| 3 Rod Lengths |
The key to successful fly casting is consistency. Like any
repetitive activity, the more you do of it, the better you get.
But for those just starting out, flycasting is not particularly
"user friendly"... that is, the parts to the puzzle quite often
don't come together immediately (or as fast as you think they
should.) This is where practice comes in, and indeed practice does make perfect (fortunately, fly casting is a lifelong practice.) One way to simplify your fly cast is to minimize the learning curve for the most difficult part of the cast: the "Cycle Time". Most of us learn quickly how to raise our casting arm up and down to perform the movements of the basic cast. And, after awhile, we get the stopping part, too. But the key to consistently good casting is developing the proper amount of time to wait between unloading the rod (via stopping the back cast) and reloading it by starting the forward cast. This is what takes time to perfect. To KISS (keep it simple stupid) and eliminate the guesswork involved in deciding how long you wait, i.e., your Cycle Time, just keep the same amount of fly line in front of your rod tip every time you cast. How much fly line should this be? About 3 rod lengths: i.e., an amount equal to about 3 times the length of your fly rod. So, for an 8 foot rod, about 24 feet, including the leader. In this curriculum, we suggest fly lines be visibly marked at the appropriate distance. (See "How To Setup Fly Lines.") Why? Well, the amount of time you need to wait between your back cast and forward cast is a function of how much fly line you have "in the air." If you have 15 feet, your cycle time is less than if you have 30 feet. So rather than making learning this timing skill harder by changing the amount of line in front of your rod tip as you cast, just leave it the same. All the time. Then you don't have to alter your timing each cast as you try to accommodate a varying amount of line. Just leave it at about 3 rod lengths. |