,
keeping yourself always under control
when you're fishing.
And that's the name of the game,
keeping yourself always under control
when you're in the river.
By combining the straight line cast with stripping,
you have an effective method
of fishing dry flies upstream,
basically the upstream quadrant,
or from 1030 to 130 on the clock.
With this technique and all the others that follow,
you will automatically apply the control system.
Line over the finger,
lower the rod,
and follow the drifting line.
Mending is repositioning line on the water
after the cast is made.
It can be used to add slack
for longer drag-free floats,
or to add tension for movement of the fly.
The key to repositioning line
after the cast is made is in the wrist.
It's very similar to your basic casting stroke.
Let me show you what I mean.
If I want to throw the line up to the right,
I use a little bit of arm,
but the final power
is that quick little movement of the wrist.
Just learn to snap that wrist right and left
and throw the line wherever you want it.
You should be able to do it forehanded
and backhanded.
You should really work in your mending,
because as you get into more and more dry fly fishing,
after that cast is made,
you want to reposition the line,
put it in a different position
so you get a nice, long, drag-free float.
Work on that quick wrist for mending.
By combining the straight line cast
with mending and stripping,
you get longer floats
and can fish from your body position upstream
or from nine to three on the clot.
Each of these casts and techniques
I'm going to show you
will build and piggyback in one another.
Once you've mastered them,
you'll have the ability to choose the right combination
to get the longest natural drift possible.
You'll be able to measure your success
in yards of drag-free float.
And that's the name of the game.
The longer your fly floats drag-free,
the greater your probability of catching a trout.
Now that you know how to zip your line out on the water
as straight as an arrow
and strip and mend,
let me show you how to improve your slack line cast.
The slack line cast is used to fish
across currents of varying speeds.
It allows your fly to float drag-free
for a longer period of time
than a straight line cast.
The principle behind this cast
is to use more line than is necessary
to reach the target
and control wrinkles or serpentines.
As the wrinkles are straightened by the currents,
your fly drifts in a natural manner.
The advanced slack line cast
will give you the ability
to handle those difficult situations,
those days when it's windy,
those places where you want to tuck it underneath
some overhanging obstruction
under a tag-auler under a tree.
Also, it'll allow you to fish
every angle of the clock.
In the basic slack line cast,
you'll learn to throw a wide loop high
and simply lower the rod
and let the line puddle to the target.
You threw high,
you lowered the rod.
That's fine on a windless day
when you don't have a tough place to throw into,
but when that wind's blowing
and you've got to tuck it near the bank,
you have to go in with a lower loop
and here's the way you get your slack.
You bring your line hand into play
and you throw the cast,
you pull back, lower the rod,
follow the drifting line.
To learn this,
practice pulling with your left hand
on a few high casts,
gradually lower the cast
and tighten the loop,
and pretty soon you're buzzing it
right over the water.
If your timing's good and you pull back,
you'll get nice slack serpentines
down the stream and you'll get a great float.
So work on your advanced slack line cast
and the key to that
is that quick pull
with the left wrist.
But you get that down and you can handle
any difficult situation.
Now there's one more slack line cast
I'd like to show you.
It's called the stutter cast.
I use it for fishing across these tricky currents,
especially heavy tongues of current
that are coming off ruffles like this.
What I do is as I shoot the line
across the river, I wiggle my wrist
in the horizontal movement only.
Not in at any angle, totally horizontal.
While you're shooting the cast,
wiggle the wrist
and it'll throw nice serpentines
all the way across the river.
Great cast for covering
the far bank.
Now let me show you the cast
in slow motion.
While I'm coming forward,
as soon as I start the power stroke,
I start wiggling the wrist side to side
and watch the wrinkles
shoot across the currents to the far bank.
Now let's go to the practice field
for a minute.
Okay, here's a great exercise
to improve your ability
to throw slack line.
Here's the way it works.
Put a target out in front of you at about 20 feet
and lay your line straight into it.
What you're going to do is reach back,
add a couple of feet of line
to your system,
make a false cast,
come back and try to hit the target.
Next cast, add a couple of more feet,
come back and try to hit the target.
Keep adding more and more line
and it becomes progressively harder
to hit the target,
but you'll learn how to throw nice slack line.
Great exercise
for improving your ability
to throw slack line.
Now let's look at the slack line cast
in slow motion.
Cast,
pull back,
and lower the rod.
Use this cast to get natural floats
at any angle of the clock.
Combining the slack line cast
with mending will give you
even longer drag-free floats.
You could stop here in your search
for natural floats,
many anglers do,
but stay with me for our next cast.
It's the most important presentation cast
of all.
The slack line cast
is an excellent presentation cast,
but it has limitations.
It has very limited control and accuracy.
Also, slack is rather chancy.
It's very difficult
to precisely control the sinways
in the cast.
There's usually a critical area
where two currents meet.
It's almost impossible to control
the exact configuration of the line
that curves over this area.
If the leader falls this way,
you get dragged immediately.
Now I'm going to show you a cast
that will blow your socks off.
As far as I'm concerned,
this is, without question,
the deadliest weapon in my arsenal.
It can be used in more difficult
situations than any other cast.
It's called the reach cast.
The reach cast
not only gives more control,
but also gives less drag
and more control, but also gives
longer, more predictable floats.
Being a straight line cast,
it can be cast with authority
even in windy situations.
The reach cast
can replace the slack line cast
in most situations
and will give you even longer
downstream drifts.
It's a lot more effective than mending
and it allows you to fish the entire
clock, every angle on the stream.
Before I show you the cast,
let me show you the rationale behind it.
To learn it, start with a vertical loop,
make that loop very wide
with a slow wrist,
and have an extreme forward tilt.
You want a vertical loop
because you don't want to kick the fly
right or left during the cast.
You want a slow wrist or a wide loop
because you need time to change
direction during the cast.
And you need to tilt yourself forward
so you can get the fly in the water quicker.
Here's the way it looks.
Cast vertically with a wide loop.
That means a slow wrist.
Tilt forward.
Now, we're going to change
directions with a cast.
90 degrees with even power.
Now, we'll take it off in the
other direction.
Even power.
You just sort of paint the line
and you keep the thumb on top of the cork
all the way through the cast.
Don't twist your wrist.
Now, here's the way it looks
in a fishing situation.
I'll throw over here toward the bank.
We've got some bushes
with a slow current, and if I lay it in
with an extreme reach,
I'm in very dead water with the fly
and I get a much longer float
than if I'd used slack line.
I'll take it in even a little further.
It just gives you a greater angle
on that fish.
Okay, now that I've shown you the basics
of the cast, let me give you a couple of tips
on how to really improve your reach cast.
Number one, when you practice,
continually learn to press the cast
more and more down into the water.
Press it.
Then on a windy day,
when you have to put it under obstructions,
you've got the ability to put it
where you want it.
Press that cast through the whole stroke.
Another learning aid,
if you're still having trouble,
is throw the line
off to the side of where you really want it
to end up and then drag it
into the right position.
You're doing two things,
making a straight line cast
and then dragging the fly
into position.
Now, start combining
those two movements so that you're
dragging the fly in the air
and pretty soon you'll start
dragging quick enough
to put the fly where you want it.
Eventually, you'll learn to throw
this cast with a tight loop
so you can stay low and put it
under anything.
Learn to drill it right in there.
The final tip
is to practice both forehanded
and backhanded, and with
shooting and without shooting.
In other words, take a set amount of line
and lay it down and then learn
to shoot it.
Also, work
on the other side so you can deliver
the reach cast from any position
on the string.
Believe me, the time spent on working
on your reach cast will pay big dividends.
It's the most important presentation cast
of all.
Here are the reach casts in slow motion.
Throw a wide loop and use even
power as you change direction 90
degrees. Reach casts
give you longer natural floats
with greater control.
The ability to throw
both right and left reach casts
will allow you to triple your drag-free
floats. With this dynamite
cast, it takes much longer
for the line to tighten and drag
your fly.
By combining the reach cast with
a slackline cast and mending,
you'll get even longer floats.
This method is deadly for
fishing open water where
there are no overhanging obstructions.
Feeding is a method of increasing
the amount of line, which allows you to
greatly increase the distance your fly can
drift downstream without drag
setting in. It's critical
to good downstream dry fly
presentation.
Earlier I taught you
stripping, which is a critical
technique to good upstream dry fly
presentation. When you throw
the dry fly upstream,
obviously the current's coming toward you
so slack collects under your rod tip.
You have to be able to take it in.
So I taught you how to put the line over your finger
and take in the slack.
Now it's just as important
to fish dry flies downstream
so you have to have a method of making that
fly float naturally. So you have to
learn to feed the line out.
You make the cast. This is your
basic fishing position.
Release the line here and
replace it with that and you form a loop.
You pop the rod
and the line goes out. Put in another
loop, pop the rod
and it goes out. This is what I call feeding
and it's critical
to good dry fly
technique downstream.
Here's the way it looks
at proper speed. You make the cast,
you have the line over the finger.
Now you start feeding in your little loops,
pop the rod, you do it smoothly.
A lot of little ones
are better than a few big ones.
Be careful not to make the fly drag.
Keep that system loose
but neat and tidy and you can run that
fly down a mile and get a good
drag-free float.
Work on your feeding technique. It's very
critical to dry fly presentation.
By combining the reach cast
with feeding,
you now have a method of getting incredibly
long drag-free floats
and can effectively fish the downstream
portions of the clock
from three to nine.
Now I'm going to show you a cast that'll
put your fly even farther downstream
from your line and leader system than the reach
cast. It's called the curve cast.
Curve casts
will give you even longer drag-free floats
and they are the preferred casts
for many tough situations.
They're also the most difficult to learn.
Okay, now I'd like to show you
how to curve cast.
We'll start with a positive curve.
For the right-handed caster, that's the curve
that swings around to your left.
We call it a positive curve because
it's thrown with a tight, dynamic,
positive loop. It gives you
a lot of control even in windy situations.
Here's the setup
for that positive curve. You're going to
cast a tight loop flat out
parallel to the water,
keep it good and tight with a
microsecond rest, and at the last
second you're going to stop the rod
and the line will kick around. Now here's what
it looks like. A nice tight
loop, drive a straight line
with your rod tip, make sure your loops are lined
up. Now, stop
the rod and the line will kick
around. Let's do that again.
Get your loops going nice and tight,
stop the rod dead,
and it'll kick around nicely.
The mistake you might make when you try
it is not stopping
at the right point. If you go past
the stopping point, it won't
curve. So the key is not
to change your technique between false cast
and delivery cast.
Another little trick
that'll really help you to get a lot of kick
in your curve is to bring the left hand into play.
Watch my left hand on
this curve. At the last
second, I give it a little pull
and it really snaps around.
So work on your positive curve.
It's a really important cast. It'll
help you in some very, very difficult
situations. Now
let's review the positive curve in slow
motion. Cast in a flat
sidearm plane with a tight loop
and stop the rod quickly.
With this cast, you get longer
floats, and it's especially deadly
when fishing the nine o'clock position.
Combining the curve cast with feeding
gives an even longer
float.
Okay, now I'm going to show you the negative
curve. This may be the most
difficult presentation cast of all.
You'll have a great
deal of trouble throwing it in the wind
and to make it precisely accurate.
But you ought to practice it anyway.
It's a super exercise for learning
loop control.
Let me show you what I mean. Remember on
the positive curve, we threw a really
tight loop and let the line
kick around like this.
For the negative curve, we're going to throw
a wide, lazy loop and do everything
we can to kill it
before it straightens.
That's the concept. Now, here's
some of the rules that apply.
Number one, throw a wide, lazy loop
sidearm. Make sure
your front cast and back cast
are lined up by a little more than a
straight line. Elevate your
back cast and when you come
forward, you tend to stub it
and it's almost impossible to get it to straighten
out. Wide loop,
elevate the back cast, come way
back, sweep it forward
and you get a nice, wide, lazy loop.
Super exercise for honing
your loop control. It'll improve your
fishing and it'll really help your casting.
Here's
a cast that will really rack up the extra
feet of float. It's called the reach
curve.
By adding the reach to both curves, you'll
find you'll get even longer, drag-free
floats. These are the ultimate
presentation casts and are
used for super difficult situations,
usually where there's a maximum
velocity differential between two
currents.
By adding feeding to the
reach curve, you get the longest
floats of all in the most difficult
places.
Now, let's review the four really important
casts that are the cornerstones
of our clock system.
Straight line,
slack line,
reach,
and curve.
And don't forget the techniques that we add
to them to get increased control and float.
Stripping,
feeding,
and mending.
Now, let's try some of these techniques
on the trout.
Okay,
we'll try the old 10-30 position
here. A little slack line,
you have to pull back with the left hand,
throw high, pull back,
the rod tip down,
keep that system neat and tidy,
and you'll get a nice,
nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice,
nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice,
keep that system neat and tidy,
go with the flow,
okay, oh,
getting a good float, but it's about to drag.
Let's try that guy again.
Okay, this time we'll put a little bit of a
right reach on him,
give us a little better angle,
keep that system tight,
and if you do get a strike, just lift the arm.
Okay, now we're going below,
we've got to do
the feeding routine.
There's a nice, soft, subtle take.
Oh, yeah, it's a rainbow.
Boy, did he take that soft and nice.
Put that little fly in.
Okay, all right.
Nice fish, nice fish.
Trying to get back to headquarters there.
All right, and get his head up.
Oh, I love that kind of a take,
just soft and
just the way he's just taking that natural ahead of it.
Oh, pretty red strike.
Okay, now he's going to wake up.
Pretty heavy fish.
Ooh, back to the middle.
Okay, head up, head up, head up.
Come on.
Now, when you do get these fish
close to hand,
fingers on your left hand spread out
and get under the belly as possible.
He's not ready yet, he's a little hot.
Okay.
Oh, he wants to go back.
Take a deep dive.
Strong fish.
Okay, now we got him on our screen a little bit.
Okay.
All right, get him above you
just a little bit.
You need to take the pressure off of him.
That's a better position.
There we go.
All right, right in the tip of the jaw.
I love it.
There we go.
Not bad.
Right, there we go.
The roll cast
allows you to make a front cast
when you don't have room for a back cast.
The roll cast is especially useful
when you're fishing in tight situations like this
where you don't have much room
to throw the line behind you.
So let me show you how to throw a good roll cast.
There's three important points to remember
when you make a roll cast.
The first is to draw your rod up
slightly behind your head
and can it away from your body a few degrees.
The second is to wait
till the loop drops behind your shoulder
so that you have enough slack to make the roll.
The third thing is
to apply the basic casting stroke.
A little bit of arm
and a quick wrist.
Now, here's the way it looks.
Draw the rod up just behind your head.
Have it tended a little bit away from your body.
Wait till the line drops
behind the shoulder
and apply the basic stroke
which is arm, wrist.
You should be able to do it from both sides.
Forehanded and backhanded.
Slide the line towards you.
Hit it with a quick wrist.
Arm, wrist.
Most people
throw a roll cast
with too much arm.
I see more fishermen doing this.
They take the arm and slam the rod down
and there's no power
in the cast.
The rod doesn't load up.
Believe me, it's in the quick wrist like that.
Let me show you what it looks like
fishing right here in this run.
Okay, there's one problem with a roll cast
and it has to do with change of direction.
In other words, I was just fishing up here to the right
and the current was coming down to my left.
If I made a roll cast
and it comes down a ways and I want to go back to the right
I don't dare pick it up on the right side
of my body or I'll tangle.
So I have to learn to pick it up from the other side.
Let me show you what I mean.
If I'm up to the right
and I try to make this roll back up further to the right
see, I'll tangle up.
I can't survive that. Now, let's put it back
where it was.
So to make that pick up, bring it to your left shoulder
draw your thumb up
and drive it back out.
If the current was reversed
you'd bring it to your right shoulder
and go this way. So you want to learn to do the cast
backhanded
and forehanded.
And that'll keep you from getting tangled
in these flowing situations where you've got
the current going right to left or left to right.
The roll pick up
not only gives you a quick method of changing
direction but also allows
easy pick ups in difficult fast
water situations.
Now I'd like to show you the roll pick up.
It gives you a great
method for changing directions in a stream.
Let me show you how to do it.
After you've made a cast
you want to pick the line up
just start out with your
roll procedure. Pick your rod up
let the loop form, drive it in the air
but this time don't let it go
back to the water. Keep it aerialized
do your false cast
and put it back down.
Now if I'm fishing from right to left
across these currents you want to pick up
on the left side of your body
change in mid air
and go back to the target.
If you pick up on the right side
then you can go down to the left. So you want to learn to do
this forehanded and backhanded.
The roll pick up is
also a great technique for fishing
dry flies straight upstream
especially in fast water.
Let me show you what I mean.
If I make a cast up here
straight upstream
and assuming I'm in very fast water
I'm going to very quickly get a lot of slack
into my rod tip. If I can't
strip fast enough all I do is use my roll
pick up. Pick up the rod, slam it out
back to target.
Even with a fly well out in front of me
anytime I want to pick it up
I just slide the line towards me
use a quick wrist to snap it out
and go back to the target.
An excellent technique for
fishing dry flies straight upstream
in fast water.
Another reason for knowing how to do a good
roll cast
are those occasions when you hang your fly up
in some obstruction like that log over here.
You use the same technique
except
on a regular roll cast
you can slide the fly towards you.
Obviously when it's hung up you can't do that
so to get the slack you need
you have to induce it. You have to feed it
into the system to form
the roll. You need to roll it out backwards.
So let's see if we can roll that fly out.
I'll get the extra line I need so I can form
the roll. Then I'll apply the basic
stroke
and it comes right off.
So anyway that's a good little trick to know
it'll save you time in the stream
also save a bundle of flies for you too.
Let's review the roll cast
and roll pickup.
Lift the rod
wait for the loop to form
and apply the basic stroke.
Use the
roll cast where there's no room to make a back cast.
Use the roll
pickup for changing direction
especially in cross stream situations
and also
for fishing flies straight upstream
in fast water.
So far I've shown you all of
the individual skills that are necessary
to fish every position on the clock.
Now I'll demonstrate.
I'll have to use every technique
we've learned so far to fish this
clock effectively because my
relationship to the currents
will change each time I change position.
I'm going to cast to the 8 most important positions
on the clock.
Starting with a straight upstream position
or 12 o'clock and rotate
clockwise all the
way around and
back to 12 o'clock.
At each position I'll show you
the best combination of techniques
to get drag free floats.
The key to fishing the 12 o'clock
or upstream position is just basically
straight line casting.
The low profile cast, you roll it right out
over the water, immediately put the line
over the finger and take
in the slack as it collects.
Stay low
do a good job of stripping to keep that
system neat and tidy
you're in good condition.
Another tip, if you've got a big fish feeding
up here above you, especially in shallow
clear water, don't lay
that cast right over his back
use your reach cast
to lay the line out to the side
so you don't spook him.
Another tip is if you're
fishing extremely fast water
straight upstream, you're going to have a lot
of slack build up very quickly.
So use your roll
pick up to get the line out
and then get right back up there
with your straight line cast
and use your stripping.
Now let's go to the 130 position
or the quartering
upstream position.
There are three basic casts
you can use to fish this angle of the clock
one of course is straight line
dip it right out there, put the line over the finger
use your control system
drop the rod, follow the
drifting line, you get a nice little float.
If you want to increase that float
even more, go to your slack
line cast, remember throw it high
drop the rod
you get a nice series of
serpentines out there and while they're straightening
you get an even longer float
but probably for the best float of all
at this position will be
your reach cast where you reach to the left
lay the line way upstream
put the line
over your finger, lower the rod
follow the drifting line, take in
any slack, keep that system nice
and neat and you get a
much, much longer float.
For any of these casts
when they start to drag
you can use your mending
system, use your quick wrist, throw a little
line upstream, just
remember your fly is going to move a little bit
it'll come towards you but that's okay
it'll increase your
float.
But probably the best cast, the best
combination here would be the reach cast
to the left followed by the control
system.
Now let's go to the 3 o'clock position.
This is a great
position for me to demonstrate the
importance of
putting the line over your finger, lowering
the rod and following the drifting line.
What we call the control system.
If I throw a straight line cast
across these currents and I don't use
the control system, if I hold the rod
stationary like this
look how quickly the fly drags.
Same cast
a fairly straight line cast
to the same spot but I lower the rod
I have the line over the finger
and I'm going with the flow
I get a nice float.
So the control
system is very important to all of these
casts, remember to use it.
The straight line wouldn't be the
best cast here, it's possible if you
use the control system but a better one might be
the slack line.
Throw high, drop the rod
use your control system.
If you need even a longer float
throw higher, drop quicker
and you get more serpentines
out there and while they're straightening
you get a nice float.
But probably the very best combination
of all to get the best float
at the 3 o'clock position
is the reach to your left
followed by the
control system.
I'd say that's the very best combination
for the 3 o'clock
position. Now let's
go to the 430 position.
Up to this point we've been basically fishing
dry flies upstream
and the problem there is to collect
the slack as they come down to you.
Well now we're going to encounter a different
problem, we're going to fish downstream
and we have to give with a punch so to speak.
You have to learn to apply your feeding.
If I make a straight line cast
downstream and I don't feed line out
I get drag almost immediately.
Now you can improve that somewhat
with slack line.
Throw high, drop the
rod, use your control system
and you get a pretty good float
but if you add the feeding
to that system, look what happens.
Slack line,
control system, now start feeding,
feeding,
pop that rod tip vertical
with your quick wrist and you get a
much longer float. You have to combine
the feeding with your casting techniques
when you fish downstream.
Now the slack and feeding is an excellent
technique but reach cast
and feeding is probably
even better. You just get
a better angle on that fish, you've got more
line upstream.
If you're fishing open water
you can add the slack line
to the reach cast
like this. You throw high,
you get your angle, you pull back
and you have
the reach upstream plus a bunch of
curlicues. Now you feed on top
of all of that
and you get an incredibly long
drag free float.
When you have to maintain accuracy
in tough situations though,
the very best combination
is the reach cast
coupled with feeding.
That's the best
one of all to the 430
position.
Now we'll go to the
6 o'clock position.
This straight downstream position is where
you really need to throw a lot of slack line.
If you throw that cast straight at all
it'll immediately tighten up on your fly
and it'll drag right now.
So you have to induce a lot of slack.
So you aim high
with a wide loop, you drop the rod
and then you follow that up by bouncing
the rod tip with your feeding motion.
Now I'll show you one of my favorite
techniques for getting slack in a downstream
situation.
I throw an exceptionally high loop
during the cast I'm going to extend my hands
and then pull them back to my hips.
That leaves the rod tip pointed
right down the target and you get good accuracy.
Now you add
the feeding system
and you get an incredibly long flow.
Now one more point,
if you have a fish feeding down below you
and you don't want to line him,
then combine your slack line
with a bit of a reach
to keep the line
from going over his head.
Then add your feed system
to run that fly downstream and you won't
spook the fish. So basically
for this downstream fishing you want to throw
what I call maximum slack line
and combine that with feeding.
Now let's go to the
730 position.
This is another one of those downstream positions
where mending and feeding are the keys.
Especially the feeding.
Now you can add
the feeding to any of these casts.
You can add it to your slack line
cast where you throw the loop high, drop
the rod, then you bounce the rod
tip. If you want to do a little mending
you just stroke the line up to the right.
In this situation
get a longer flow.
You can add your feeding to the reach cast.
You remember you start to the target,
you drift the rod off 90 degrees
to the side, then immediately
add your feed,
bounce the rod, put the line
over the index finger,
feed it out smoothly,
don't move the fly.
Now you can actually combine the
slack line with the reach cast
like this.
Aim your reach cast high as you're changing
directions. Pull back with the left hand
and you get a ton of slack.
Then you add the feeding
and that system will go downstream
with a nice long flow.
Maybe the best technique
to add with your cast is the curve.
You can just use a curve
without a reach and do the feeding
or probably for the ultimate
drift of all,
you can add the reach to the curve
like this
and then bounce that
old rod and
run that line around the next bend in the river
if you've got enough of it.
That would probably be my favorite combination
for getting a long
drag free float at the 730 position.
Now let's go to the
9 o'clock position.
This is a position
where you're fishing directly across the current
straight to the bank.
If you use a straight line cast
like this and add your control
system, you get a little
bit of drag free float but it doesn't take
too long before the line tightens
and drags the fly.
So try adding your slack line
like this and it'll
give you a better float because it takes time
for the wrinkles to all straighten out.
But still you'll notice that orange
line is trying to get down
there ahead of that fly and drag it. There it
goes right now. So why not do
a cast where you lay the line upstream
and it'll take longer
for the line to pass the fly.
And that's what of course I call the reach cast.
Put the
line upstream, lower
the rod, apply your control system
and the float goes much
further.
Even a longer float
can be obtained by using
the curve cast.
Cast side arm with a nice tight loop,
stop the rod dead and the fly will bounce
around. It's well down ahead of the line.
And that'll give you an even
longer float than the reach.
But I think the ultimate combination
is combining the reach
and the curve.
Cast side arm with a tight loop
during the cast, reach your arm
way out to the side
and it hooks way around
and you can run that way down the river
before drag will set in.
You've got the leader well above the fish
so you're not going to line him.
It's just a great presentation
angle.
Now we'll go to the 10-30 position.
This is again where we quarter upstream.
Let me show you some of the combinations
that'll give you a good drag free float
in this position.
Number one, just throw a little bit of slack,
use a control system.
Remember now we're fishing upstream again
so we have to strip in the slack as it
accumulates. I'm going to show you
a conventional pick up.
I'm going to throw more slack by aiming higher,
dropping the rod quicker.
This time when I make the pick up
I'm going to use the
roll pick up and you should practice
this dynamite tool for changing
directions and drying off your fly.
Another slack line
cast.
This time I'll pick it up right away with a roll pick
up, slam it out.
This time I'll go in with a reach cast,
put the line further upstream,
line over the finger, apply
the control system,
take in the slack, keep that system neat and
tidy.
Conventional pick up this time with another reach.
Pick it up even quicker.
Now we'll go in with my favorite combo
of all. That's where I hook the fly
to the left and then apply
stripping in the control
system like that. Now I've got a nice
big bow upstream, the fly's over there
by the bank. I keep that
system really straight
and I'm in a great position
for a strike or a pick up.
Now we're
back up to twelve o'clock.
Why don't you practice fishing the clock?
It's not easy, but learning
these techniques will pay big dividends
on the stream.
Dividends like this.
There's a spot.
Whoa, yeah, yeah.
Feels so good. Whoa, the jumper.
Come on, baby. Hey!
Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump. Okay.
I guess I better get some slack in here.
Better get some slack.
Love those jumps.
Love those jumps. And the red stripe.
Hang tight, hang tight. Whoop, whoop, whoop. Right you go.
Jump again.
Do it again, do it again, do it again.
Oh.
Yeah.
Love it. Love it.
Come on now.
Up.
Up, up, up, up.
Cloudy day
rainbows.
A little rain and a black line there.
Up, down.
Come on now. Come on now.
Come around here.
Come on now. That's it.
Get tired. You're gonna get loose.
You're gonna get loose.
Well, it's a respectable rainbow. Very good.
Get you next year and you'll be an old granddaddy.
Very nice.
Now you have the basic skills to fish
drag-free floats at every angle.
But in order to handle situations
that are impossible to all but the best
casters, you'll have to learn some
specialty casts.
These casts, like all the others,
are based on loop control.
You must learn the various wind casts
so you can control your loop and put your
fly where you want it, even when the
wind blows from the worst possible angle.
Okay, now I'd like to show you the
wind casts. Like all of the other
casts, your knowledge of loop control
will help you learn these casts.
Now, let me take the four different
directions the wind can come. Front,
back, right, and left.
First of all, if the wind comes towards you,
make your front cast low
and tight under the horizon
and make your back cast wide and high.
Low and tight,
wide and high. You've got to aim under the wind
to get the line to straighten.
If the wind comes from behind you,
then you reverse it. Your back cast is
going to be low and tight, your front cast
wide.
Low and tight, wide. Low and
tight, wide. Let the wind work for you.
You can throw a wide loop on your delivery.
Now, when the wind comes from
either side, let me show you what happens.
I'm casting right-handed
now. If the wind comes in on the left side,
not a big problem.
It's just windage. Just allow for it.
If the wind comes in on the right side,
let me show you four different casts
that will help you depending on the strength of the wind.
For a light breeze,
just stay low and tight
and make sure your loops are lined up
in a straight line and you can make a good cast.
Stay under the wind.
If you try to fight it by throwing
into it, you'll throw a tailing loop
like that and your fly
will tangle and you'll never throw a straight
line out front. So, stay low
and tight, straight loops.
Now, when the wind
gets a little stronger, try this
cast. Make your back cast
on the right side, but make your
delivery cast on the left side. It may look
difficult, but just learn to circle your head
with a rod. Come all the way around
in the back cast and then drive it straight ahead
on the front cast.
Don't go half way and then have to come the other
half. You can't drive a straight line.
On the back cast, go all the way around
and then you can drive it straight and true.
If the wind gets stronger
yet and you can't even survive the
back cast on your right side,
put your casting system over on
the left side and that's where your
backhanded casting will pay a million
dividends. Very easy to cast that way
with a little practice.
You have to make an exceptionally long cast.
Just turn around,
get your false cast going,
and let it fly
and the back cast
becomes your delivery cast.
So, your weapon against the wind
is basically the tight loop.
Okay, to review
the wind cast, if the wind
is coming into your face,
you aim a tight loop low to fight
the wind. If the wind comes from behind
you, you reverse it and make your
little back loop low and tight.
If the wind's coming from your
line hand side, it's just a matter of
windage, you make a normal cast.
If the wind's coming in on your casting
side, if it's a light breeze,
throw low and tight, side arm,
stay under the wind. If the wind
gets stronger, circle
your head, bring it all the way around
and drive it straight.
If the wind's stronger yet,
go to your backhanded casting
and in an extremely strong wind,
turn around
and use your shooting to the rear
exercise to deliver
the cast. Get your false cast
going, let her go.
The
steeple cast is a cast that will allow you
to throw your back cast over obstructions
without tangling or fouling
your loops.
To make the steeple cast, you must
aim your back loop up at a high angle.
When you couple that
with the straight direction of your front
cast, you have a relationship that's
less than 180 degrees.
And if you remember from our loop control
exercise, this is going to throw the
closing or the tailing loop.
So you want to be sure when you come forward
on this cast, you don't throw a
tight loop like I'm doing now
or the fly might come down and
stick in your arm.
So, just to show you the motions
of the cast, you make the back
cast, raising the hand
as high as you can go, and at the
peak of your lift, snap
your wrist quickly to throw a tight loop
high to the rear. But reverse that
when you come forward, throw a very
wide, slow, lazy loop
up front so it can't tangle.
Tight to the rear, wide
to the front.
Here's the way it looks on the water.
High, low.
Tight loop to the rear,
wide one to the front. Lift that arm
as high as you can, drop it back down
to the water. To learn it properly,
turn your head and make sure the
back loop is tight and the front one is
wide. Quick wrist there,
wide loop there.
Stop that thumb straight up.
To get the distance you need in this cast,
don't put the line in the
air, learn to shoot it.
As it's coming forward, get a
nice little shoot, coil
the line in your hand, raise a rod,
drop it down,
and you get a shoot. This cast,
the steeple cast, is another shining
example of how loop control
can help you solve a stream
presentation cast.
Let's review the steeple cast.
Keep your back cast as high
as possible, throw a
wide loop forward and shoot as much
line as you can.
With the change of direction cast,
you can present a fly where there's
no room to make a back cast.
In this situation where I'm backed up
against the bank, I don't
have room to make a back cast
to present a dry fly out
here in the middle of the river. So what I
have to do is use the change of direction cast.
Now here's how it works.
First of all, I have to false cast
perpendicular to my
line of front cast. In other words,
parallel to the bank.
To deliver the final cast,
I'm going to take my arm
and go way out, raise it, and drive
the rod tip to the target.
The key to this cast
is knowing that the line goes
where the rod tip goes. So on that
last false cast,
use your arm for a long period
of time. Go way out, raise it, and then
drive it to the target, and you come right
around the corner to present
the fly. As with the
steeple cast, the key to getting distance
is the shoot. Don't put
too much line in the air. Get
your distance by making a
shoot at the last second to go right
out to the target.
Great cast to know for changing direction
when you're standing up against a bank
like this.
Here's the change of direction cast in slow
motion. False cast parallel
to the bank and drive your
wrist to the target.
Use this cast to deliver your
fly when there's no room for a back
cast.
The double haul gives you more
distance with less effort
and is based on the principle that increased line
speed increases the
amount of energy.
Now I'm going to show you how to double haul.
I've stepped up here in the grass because
this is really the best place to learn how to do it.
First of all, I'll give you a demonstration
of what double hauling does for you.
It really increases the speed of your line.
Without hauling, leaving my
left hand off the line,
there's the normal speed of my casting stroke.
When I add the left hand,
add that little pull,
I think you can see that the speed just
about doubles. And that's what makes the
line go out. So I want to
show you the motions to go through to learn
hauling. Let me do it without the
rod. It's a lot easier to learn
just by simulating.
With your casting hand, you're going
to do the basic stroke, which is
pull, snap,
push, snap.
With your line hand,
just touch it to your casting hand
and go through the basic stroke.
When you snap the wrist to make the back cast,
break the wrist with your left hand
to make the line speed up.
If you've done it properly,
the line will jump to the rear and pull your
hand back up and you have contact
with your knuckles again. To do the front
cast, come forward,
break your wrist, let
them catch up. They're apart,
together, apart, together.
Practice that for 15 minutes
just with your hands
and that'll really be a shortcut to learning
the double haul. Now, let's do
it with the real rod and line.
We start out
doing it in a slow pace here.
Notice how I pull
at the second I break
the wrist with the casting hand.
Right there, right there. And then I have
to catch up. If you're still having
trouble with it, lay it out on the
grass and do half strokes.
We'll do the single haul to
the rear, bring your hand
back, apart, together.
Now, think about the one
to the front. Come forward, apart,
together. By letting them lay
out there, you have time to think about what
you're going to do. Apart,
together, apart,
together. Now, bring it up. When you get
onto it, you get the speed right,
get that little pull with the left hand,
you'll build up your line speed
and then that's the way you're
going to let it go. Right now we're just
false casting and this next one we're going to
pull it hard and let it shoot out.
So, work on your double haul.
It'll tighten your loop,
load your rod, let you get out
there for more distance. It'll really help
your fishing.
Let's look at the double haul
in slow motion.
Snap both wrists at the same time.
Apart, together,
apart, together,
apart, together, apart, together
and pull quickly with the
line hand and let her go.
Use the double haul to get matching distance
with minimum effort.
The squiggle cast is used to get a
drag-free float on the far side
of a strong tongue of current.
Okay, now let me teach you
how to learn the squiggle cast.
The key to the squiggle
is in the wrist.
Like most of your other movements in casting,
it's in the quick wrist, only we're only
going to move it in the horizontal
direction, not in the vertical.
We're not going to move our arm at all.
Now here's the way you learn to do squiggles.
Make a straight line cast
downstream. As soon as
the cast hits the water, wiggle your rod
tip out to the right and bring it back.
That puts a mend under your rod tip.
Let's do that again.
Straight line cast,
wiggle your rod and bring it back.
You've got to squiggle up near your rod tip.
If you want to run it down further,
you've got to squiggle quicker
before the line hits the water.
So if you want to put it about halfway down
on the right side,
throw, squiggle, stop.
We ran it down about two more feet.
If you want to run it down near the end,
you squiggle even quicker.
We've got it almost on the end
going to the right.
If you want one halfway down on the left,
wiggle your wrist the other way
and you've got it halfway down on the left.
The point is, this exercise
teaches you how to use your wrist
to paint any configuration out there
in the water you need. And you add
this technique to your curve cast
technique and you can really
fish these tricky currents.
Work on your squiggle. It's all in the wrist.
Use the squiggle cast
to cast across
tongues of current.
Slack line cast up there.
Oh, there we go. We've got one.
We've got one.
Okay.
Oh, jumping brown trout. Whoa.
He's full of fire, but he's not very big.
Oh, there we go.
He's full of fire, but he's not very big.
Oh, guys, come on.
Get up here.
Boy, he sucked that little
Adam's up to to hit the water.
Oh,
pretty fish.
Nice spots on that brownie.
Gee, my knee.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, I got her out. Okay.
All right, little guy. Go back and
throw up and we'll nail you next year.
In this tape,
I taught you how to refine basic
straight line and slack line casts.
And then I showed you the other important
presentation casts,
including the reach, the curve,
and the reach curve.
You also learned the
roll cast, roll pickup,
and the line manipulation
techniques of stripping, feeding,
and mending.
Then I showed you how to piggyback
these individual techniques
so you can stand in one spot
and fish any position in the stream.
I also taught you the all-important
specialty casts.
Steeple, wind,
squiggle, and change of direction.
Plus,
how to double haul for greater distance.
Once you've mastered each of these
presentation casts and techniques,
you'll be able to fish the clock effectively
in all of your favorite waters.
You'll have transformed from a caster
to a real fly fisherman.
Then you'll be ready for my next tape,
Strategies for Selective Trout.
Here, you'll learn how to combine the mental
aspect of fly fishing,
selecting the right fly and reading the water
with your newly acquired casting
skills.
This will give you the ultimate
fly fishing approach.
There's a stripe to remember.
That's purple. That's not red. That's purple.
Oh, what a stripe. My God.
Go airborne. A little late for that
probably.
Hang in there, 4X.
Come on now.
Oh, yeah.
You're going to wake up.
Come on now. Back again.
He wants to go home.
My Lord, what a stripe.
What a stripe.
Heavy fish.
Baby dove.
Okay, we'll let you rest a minute.
Come here.
Geez, all that and a little 14 fly.
Biggest fish I've caught today.
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And for the expert,
there are challenge level programs that
offer original and innovative techniques
to help you master the most difficult
fly fishing situation.
Think of it as a learning path
towards fly fishing mastery.
The tape you just viewed is part of that path.
In Doug Swisher's Trout Series,
Scientific Anglers presents a
four-part program that features a natural
learning progression.
First, there's basic
fly casting, where you learn loop
control and the principles of throwing a
perfect straight line cast.
Then you move on to advanced fly
casting, building your skills with
more complex casting techniques,
including curve and reach cast.
Now you're ready for action as Strategies for
Selective Trout shows you how to fish a
hatch from bottom to top.
And you'll almost feel the strike,
as Doug demonstrates ways to take difficult
trout in non-hatch conditions.
Finally, in Advanced Strategies
for Selective Trout,
Doug teaches you his most sophisticated methods,
including ways to successfully
fish the midge, how to unlock the
mysteries of masking hatches, and special
streamer tactics to catch big
trout. You'll be part of the
action as you look through the eyes of the expert
and learn the real whys behind
the mastery of fly fishing for trout.
While you're improving your streamside skills,
you may also want to learn to tie your
own flies.
Gary Borders shows you a step-by-step
approach to the basics of fly tying.
And Doug Swisher
demonstrates how to tie flies to match
the hatch and his deadly attractor
patterns.
If you're hooked on catching the big ones,
you've got to see the four-part series
on fly fishing for Pacific Steelhead.
Lonnie Waller and
Jim Teeney will provide you with a
complete arsenal of skills so that you can
take these giant rainbows, even
in the most challenging conditions.
But that's not all.
Scientific Anglers takes you south
to watch world record holder Billy
Pate demonstrate his secrets of
success for hooking up and landing
the ultimate fly fishing game.
And if you love
fishing, hunting,
and other sports,
think of 3M as your total video
resource for outdoor adventure.
Explosive action.
In-depth information.
Incredible scenes.
3M Sportsman's
Video Collection brings you
the world of bass fishing
with America's top anglers
like Doug Hannett, Ricky Kline,
and Al Linder,
a comprehensive learning series
for all kinds of
professional anglers.
The world of bass fishing
with America's top anglers
Al Linder, a comprehensive learning series
that will make you the best
bass angler on your lake.
You'll be glad you watch these programs
when you catch the bass of a lifetime.
The gentle beauty of a
deep forest glade.
The heart-pounding
excitement of a trophy buck in
the gut.
Going one-on-one with North America's
most popular big game animal.
That's what deer hunting's all about.
And nobody brings you
more in-depth information
than True Life Action
and the 3M Sportsman's Video Collection.
The excitement
of calling a bird into your gun.
The satisfaction
of making a clean shot.
And the companionship
of a well-trained dog.
If you like
the challenge of upland game bird
and waterfowl hunting,
3M Sportsman's Video Collection
gives you the thrill of being there
and the knowledge you need
to master the sport.
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