LONG DISTANCE FLY
CASTING TECHNIQUES
by
Randy Kadish
To be able to fly cast 80 feet or not. Does it matter?
No, argue many dry fly anglers. After all, since we fight drag by having slack line on the water, we can’t mend or set the hook with 80 feet of
line out.
But wait, insist streamer anglers. Since we feel strikes by having tight line on the water, we can set the hook with 80 feet of line out.
Well, like they say: there are two sides to every argument.
And sometimes a third or fourth.
Consider this scenario: You’re fishing a fast, rocky river, so instead of wading you’re making long casts. But you keep missing your targets.
And even though it’s the first day of your fishing trip, you’re already exhausted.
Is there any way around these problems?
I’ll answer the question this way: you show me an angler who can cast 80 or 90 feet, and I’ll show you an angler who can accurately and
almost effortlessly cast 50 or 60 feet.
And so for many frustrating and often discouraging years I experimented with long-distance, fly-casting techniques. Now that I have
dramatically increased my casting distance, I’d like to share those techniques with you.
Before I begin, let me say I’m well aware of Lefty Kreh’s way of long distance fly casting. (A right-handed caster puts his right foot well
behind his left.) My purpose is not to compete with Lefty’s or any other way, but simply to describe another. In the end, I believe each caster
should experiment with as many techniques as possible and see what works for him.
I believe, however, that the casting method I describe will allow anglers to dramatically change casting trajectories, which is often very useful,
for example, if we want to make a high back cast to avoid a bush.
GETTING STARTED. I prefer to use a short piece of string or yarn for a fly. A long 9-foot leader will help reveal some of our casting defects.
During each practice, I like to focus on one technique and not worry about putting all the techniques together until I feel I’ve become good with
each one.
THE OPEN STANCE. (For purposes of instruction, I’ll assume we’re right-handed.) Start with our feet about shoulder-width apart, a little
closer for more power, a little wider for better balance. If we’re casting vertically, we’ll put our left foot forward about eight inches and point it
at the target. We’ll point our right foot about 30 degrees to the right of the target. If we’re casting with our rod pointed outward—somewhere
between vertical and sidearm—we’ll point both feet a little more outward. With our shoulders facing the target, we bend our knees and put our
weight on the ball of our front foot. To make a long-line pickup, we bend forward and hold the line just behind the stripping guide. We point
the rod at the water, with the rod tip about an inch above the surface.
THE CLOSED STANCE I believe there is nothing wrong with using an open stance. In fact, an open stance will make it easier for us to look
over our casting shoulder and watch our back cast unroll—something that I believe is essential for executing a long distance fly cast. I also
believe, however, that when we cast a fly rod, unlike when we throw a ball, we don’t bend at the waist to generate leverage and power.
Instead, we rotate our hips as much as possible, like a batter hitting a ball or a boxer throwing a punch. If my left foot is forward, I will not be
able to fully rotate my hips and get all my weight into the cast. Therefore, I often prefer to use a closed stance and place most of my right foot
in front of my left. At first, this will probably feel awkward for many casters, but with time, I believe it will become more comfortable.
THE GRIP. We start by holding the rod lightly, then tightening our grip as we increase our casting acceleration. I prefer to slightly bend my
thumb and place it directly on top of the handle. Other casters, however, place their thumb slightly on the side of the handle. This is often called
a V-Grip.
LONG-CAST SEQUENCE: As a general rule, casting slightly upward will help keep the loops tight; so, if there is no head or tail wind, we
aim the first back cast upward about 30 degrees. We then aim the next false casts and the presentation cast at a slightly lower angle or even
parallel to the water. (Aiming the presentation cast too high, especially if we’re casting a long-belly line, will cause the belly to pull the cast
down and kill it.)
For maximum distance, the back and forward cast must form a straight line (180 degrees). If we’re casting weighted flies or sinking lines, we
aim the false casts upward about 20 degrees. And remember: We apply maximum force (by reaching maximum acceleration) only at the end of
the presentation cast.
However, at least four basic casting defects will cause the cast to lose power and therefore change our intended trajectory: 1. Starting the cast
after, or well before, the cast has unrolled and, thereby, in effect, shortening our casting stroke. 2. Accelerating the back-cast haul too slowly.
(Because there is no back-cast wrist snap, the hauling acceleration should be faster on the back cast than on the forward cast.) 3. False
casting, especially a weighted fly, too hard for the length of the line we have out. (When the line unrolls it will snap like a rubber band and
create slack) 4. Shooting line without increasing the acceleration of the casting stroke and the haul. 5. The back and forward casts form an
angle greater than 180 degrees, and we therefore lowered the rod tip from the target line. As a result, the fly rod unloaded too early.
ANGLE OF THE ROD: Some casters argue the vertical cast is the most efficient. Others disagree and cast with the rod tip pointed outward.
Besides, they say, this is a safer way to fish that makes it easier—especially for us older guys—to turn our heads, and watch the back cast
unroll without turning our shoulders and then inadvertently moving the rod. Maybe so, but the important point is: If the cast is not under
powered, and if we do not move the rod hand in a convex motion and lower the rod tip from the target line, the fly will not hit us or the rod.
The following casting defects will cause us to move our hand in a convex motion: 1. Pulling our elbow back. (Our elbow should move back
because of our rearward body rotation. To me, making a back cast is more of a flexing up motion than a pulling back.) 2. Beginning the
forward cast with our elbow behind our rod hand. (We always want to lead with our elbow.) 3. Breaking our wrist more than halfway during
the forward-cast power snap. (To prevent this, try to pretend you’re hammering a nail.) 4. Lowering, instead of just rotating, our shoulders. 5.
Stopping the rod too late. (This sometimes happens because we started our weight shift before we started the casting stroke, or because we
quickly accelerated the back cast, but didn’t abruptly stop the rod with a slight upward, stabbing motion.) 6. Beginning the cast with our rod
hand too low for the intended trajectory. (For example: If you want to execute a cast parallel to the surface, you must finish your back and
forward casts with your rod hand at the same level.) 7. Casting with our elbow too far out from our body. 8. Using an open stance but having
our right foot too far back or pointing too far outward.
In short, a lot can go wrong that can cause us to get hit with the fly. Besides, even the best casters make imperfect casts, so I recommend
wearing sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat, and casting heavy flies and sinking lines with the rod tip pointing out to the side.
To simplify my descriptions, I’ll assume we’re casting vertically. (If you’re casting with the tip pointing out, adjust your rod-hand position more
outward and less upward.)
BACK CAST: First, remove all slack from the line. Aiming upward, we slowly start the cast by slightly lifting our elbow, and moving the rod in
sync with our rearward body rotation. Slowly, we tighten our grip. When the rod butt reaches 12 o’clock to the target line, acceleration is
quickly increased—I call this my power acceleration—and the downward haul is executed. (More about hauling later.) For maximum power, I
like to keep looking straight ahead. When the fly comes off the water, we squeeze the handle and abruptly stop the butt at about 1 o’clock.
Our forearm points to 12 o’clock. Our weight should be on our rear heel.
Easing up on our grip, we turn our head and watch the cast unroll. If the rod was stopped by stabbing it upward, we now lower our rod hand
to casting-level. (Some casters feel they increase their power by rotating their forearm and palm outward during their back cast so that they can
then execute their forward power snap with a sharp twisting motion.)
Now we make the forward false cast. Because we probably won’t be able to accelerate the false back casts as fast as we accelerate the false
forward casts, I like to begin my false back cast when my forward loop is about two or three feet long. This will prevent my forward cast from
unrolling and then bouncing or falling.
Aiming the second back cast a little lower, but again we stop the rod butt at about 1 o’clock to the (new) target line. If we’re casting vertically,
our casting elbow should point outward at an angle of about 45 to 60 degrees to the target. Our wrist should be at about eye-level.
If the loop turns sideways or swings open, the rod was moved in a curving motion or our elbow was pulled out and back during the back cast.
HAULS AND DRIFTS: First, to keep the line from tangling during the haul, we pull off about 3 feet of line from the reel. The more line that is
being false cast, the faster and longer we have to haul to keep the casting loops tight. To do this, we usually execute the haul faster than the cast.
If we’re casting a weight-forward line, we begin hauling when most of the belly of the line is outside the rod tip. During the back cast loading
move, we keep our hands at the same level. When the rod butt points to about 12 o’clock, the power acceleration and downward back-cast
haul are begun. On most back cast hauls we haul at an angle of about 60 degrees to the water. The cast and haul are stopped at the same time.
Our line hand will be at about 8 o’clock. To false cast more line, we want to increase the length of the haul (as well as the casting stroke.). To
do this, we haul at a steeper angle. Also, just before the haul is finished, additional power is generated by snapping our line hand down.
.
Immediately, we begin the upward haul, giving back line at the same speed it is unrolling. (If slack is added the downward haul was probably
stopped too late, or the cast was underpowered.) Do not prematurely move the rod tip back! (You’ll add slack.) When the fly passes us, we
turn our head, but not our shoulders, and watch the line unroll. Next, we move our line hand up to, but not past, our rod hand.
Not moving our line hand up far enough may cause us to then begin the forward cast by moving our rod hand before or faster than we move
our line hand. Because this will add slack between our hands, we won’t be able to fully load the rod, and our cast, therefore, might collapse.
And remember: The stronger the wind we are casting into, the shorter, but faster we have to haul.
At the end of the forward false cast haul, our hand, depending on how much line we’re false casting, will point to between 8 and 6 o’clock.
To make a long presentation cast, a drift move may be added after the last back cast. That way, the length of the forward casting stroke will be
increased. A drift move can be executed in two different ways. The first way is to we keep our wrist stiff, our elbow in place and our shoulders
level, and wait until our back cast has unrolled about three-quarters of the way; then we move our foreman back to about 12:30, and slightly
break our wrist down and point the rod lower, to about 2 o’clock.
However, at least five casting defects will cause us to add slack during this drift move: 1. Drifting too fast or
too far. 2. Not hauling fast or far enough. (Our cast will be underpowered.) 3. Beginning a cast after the false
cast has unrolled. 4. Stopping the downward haul too late, so that we then have to execute the upward haul
faster than the line is unrolling. 5. False casting too much line. (When false casting, unless I’m trying to change
trajectories, I do not drift and therefore reduce the risk of adding slack.) The second way of drifting is to
instead move the rod back so that the tip travels along the path of the target line. We then begin the forward
cast by leading with our elbow and moving our casting arm forward before we begin to rotate our body. (Our
arm will catch up to our body.) On the presentation cast, we haul as hard as possible and concentrate on
stopping the rod and letting go of the line at the same time. (Momentum should force our hauling hand well
behind our front thigh.)
To make an effective back-cast haul, I find it helpful to visualize a loose rope connecting my rod and line hands.
When I stop my rod, I imagine the rope snapping tight and stopping my hands.
Finally, to me the secret of becoming a really good hauler is to practice throwing a ball left-handed.
FORWARD AND PRESENTATION CASTS: When making a long cast we should start it before the back cast loop opens. (The heavier my
fly or the faster my line is unrolling, the earlier I begin my cast.) To start the forward false cast, we keep looking over our rear shoulder and
push off our back foot. With our wrist locked, we begin the forward cast in sync with our body rotation. (Watching our rod hand during the
cast will help prevent our casting arm from getting ahead of our rotating body.) The rod butt is moved perpendicular to the target line. When
our casting arm is extended at about halfway, we begin the power snap and haul, and then abruptly stop the rod and the haul when the rod butt
points to about 10:30. We ease up on our grip. Our right shoulder should be slightly ahead of our left. Our weight should be on the ball of our
front foot.
To finish the forward false cast in position to increase the length and power of the back cast we can: 1. Speed up the forward false cast—if we
get a tailing loop we should slow down the haul— and end the cast with our weight on our toes and with our right shoulder well ahead of our
left. 2. Execute the cast parallel to the water so that we’ll begin the back cast with the rod in a lower position. 3. Add a drift move by slightly
lowering the rod tip.
As soon as we finish the cast, we can shoot up to eight feet of line. (As the line slides through our curled fingers, we keep moving our line hand
up so that we’ll be able to reach our rod hand before the cast unrolls.)
To make a long presentation cast, we begin with the rod drifted back, and then push off our back foot.
Again, the rod butt is moved perpendicular to the target line. When our arm is extended about three-
quarters, we execute the power snap and haul. Reaching maximum casting acceleration, we fully rotate
our body and fully extend our casting arm. Again stop the rod is stopped when the butt points to about
10:30.Our front leg should now be straight, and all our weight on our front toes.
To reduce friction between the line and the guides, we immediately raise the rod butt, so that the rod
points to the target line. Do not lower the rod tip from the target line!
Finally, if we do everything right, but we still can’t get the fly to turn over, try lowering the casting traject-
ory, or by beginning the cast with a little less line off the reel than we want to cast.(When the cast unrolls,
line tension will help the fly turnover.)
ROLL CASTS: To increase our distance, the cast is started just before the fly stops moving and slack
forms in the D-loop. Also, we can use a short single (downward) haul, or we can hold the line against the bottom of the rod handle, then let go
when we stop the cast. Finally, it’s important that we don’t weaken the D loop by lowering our elbow and the fly rod during the forward cast.
OVERHANG: Overhang is the amount of running line between the rod tip and the belly of the line. As the overhang is increased so are the
acceleration and length of the casting stroke and haul.
If the overhang is too long, the cast will be underpowered, and the loop will not turn over. If the overhang is too short, a tailing loop will
probably form. We should, therefore, experiment to find the longest overhang we can handle. Keep in mind that the more long false casts that
are made, the more the risk of adding slack; so once the belly of the line is outside the rod tip, we should try to make the presentation cast after
the second back cast.
To increase the overhang, we can try: 1. A heavier, stiffer rod. 2. A fly line one weight lighter than the rod. 3. Shooting line as the last back cast
unrolls.
If we’re casting a shooting line, however, we’ll probably have to shorten the overhang.
HOW MUCH LINE DID I SHOOT? To answer this question, I use the counting method. For example, if I fully accelerate my casting stroke,
and then I shoot line for as long as it takes me to count to 3, I know I shot almost 10 feet of line.
TAILING LOOPS: Some common causes are: 1. The rod tip is moved in a concave path because too much force is used too early in the
casting stroke. 2. The casting stroke is too narrow for the action (bend) of the rod. 3. Executing a presentation cast with too short of an
overhang. 4. Beginning the downward haul too early or quickly.
WEIGHTED FLIES: If we use the same casting and haul acceleration as we use with lighter flies, the loops will open up. Many casters prefer
this, as they feel a wide loop will help prevent the fly from hitting the rod tip. I believe, however, if a cast is executed correctly, it will not hit the
rod tip; so, for maximum distance, I actually increase my casting and hauling acceleration. How much do I increase my acceleration? To me,
the answer is as much as possible as long as my fly doesn’t bounce at the end of the cast.
(To me, finding that “sweet acceleration” is the biggest challenge to casting heavy flies.)
Also, I’ll use shorter leaders and a shorter casting stroke. If my loops are still too wide, I’ll then shorten my overhang.
Remember: At high speeds, weighted flies, if they hit your rod tip, can break it. To fish below the surface, therefore, I like to use lighter flies
and sinking lines.
IF YOU DECIDE. Whether it is necessary to learn to cast 80 or even 90 feet and endure hours and hours of casting trials and tribulations is
up to you.
But if you decide it is, try not to get discouraged. Long-distance fly casting, like hitting a good tee shot, is a lot harder than it looks. Luckily,
however, studies have shown that frequently visualizing proper athletic techniques is often more effective than practicing them.
For us older guys, isn’t that something to be grateful about!?
FOR FURTHER READING
Fly Casting Techniques by Joan Wulff: Lyons & Burford, 1987.
Longer Fly Casting by Lefty Kreh: Lyons & Burford, 1991.
The Cast by Ed Jaworowski: Stackpole Books, 1992.
The Essence of Flycasting by Mel Krieger: Countryman Press, 2001.
L.L. Bean Fly-Casting Handbook by Macauley Lord: The Lyons Press, 2000.
Master the Cast by George V. Roberts: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2005.
Modern Fly Casting by John Alden Knight:: G. P Putnam's Sons, 1942.
The Open Stance Long Line Pickup
Lowering the rod to 2 o'clock
The presentation cast finish position