Casting error

[Flykuni3]

Take a lesson, ahaha, am rollin’....but he’s right.

[snorider]

zic, zic? Non! écraser, zic, bloquer !

I love the story behind the technique, but can't seem to translate it to my casting. I like Joan's power snap...

[cdmoore]

This is the perfect time to get on youtube and look up "fly casting". There are tons of great videos on casting from basics to competition level. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. My suggestion is to pick a series from an instructor that you enjoy how they present the information:

--Do you like their personality?

--Can you clearly hear them or are there captions if you have hearing issues?

--Can you see the rod and line in the video (often the presenters choose horrible, low contrast backgrounds that make it extremely difficult to see what's going on)

--Do they offer sufficient verbal explanation behind the visual aspects?

--Do they cover faults and fixes or just show the "right way"?

--Do they cover really basic stuff like how to grip the rod?

--Etc. In other words, do you feel like the video you've watched is getting through to you in a way that you can readily absorb the info. If not, select another presenter.

Some presenters that you might appreciate:

--Orvis

--Mad River Outfitters

--Bumcast

--RIO

--Winston / Joan Wulff

--Paul Arden

There are plenty more and you can always add a big casting name to your search like Wulff, Kreh, Borger, whatever.

[oldgoat54]

Some times when we try to hard or want just a little more line 'it all folds up and we or rather I ,bunch the line or pile it up. this can be caused by a reaching on the back stoke. wanting a little more power. I find that i will lower the rod tip and collapse my loop or snag behind me as an indicator this is happening. it OK to drift back for more power but a reach will remove the force required. for a forward cast.

[perfesser]

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[perfesser]

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[DrLogik]

Here is Joan Wulff on the forward stroke. Fast forward to the 3:00 minute mark. Her "Powersnap" is where she comes to an abrupt stop and the rest is follow-through. The whole video is a good lesson.

And yes, she does make it look so easy! Most great fly casters utilize the exact same mechanics but they may call parts of the cast different things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyThAv-WPSg

Here's a longer version where she explains various casts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1XP0NRRGkA

[snorider]

snorider,
i suspect you were using the wrong kind of wine bottle. it has to be white wine, according to ritz, perhaps an inexpensive riesling. i faithfully practiced the wrist exercises for years using red wine bottles and my casting did not improve.

Ça alors ! Je n'aurais jamais imaginé cela ! White wine? I too used red wines and it was a complete failure. Love Charles and the french, but the casting advice, well not so much.

[Loogie]

Gents lots of good advice, but the OP never said where his pile up is. It could be half way, it could be an early pre-loading cast, or he could very well have a fine cast but is letting the line snap at the end of the cast and he is getting a bounce back pile up,like you do when you want a long drift and the water in between is too fast to mend adequately. I stand by my questions, we need to have better information to help Minnesota with his cast.

[perfesser]

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[Minnesota]

Thanks guys! Slowing down the fore stroke and coming to an abrupt halt has helped. How far back should the back stroke go...11 o’clock?

[Minnesota]

What deficiencies in my casting stroke cause the line to collapse in an ugly pile? I am casting a line and leader only, no fly or even a piece of yarn.

What weight and length of rod?
What type of fly line?
Where is the Pile happening, at the end of the casting stroke? Or before that?
What are the wind conditions?
What kind of cast? An overhead? A side cast? Across the body?

We might be able to give you better advice if you fill us in.

I am casting both a Mike Clark 8.5’ 5wt.& a 6.75’ Walt Carpenter rod. With the Carpenter I may be trying to cast too much line. It handles 20-25 feet well, but I do pile the end of the cast with it. The Clark seems to be better for me. I doubt that the fault lies with the Carpenter rod so it must rest with my casting stroke.

Will casting into the wind cause the problem I am having? What about attempting to cast too much line for the rod?

[thegubster]

Why don't you make a vid. on your camera and post it so we can see what's going wrong?

Beats having 30 posts and everyone guessing...

[mer]

Thanks guys! Slowing down the fore stroke and coming to an abrupt halt has helped. How far back should the back stroke go...11 o’clock?

11:13:27

[Flykuni3]

Ol Lefty Kreh cast a rod like was throwin a javelin, full arm motion, back to 3:00. But thats how he did it. I dont go that far but am pretty relaxed on the clock thing. More like 11:17. (kidding)

[jacknoir]

Definitely look at the Joan Wulff videos on-line that Dr Logik linked to above if you yet haven't.
I think I still have her DVD, and attribute my astonishing skills to that video.

[Flykuni3]

What I've seen is guys try to throw 35'-45' right away, and that seems to work against the patience and feel you need to cast cane well. So, 1/vid yourself, take a lesson, let someone watch you who knows. I couldn't figure out why my cast was collapsing till I visited a fellow named Ned Grey who had a small fly shop in So Cal and advertised free casting lessons. So I visited, and we went to the park. I cast (a Korean made fiberglass rod, named "Bong.") And old Ned said, "You aren't stopping." And ahhh, the heavens opened for me. As soon as I stopped, over my shoulder, no idea what hour of clock it was, the forward cast worked. Then, you just naturally learn to stop on the forward. Voila.

2/Cast shorter lines, try only 20' or so feet, get that down pat. Then when you are competent with 20' you may lengthen, say, to 30'. You should be aware of how your stroke must change (it'll be a gradual addition of power, a longer wait) to cast further.

3/A softer rod will test your feel and patience. From what I've seen, the guys who cast softer rods are among the best. 3A/strong paras are just that, strong, and you can muscle them (tho they still aren't graphite cannons). FWIW, let us know how you do.

[NewUtahCaneAngler]

Being relatively new to this myself, I believe that you may be trying to push too hard or may have a line that is not in sync with your rod and casting stroke. In the past, I've often changed rods and found that it would take me 20 minutes to get into the groove, but now I lawn cast 3 to 5 times per week with different rods and can quickly adapt in 1 or 2 casts. Casting lessons are a good idea, but so would changing lines and stroke. Joe Brooks' book Trout Fishing, has quite a bit on casting and is not expensive. He adresses common problems and tips on how to make different types of casts.

[ibookje]

Have you tried casting with one line size up? Might help ‘loading’ the rod easier. When this works you could try with a line down again.

But maybe the rod simply matches better with a line size up...

[Minnesota]

Thanks guys! Slowing down the fore stroke and coming to an abrupt halt has helped. How far back should the back stroke go...11 o’clock?

11:13:27

Is that am or pm?

Joan Wulff video: I have watched it several times now. cdmoore, etc. you were right, it helped a lot! Thanks.