A fly fisherman needs several skills to enable him to catch fish and more importantly to enjoy his fishing. He needs to know some river craft and it’s a definite advantage if he has a little of the countryman’s mind. Probably the most important skill required is the ability to fly- cast accurately, smoothly and a reasonable distance. Even if he catches nothing there is the satisfaction in knowing that the water was covered effectively.

Casting, like fly tying, is one of the pleasures of fly-fishing it brings added enjoyment over and above that of catching fish. There is an exquisite pleasure in casting a nice line to a rising trout. My fly fishing started with dry fly on the river Ewenny in the area of Pencoed, there was no need for long casts, those of you who know this little river will know that it can actually be straddled in places. As with all fishing, presentation was important as was accuracy but distance casting didn’t really come into it but I served a very good apprenticeship there.

A change of job and a house move took me from the area for five years and with this came the opportunity to join other clubs and fish larger rivers. I needed to develop my casting ability and although good advice was given by various friendly club members it was only when this was combined with my own knowledge did I start to improve. Although I cannot claim to be an expert in the art of fly-casting (or fishing) I would like to pass on some of what I learnt mainly for the benefit of novice casters but I also hope that experienced fly fishers may get one or two useful tips. I’m of the opinion that good fly- casting cannot be learned from the written word alone but I do believe that reading about it will certainly help, providing you have the desire to learn.

Firstly, I must state that fly-casting is not about strength or power. If you watch a good caster you will see that it’s all about a co-ordination of body movements plus several other ingredients, when combined, a smooth efficient cast will be made, the end result being the correct presentation of the fly to the fish. There is no right or wrong way of doing it but there is certainly an efficient way.

Unfortunately, most newcomers try too hard by putting in too much shoulder muscle. It must be remembered that the rod really acts as a spring so it must be cocked and allowed to be un-cocked. So, to cock the spring we must have a good back- cast (which I prefer to call the up- cast, more of this later) this positions the line ready to be driven forward by un-cocking the spring for the forward cast. I was prompted to write this series because at present I am teaching my grandson to fly-cast. Take it from me, my teaching will be based more on the back-cast than anything else. When the back-cast goes badly, the forward cast when it comes into view in front will look awful and the fly will land in a coil of nylon, no fish would look at it. Without proper advice most novices will blame the forward cast and will try to correct it by giving more “welly” on the next forward cast, when that doesn’t go right either, he applies more force and so it goes on. Unfortunately, beginners are often obsessed with the idea that long casting is good fishing, as if the fish all live at the far side of the river.

Something worth remembering is that a correctly tapered leader about the same length as the rod, as a general guide, is a definite help with presentation if not distance. This helps to straighten things out by allowing the energy to flow without interruption from fly line through leader/tippet to the fly. I assure you, a level leader can be a serious handicap.

To start with I will be talking about the most popular type of cast for trout and sea trout (sewin), the overhead cast. Most casts are a variation of this so I think this is a good one to start with. A fisherman who can learn the overhead cast can with time and practice adapt himself to most other types of cast if necessary.

There have been many articles written on how to execute this cast and although some of the advice has, in my opinion been rubbish the use of a clock face for illustrating arm and rod positions cannot be beaten, I will come to this later.

In sports like cricket, tennis, golf or shooting emphasis is put on how the bat, club or gun is held whereas in fly-casting holding the rod is not treated as a very important aspect. Take it from me it is probably the most important aspect. I call this one of my golden rules and I will elaborate on it shortly. The next is, that the wrist should remain locked during the cast. Most novices tend to cock the wrist, particularly on the back-cast, which allows the rod to go too far back, if you’ve developed this habit it must be stopped. The other bad habit is the outstretched arm. If the arm is outstretched throughout the cast the pivot is at the shoulder and the rod will not be allowed to work properly. The golden rule to cure the outstretched arm is, that the elbow should be loosely down by your side. Therefore, if the rod is not held properly and you have any of the other two mentioned faults you will have a casting style, which demands a big effort.

Let me elaborate a little. Firstly the grip and this is a special recommendation, the handle is held as normal but the thumb must be on top parallel with the rod, (this gives directional control) and the butt end should be touching the underside of the arm, the line should be trapped against the handle by the forefinger, (see photograph).

When teaching a novice to cast I always emphasize the importance of the thumb on top by saying that the line will always go where the thumb is pointing. In fact, I reinforce this by drawing an arrow on his thumbnail with a felt marker pen. I find that if the grip is correct we are well on the way to curing the other two problems if they exist. Unless he’s never, ever cast a fly, tuition usually starts with me asking the ‘pupil’ to do a little demonstration; with no rod in hand, I ask him to close his eyes and do an imaginary back-cast and to stop to let the line roll out behind. I freeze him in this position and ask him to look at his thumb. Usually the arm is outstretched and the thumb is pointing too far back. In fact, his arm with the wrist locked should be by his ear with the thumb pointing straight up and the elbow should be down by his side. If I can correct these common faults things get easier. I would say that during the learning stage, the rod hand should not venture above the top of the head. If it does it draws the disruptive influence of the shoulder and possibly the outstretched arm to become involved. Incidentally, there is a useful type of cast where the outstretched arm is used, this is the steeple cast. I would suggest that it is for experienced anglers, it is mainly used in order to avoid trees and other obstructions behind the rod, which causes the loss of flies and a lot of bad language. I hardly ever use it as I find the roll cast, which is much easier, is perfectly adequate on Ogmore waters if there are trees or bushes behind. I will cover the roll-cast later on in this series.

Before I go any further I’d like to say a few words about the rod and line. Until the angler has fly-fished for a couple of years I would recommend he stays clear of ‘powerful’ rods. If a rod is described as ‘powerful’ it will probably be too stiff for the newcomer. It is the angler who supplies the power and the more powerful the rod the more effort will be needed to cock it. I would suggest the newcomer starts with a modern ‘mid or ‘through’ action rod of about 9ft in length as opposed to a tip or fast action. A 9ft rod is a very good all-rounder it is not too long or cumbersome for our local rivers and it will be adequate for still waters. As you develop, providing you stick to the basic casting rules you may prefer a stiffer or longer rod. I know too well that the longer the rod you can handle with one hand the greater length of line you can lift from the water into a good clean back-cast. Also the longer the rod the better you can control the fly as you fish out the cast but I am assuming that you are not yet up to this standard so this is all for tomorrow rather than for today, my writing of this series is really aimed at the newcomer. Regarding the line, I would recommend a D.T. (double taper) floater one weight above the rod rating, i.e. if the rod is A.F.T.M. 6 use an A.F.T.M.7 line. Don’t worry about over loading the rod as modern rods have a built in reserve. Casting is governed by the simple rules of physics a heavier line is easier to cast further than a lighter one providing the rod has enough power. One weight above the rod rating is about right to begin with. In fact a compromise 9ft rod rated at A.F.T.M. 6 for use with an A.F.T.M. D.T. 7 floating line can be used for wet or dry fly and also for sea trout. It will be pretty good in a wind and will present a fly perfectly well in most circumstances. As regards the colour of the line, it doesn’t matter. Eventually, when you move on to shooting some line you will probably try a W.F. (weight forward), this is really a casting line but not such a good fishing line in the hands of a novice. It tends to strike the water harshly on landing and this aspect is undesirable in dry fly fishing and sea trout fishing. Yes you will probably get more distance but presentation will be compromised. The W.F. is ideal for distance casting on large rivers and still waters but if you are really after distance the ‘shooting head’ is the tool, I will cover this later on in this series. A double taper line turns over smoothly in the air and this helps presentation. D.T. lines are by far the best for beginners. One other point, eventually, mending your line may form an important in your fishing and the D.T. line will make this technique easier.

Casting a fly takes so little effort if it is done correctly, I know some slightly built women who are good at it and if you get a lad of about 12 or 14 years of age who’s been given some basic tuition he will be best of all.

The guys who are continually lashing the water and trying to reach the opposite bank will soon get tired and fed up. Also, most fly fishermen make far too many false casts, most of these are unnecessary. Except when drying my dry fly or extending the line on the water preparatory to casting I hardly ever do it. The trouble is, it’s become a habit with some fisherman and it often succeeds in frightening the trout and sea trout. Excessive false casting is detrimental to good fishing and it all adds up to hard work, remember we are out for enjoyment.

I do get a kick out of helping genuine keen new starters no matter what age they are so I‘m pleased you’re still with me reading this ‘introduction’, in my next episode I will try to be more specific.

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