Flycasting Skills (eBook)

The Key Position (single-handed fly rod)

The two pictures on this page show the key positions for a single-handed rod. All conventional forward casts start like this, with the elbow raised slightly and closed, the forearm up vertical and the wrist slightly cocked. The casting hand is positioned so that it can be seen out of the corner of the eye and by looking at the rod-butt it is easy to check the inclination of the fly rod.

When casting, the objective is to manipulate the fly rod so that it ends up in the right (the key) position for making the final delivery of the fly-line towards the target.

From this position the rod tip can be easily accelerated forward, along a straight line path: both of which are essential requirements for loading the fly rod and forming a tight forward loop. The casting elbow should be tucked in close to the side of the body, to give precise control and maximum use of energy.

If the wind is blowing from the casting arm side, then it is possible to make all casts by moving the key position over to the other side of the body (above right). To achieve this the elbow has to be raised slightly higher, otherwise the same hand position is adopted, on the other side of the body, and the forward cast is made in the same manner as the normal cast.

Alternatively, the casting hand can remain on the normal side and the fly rod can be canted over so that the fly-line rests on the other side of the body. This is a question of personal preference.

It is important to practice setting up the key position, using a static roll cast for instance, because it has to occur automatically at the end of most casting sequences – as will be seen in the numerous examples illustrated in this book.

The Key Position (double-handed fly rod)

The two pictures on this page show the key position with the right-hand uppermost or with the left-hand uppermost. A two-handed caster must be proficent with either hand uppermost because he has no control over the wind direction or the side of the river that he is given to fish.

A conventional forward cast always starts from the key position and so all other rod movements up to this moment in a casting sequence are used for setting up the fly rod and fly-line so that the caster ends up holding the two-handed fly rod as shown in the picture, ready to make the final delivery of the fly-line towards the target.

The top hand is positioned so that it can be just seen out of the corner of the eye (to help beginners remember this position: it can be described as like answering the telephone), with the top forearm almost vertical and the top hand holding the fly rod lightly. The bottom hand is pushed forward in front of the centre-line of the body, with the forearm almost horizontal but should not cross over to the other half of the body. This should also grip the fly rod softly. Without looking at the fly rod it is possible to check its inclination by looking at the angle of the butt.

As a guide, for a static roll cast, the fly rod can be inclined at 45°, depending upon rod action and the length of fly-line being cast.

The feet should face in the general direction of the forward cast, although in a strong flow of water some variation may be necessary, to give balance and stability. Hand spacing can be determined by holding the fly rod in the rest position with the arms hanging down the sides of the body in a relaxed position, resting the fly rod in the palms of the hands.

During the cast, the top hand will act as a fulcrum and the bottom hand will be used to induce a fast rod-tip velocity, which will create fly rod loading and cause it to flex.

Acceleration to a stop (single-handed fly rod)

Continuous acceleration of the rod tip is required for loading the fly rod. This must be followed by an abrupt stop to ensure that the energy in the loaded fly rod is transferred as quickly as possible to the fly-line. The quicker the transfer of energy, the tighter the resulting forward loop.

To visualise and apply continuous acceleration to a rod tip is difficult. It is achieved by stepping up the velocity by a series of hand and arm movements. The key position is so important here because it places the arm and hand(s) where they are ready to do this efficiently and automatically, without the caster having to think about it.

Starting from the key position, with a single-handed fly rod, the first move involves dropping the elbow and moving the hand forward. Initially the casting hand and fly rod maintain, more or less, the same inclination, with the wrist in the slightly cocked position, causing the rod tip to move with the same instantaneous velocity as the hand (which is relatively slow). Instructors may sometimes refer to this as translation.

The instantaneous velocity can now be increased by pivoting the forearm at the elbow in the direction of the cast, with the wrist still cocked, and this causes the rod tip to begin to rotate, and move quicker.

Finally the rod tip velocity is brought up to a maximum by pivoting the wrist in the direction of the cast. Leverage is achieved by using the thumb side of the hand to represent the “top hand” and the fifth (or little) finger to represent the “lower hand” used in two-handed casting.

By merging all of these movements into one smooth sequence, acceleration is achieved. It is important to understand that the fastest rod tip speed is achieved in the burst of energy leading up to the stop, and up until this point the casting action is relatively slow. The moment of maximum momentum of the fly rod is very short. Many unskilled casters do not appreciate this fact and so they put far too much momentum into the whole cast.

The stop is applied when the imaginary chord between the rod tip and the rod-butt (see Casting terms page 4) is at a minimum. A close approximation to the action of the stop is that of flicking something off the rod tip. If you grip the fly rod butt hard at the moment the stop is applied and then relax it immediately afterwards this will reduce the tendency of waves to form in the fly-line as it is cast out.

Another essential requirement of a good cast is to keep a straight line path of rod tip from the key position to the stop and after. The rod tip should be stopped high and then dropped to follow the fly-line down as it rolls out. Stopping high will reduce the effects of fly rod shake and ripples in the fly-line.

Acceleration to a stop (double-handed fly rod)

The series of pictures above show the hand and arm movements that are used to accelerate the rod tip of a double-handed fly rod. They show the caster in the key position with the right hand up [1]. Prior to this his hands would have been held higher as a result of setting up the D-loop, and so the first move involves dropping the hands, vertically, to the key position.

Next the top hand is moved forward a short distance [2] causing the rod tip to move slowly and then it comes to a distinct stop. The bottom hand then takes over [3], pulling in towards the body, and the fly rod pivots around the top hand causing the rod tip to speed up due to the rotary motion of the fly rod. Towards the end of this movement the bottom hand is pulled back rapidly [4] and then stopped, blocking further movement of the rod butt and causing the fly rod to unload rapidly, transferring energy to the fly-line.

Throughout the forward cast the rod tip should trace a straight line path and it can be seen in the example that the fly rod is stopped when the rod tip is still high, for this reason. The sequence is continuous and should start off slowly with very rapid acceleration at the end of the cast before the abrupt stop, to create a tight loop.