My introduction fly fishing came when I was just short of 10 years old. By that point my fishing career I was so fanatical about being on the water for as long as possible and covering as much water as possible that I was wearing my dad out. So… since our favorite fishing spot was in the Eastern Sierra’s on a small stream with very little traffic he started letting me fish by myself for a couple of hours at a time. For a 10 year old boy the freedom was amazing! He would turn me loose in the wild on a 4 mile stretch of creek to cast my Panther Martin and Rooster Tail spinners at high mountain trout. One perfect June day with the sun high and the trout suffering from a case of lockjaw I came across a fly fisherman 2 miles downstream from our camp. He was standing in the middle the water waving his rod and throwing beautiful tight loops that landed delicately on the water. He was also catching fish every couple of minutes. I was immediately fascinated by what he was doing. Though this was my favorite stream I never had that kind of success.
You know that feeling where somebody is staring at you? I guarantee he was feeling it because I was watching him like a Russian spy satellite on the Ukrainian border… anyway…after I watched him for about 30 minutes trying to observe every detail to figure out exactly what he was doing he finally decided he would make first contact. “Hey, do you want to come over and try this out?” He asked. “WHAT?!!!” My inner voice screamed…”Heck yeah I want to try it!!!” (again my inner voice) My actual response was more like a sheepish “Yes Please…” My parents always taught me to be respectful to adults.
I waded out to him in my OP shorts and Nike basketball shoes and he gave me a quick lesson on how to cast and then handed me the rod. As you might imagine I wasn’t very good, at first. But with a little patience on the kind angler’s part and extreme perseverance on my part, in about 10 minutes I caught my first fish on a size 14 Adams. I was hooked! We celebrated and I thanked the man profusely.
I was so excited to tell my dad what just happened I ran the whole way back to camp, 2 miles of trail running at 7000 feet. Working to catch my breath and tell my story all at once, I’m sure at first my dad was worried that something nefarious had happened. As my excited word salad hit him fresh off a nap I saw the look of concern turn into a look of delight and a big smile spread across his face as he finally got the gist that I just caught a trout on a fly and I wanted my own fly fishing rod (which I probably called a pole).
We camped on this stream for a week and I was in my dad’s ear constantly about learning how to fly fish and getting my own gear. I thought my pleadings were falling on deaf ears but a month after we returned home my mom and dad gave me my first flyfishing set up for my 10th birthday. My new rig consisted of a Berkeley fire stick 7 ½’ - 7 wt fly rod, a Pflueger Medalist reel and a WF7 Floating fly line made by Scientific Anglers. I thought it was the greatest thing ever and I immediately assembled my kit and rushed to the backyard to learn how to cast.
I practiced day and in day out until I learned how to cast the entire line. Though I would read articles in Field and Stream and Outdoor Life, the casting lesson from the very kind fisherman I met on the stream that day is the only “formal” casting lesson I’ve ever had in my life. Luckily I was a reasonably coordinated kid (seeing as I went on to become a pro quarterback for 11 years). Generally speaking I could make my body do the things that I needed to make athletic success happen. So as I started casting on the back lawn I learned things that made the fly rod and the fly line work and the things that didn’t by watching how my line reacted when I changed my stroke. By the first time I went fishing with that fly rod, the following year, I could cast and carry the entire line. I’d also worn out my first fly line before I ever reached the stream. I did a lot of things wrong when I first learned how to cast but I learned through observation and trial and error the things that helped me throw tight loops and long lines. I had absolutely no idea how to catch a fish but I could cast and throw pretty loops with an old soft fiberglass rod.
In the years since that first experience, I went on to become a pretty successful fly fisherman. Towards the tail end of my playing career, I would often spend my off-season guiding in the Eastern Sierras and throughout Northern California. When I finished my playing career, I went on to produce and host a flyfishing show Familiar Waters that aired on Outdoor Channel for well over a decade.
The reason I tell you this story is because if a know-nothing 10-year-old with no direction can figure out how to cast on his own you can do it too. The directions here will shortcut your journey to becoming a decent caster of the fly. I want to pass on the secrets that I learned about how to cast to make your learning curve a lot easier.
As a coach and a former pro-athlete, I believe it’s important to understand the why behind every skill I’m trying to perform. I believe that makes it easier to learn the basic principles and it makes the lesson stick. I am going to add detail on why we are performing the movements we perform to execute the perfect fly cast in the following paragraphs.
If you are a skip-ahead person who wants just the facts on the fly casting stroke, the steps and techniques are listed out below. Feel free to jump ahead by clicking here.
Full disclosure, I am self-taught on how to cast a fly rod. My method of teaching beginners differs from most instructors because I believe developing rhythm and technique should happen at the same time. Or else you have to go back and change your style to grow any farther. I’ve been flyfishing for 42 years now. I was a fishing guide for several years in Northern California and I hosted a fly fishing show Familiar Waters on Outdoor Channel for over a decade. In that time, I’ve met, talked to and fished with several professional fly fishing instructors, guides, casting champions and legends of the industry that all use the same exact techniques I’m about to teach you. That said let’s get into it.
First, everybody always talks about “Casting a fly rod” but we are actually casting the line. The tools we use for casting a fly have unique qualities that will help you.
Let’s start with an understanding of the gear that you’ll be using to cast.
If you already own a fly rod you know that it’s longer and if it’s of decent quality, lighter than most standard fishing rods. There are several reasons for that. The length is so that you can carry the fly line off the ground during the cast. It also makes it easier to load the rod which will assist you in the cast. Fly rods are so light because they are generally made from high modulus graphite these days or other light but strong materials like boron. It makes them more responsive, lighter, and faster which takes a lot of strain off your arm.
Without going into physics, understand that the rod is your best friend and your greatest tool when it comes to casting. It was designed to help you transfer energy to the fly line efficiently. Much like being in a great relationship if you learn its secrets and let it help you without fighting you’re gonna be much happier. You’ll also learn how to cast a fly rod in a hurry. If, however, you fight it and try to be the boss, your early fly casting experience will be much less satisfying and it may take you a while to get what you want.
If you’re new to flyfishing you’ll notice that everything is designated by a number which we call a weight (abbreviated as wt). 4 weight, 5 weight, 6 weight… etc. that’s because fly rods and fly lines are made to match. The weight part of the name describes how the line will load the rod. More on that later.
The Fly Reel
Back when I started flyfishing fly reels were essentially a place to store the line that you weren’t currently using. You would mostly fight the fish from your hand by stripping and giving line while applying pressure with your fingers. Although you could put the fish on the reel like you would a normal spinning or baitcasting setup you would have to use your hand for drag. Back in the day fly reels were nothing more than glorified spools that At best helped balance the rod a little and give you a place to keep your line.
Nowadays though, fly reels have come a long way. Many of the great fly reels are manufactured from aircraft aluminum bar stock. They have modern drags made of Rulon or other nylon and polyester materials that can literally stop fish like tuna, marlin, and tarpon. They can be extremely lightweight yet extremely strong when it comes to putting pressure on fish. On top of that, with modern design, a lot of fly reels are really beautiful to look at. All that said they don’t help you cast at all outside of how they balance on your rod. In that regard, things haven’t changed.
The combination of the rod and the property of the line is where the magic happens in fly casting. Because flies are generally made of fur and feathers or other lightweight synthetic materials there’s no way you could cast them for any distance in the traditional spin or bait casting fashion. You must have another means to get your bugs from where you’re standing to the fish’s lips. Enter the genius of the fly line.
Fly lines are made of a nylon or Dacron braided core which is then coated with PVC. This gives the line weight and stiffness that allows you to transfer energy down the line. As I discussed in the rod section, they are measured according to the weight of the first 30 feet of line. That’s the section that manufacturers have decided should perfectly load a fly rod. A 4wt fly line will be lighter for the first 30 feet than a 5wt fly line. And so on up the chain. The larger the number the heavier the line. Fly rods and fly lines are designed to work together perfectly in their weight class to transfer energy from angler to rod to line and deliver your fly delicately.
Fly fishing line also have what they call a taper. There are different versions of this such as double taper, weight forward, Triangle taper, etc. Modern-day marketing minds have come up with other tapers such as nymph taper or streamer taper to sell more fly lines. I’m not saying they don’t have different characteristics. But for 90% of fishing that I’ve done a high-quality weight forward fly fishing line has served extremely well. And that’s what I suggest you start with. Match your line weight to your rod and buy a weight forward line from a quality manufacturer like Scientific Anglers, Rio, Airflo, Orvis, or Cortland and you’ll be fine.
One thought, beginner fly lines tend to be a little shorter and stiffer to help you learn the rhythm and stroke. Their on-water performance is not as good as a result. But if you are all in and want to learn this game in a hurry I suggest you buy a less expensive beginner line and wear it out learning how to cast! Then when you’re ready for actual fishing, step up to a good all-purpose weight forward line and have at it.
You may have noticed the leader is the piece that connects to the end of your fly line and resembles the fishing line that you’re used to using. It’s transparent to make it less obvious to the fish (though we’ll have a blog discussing the truth of this and leader selection later). The leader also has a taper is the final connection between your line and the fly. Fly fishing leaders are designed to transfer energy down and deliver your fly delicately. For initial casting purposes just having a leader on your line that we can tie a piece of yarn to will suffice for now.
As I said, the main idea is to transfer energy through your cast from your arm to the rod to the line. If you do it right it will create a nice loop that unrolls from the tip of your rod that ends up flat and straight at the end of each cast, whether it be the back cast or the front cast. Ideally, you’ll use as little energy and effort as possible to make this happen. This is where most new casters make the mistake. We’ll talk about corrections and common problems later.
Remember, I’m really big on learning the why so here we go trick number one. BTW Women are way better at this trick early on than men!
The next three tricks are all equally important because they are the “actions” of the cast. How well you perform them in a sequence will determine the success of your cast.
That’s enough of the Why- Let’s Get You Casting A Fly Fishing Rod!
When gripping a fly rod never squeeze or choke it. Your grip should be firm but relaxed.
There are three different grips that you can use when casting a fly rod.
Like any sport, the key to getting the proper stance for casting is finding where you feel balanced, athletic, and strong. I see fly fishing instructors telling their anglers to face forward stand square to the target and then try to cast off to the side. As a former athlete and a coach, this makes absolutely no sense to me. I think they do it because they’re trying to limit motion by locking their anglers into an inflexible stance. But I want you to feel athletic, smooth, and balanced. Face your target square first, feet shoulder width apart and then drop the foot on the side of your casting arm back about 6 to 8 inches and open up your stance a little. This serves a couple of purposes.
First, it lets you engage your trunk a little bit in the cast and creates a great opportunity for a smooth start and acceleration. Big joints move more powerfully and more fluidly so rotating just a little bit at the trunk to start creates a powerful but smooth acceleration to the beginning of your cast. Second, as a beginning caster, I want you to watch your back cast every time you throw it until you get a sense of timing. Your back cast is the most important cast because it sets you up for success in your front cast which is the delivery. Nine times out of 10 a good back cast means a good front cast. But 10 times out of 10 a bad back cast means a disastrous front cast. So, with your open stance feel free to watch your fly line on your back cast and learn what it’s doing. That’s how we make corrections.
Now you’re set with a good firm but relaxed grip on the rod and you know how to get into a proper athletic fly-casting stance.
To get that line out the rod tip start with 1 rod length of line past the tip. Whether you’re on dry land or standing next to water point the rod tip at the surface you’re using and shake your rod from side to side in 3–4-foot sweeps while releasing the line in your off or non-casting hand. Let it flow out through the guides so that the water or grass grabs the line. This creates an S with the line in the water or on the grass and you’ll see the line go out the guides.
Trying to cast while the line is stacked up on the water will be impossible. So, if you are standing on water skip to the section on role casting now by clicking here to learn how to straighten your line before you try to execute a back cast. Remember we’re trying to transfer energy and the most efficient way to do that is by getting a straight fly line on our pick-up for our back cast and front cast. Any extra loops or bellies in line will absorb that energy and bleed it.
It’s important that every cast is going to start with our rod tip in a low position and our line completely straight.
This stop is absolutely critical to transferring energy smoothly in the accelerating stroke. If you travel past the 2 o’clock position without a clean stop all that extra movement will be circular, taking your rod tip off the straight line and forming an arc that will transfer to your line and make your back cast a disaster. So immediately upon executing the wrist-pop stop the rod.
I strongly suggest you practice the back cast by itself several times without trying to come forward. As you finish your back cast watch your line unroll until it straightens out and let that line fall to the ground. If you did it correctly your line should land fairly straight. You can take a step or two in the opposite direction (if you’re on grass) to get contact with the line so you can execute another back cast with the same exact steps. Then let that line roll out and fall to the ground again. Do this several times until you’ve really got the feel for the back cast and you’re making a nice loop that straightens out and falls fully extended at the finish.
Once you’re comfortable that your back cast is clean and smooth it’s time to transition to a front cast as the line comes straight.
Here’s where your patience comes in. It’s going to take about a second for 25 to 30 feet of line to unroll if you threw a nice loop. You should have a feel for the timing because you’ve been watching your back cast unroll just before falling to the ground. So, we’ll pick up the cast here.
Congratulations! You just executed your first successful fly cast. Or if you’re like most of us it may not have been super successful.
Casting a fly rod is much like swinging a golf club or throwing a football, it will become muscle memory. It’s all about executing the right technique at the right time. What kinesiologists call a mechanical cascade.
The more you cast the more you’ll learn the movements and the timing that tie it
together and make it a beautiful dance. Being able to pick a fly line up off the water execute a beautiful back cast and then transition to a beautiful front cast is a sight to behold when done correctly. There is a rhythm and beauty to it that only an angler can appreciate. As I tell my young quarterbacks (and I practice what I preach) practice makes perfect. The more you cast a fly rod the better you’ll become at it and the more effortless it will feel.
Here are some tips to shortcut the learning curve. Golfers have what they call swing thoughts so you should have fly-casting thoughts.
