Casting

[Big Burk]

I am new to fly fishing and i cant cast more than 12ft. in front of me. any tips on how to cast properly and farther and the best retrieve.

[devil-man]

I am new to it myself.
Do you know anyone that fly-fishes? It is really something best shown in person by someone that has some experience...

You could check out this site. They have a beginner's page.
www.sexyloops.com
Other than that, just keep practicing and remember:
You're casting the line, not the fly.

[Coldfeet]

Big Burk
The biggest problems with first timers using a fly rod is they try to go too fast. Slow yourself down let the rod do the work for you. You need a short pause on the backcast to allow the line to straighten out and load the rod before moving your arm forward. Second problem with beginners is using you wrist instead of arm. Its a hard habit to break because of conventional fishing where using the wrist makes for a better cast with less fatigue. Other problems with beginners are  the 10 to 2 position of the cast where you are most likely going farther on the back cast and forward motion. This does not allow the line to come through the guides enough before it crashes down on the water. And one more thing to add is make sure you have a good weight forward line this will help in the casting also. Do yourself a favor and in roll in a class learn the how too's also keep practicing. Dont worry about making those 100ft casts just yet get the short casts down pat first  it will happen for you. you just need time.

[flockshot]

practice..practice...practice...and then..forget anything you know about spin casting.   lol.  coldfeets dead on the money...i recently just taught my girlfriend..and the biggest thing to over come was the speed of the cast...she would cast to fast never allowing the line to load the rod...remember ..in flyfishing its the line you are casting not the fly...another thing is usually the more forcefull you try ...the worse the result..if you catch yourself trying to really throw it out there after your false casts and all that happens is the lines goes a few feet and the tippet just kinda floats back down with the fly parachuting down ....try easing up a little...

and finally ..dont get wrapped up in making a thousand false casts...get enough line out and flying straight..then let it go...to many times begginers will false cast too much ....also..try not to let the fly smack the water on your false casts..now this will happen sometimes..but more often then not this will just screw you up.

good luck man...your in for some fun...and dont worrie about retrieve untill you can cast well...thats almost a seperate thread..it all depends on what your fishing for and water water and what fly blah blah blah..... once you get the hang of it you will love it.

[xrhino]

First off I agree with most everything that's been said so far.  I have a  couple things that I would like to add.

Really concentrate on bringing the rod to a full stop at the ends of the forward and back casts.  This will help load the rod and let the line lay out flat.  You can even exaggerate the pause beyond what is needed to make yourself remember.

Go get a pair of cheap sweat/wristbands.  Put one on your casting wrist and tuck the rod butt under it while you practice.  This will show your arm and wrist what the proper position feels like.  They sell $50 gizmos in fly fishing catalogs for this, but a wristband works just as well.  You can also use the cuff of a long sleeve shirt.

When I was learning, I needed to visualize the rod stopping at 12:00 on the back cast in order to make it actually stop at 2:00.  Turn your head and watch the rod and line on the backcast to see what they are actually doing and then compensate accordingly.

If you can't find an experienced caster to learn from, get an instructional DVD.  It's not as good, but it's miles ahead of bumbling along by yourself.

Cast at a target.  Toss a frisbee or whatever out in the yard and cast to it.  You can start by standing about 20 feet away and simply lifting the line, pausing at the top, and setting the line back down form there.

Lastly, as was previously stated, slow down and lay off the power for now.  And don't worry about distance.  That stuff will come later.

Hope this helps.

[Big Burk]

i can cast ok i just cant get the line out off the reel and there is no one near my cabin that fly fishes or at least doesnt fly fish on this lake cause there are very few trout yet the few we have are monster rainbows and browns over 8lbs. some 13lbs but im gonna try for carp and pike the most and got a leech and some zonkers for the walleye which are suppose to work around here. will try this weekend again.

[bwalleye]

Scientific angler has a terrific DVD for new flyfisherman