#53 Casting a Fly Rod

Casting a Fly Rod, Why can’t I get better?

I recently read a social media post the other day and the comment was “casting a fly rod, why can’t I get better”.

I really felt sorry for this person because the amount of people who were just blasting him and telling him that “he just needed a different rod, or different fly line, etc. etc.”, was truly sad.

Not once did anybody ask what his casting skills looked like, or what resources were available to him. Tools cannot take the place of skills.

Go outdoors and Practice your casting

Periodically I will talk to people who ask me how to get better at fly fishing, and one of the questions I usually ask is “how much time do you spend practicing your casting skills?” The response is the same, and they say, “ no I want to be a better fisherman”.

Can you see the disconnect that people have when I come to fly fishing and casting?. I have been casting a fly line for over 40 years and to this day, I still practice my casting. I have a practice rod in my garage that is all set and hanging on the wall. I simply go out into the street and give the old Sage a cast or two just to see if my timing is still up to par, or if I have any weird little habits that have come out of nowhere.

To be a good fly fisherman you will need to have a pretty good handle on the basics of casting, think about it. If you are going fishing and you spend half of your day getting untangles or unstuck or just spending an absurd amount of time messing with your tackle, how will you ever get better at “FISHING”.

Food for thought

Do you watch or follow any professional sports? Think out this, do the Denver Broncos only play on Sunday? No, they spend all week at the practice field so that when Sunday comes they are ready to play, not spend 4 quarters practicing, but rather playing. So, think about the importance of casting practice in these terms. My Wife made a great analogy the other day as well, she said in reference to going out and buying a $1,000 dollar fly rod to make you a better caster, thinking the new rod will miraculously make you a better caster.

She said, and I quote:

” It’s like going out and buying a $200,000 Ferrari and not knowing how to drive it. But, if you took driving lessons for that car you will be able to drive the car at race speed in no time”.

I’m not saying that buying a $1,000 fly rod is like buying a Ferrari, but if you need help becoming a better caster, then spend a few dollars in lessons, or time, and get better as an overall caster by having good fundamental skills.

Practice does pay off

So how do I get better?

If you really want to become a better fly fisherman you need to look a this from a bigger point of view. Being able to cast your fly rod as if it was a part of your body will be the first pillar you need to master. If you watch a good fly fisherman while they are on the water, you can see the fly rod is really just an extension of their arm. No thinking goes into their casting it’s truly a “Zen” moment. Now you need to be honest with yourself, “is my casting skills like his”?

If you answered no, then spend some time with a fly rod in your hands. I constantly tell people that time spent practicing is “more time you can spend fishing”.

What if I’m a really good caster already?

Ok let’s say you really can cast a fly rod like a pro, so how do I get better at FISHING. Now that you can fling string really well you need to spend your time learning how to master specific techniques. What I recommend to people is to just go out and focus on one method for that day. For example, spend part of your time on the water, learning how to roll cast under a bush, or do a killer aerial mend to that far seam, or anything you feel you could use help on.

The problem I feel is that everyone wants to just catch a fish but does not take a step back to really learn what they are doing. Working as a guide helped me focus on the skill sets, because I had to focus on my clients, and helping them catch, which cause me to be hyper focused on the skills set, and not the fish. Catching fish is a byproduct of your skills.

Shiny objects:

Unfortunately, the world of the internet is wasteland of shiny objects. You can literally spend hours going down some Youtube rabbit hole watching video after video, when all you wanted was a video on how to rig a nymph for example? Try to be careful and not get too distracted by all of the stuff you see and read. Focus on a  skill and just go and practice it until it become second nature and you can consistently catch fish with it.

I have a friend who asked me how to get better at “drop shot for bass” I gave him a challenge by telling him to go out and fish as he normally would, but only bring one rod, and that was only his drop shot rod. If you have only one tool then you can only use that one tool. After a few trips out on his boat, he called me back a said that he was finally getting the hang of fishing deep water with a drop shot, because there was no distraction of having the other rods/tools onboard, and he could focus on just that technique.

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In conclusion:

If you really do want to get better and become a more well rounded and skillful fly fisherman then you will need to put in the time and do the work. Focus your time on the water and try not to let distraction get in the way. A little practice will pay off hugely over time.

Our time on the water is both limited and precious so let’s make the most of it.

Have fun out there, and any questions or comments feel free to give me a shout out.

Cheers

Gary, AKA LaMachine