Fishing Information

Fly Casting - the Overhead Cast


The overhead cast is the most basic fly cast. Learn to execute it well and you will be able to easily adapt the skill to the side cast and backhand casting.

Good casting starts with learning to grip a fly rod correctly and adopting the right stance to maintain comfort and balance.

Gripping the Fly Rod

The normal grip is with the thumb on top and slightly to the left of center (assuming a right-handed grip) so that the 'V' between the thumb and the index finger is in line with the top of the rod. Your grip should feel comfortable and firm - but not tight. Your rod and reel only weigh a few ounces, so it won't require a death grip to contol it.

If you prefer, placing the thumb directly on top of the rod is acceptable, and you might find this useful if extra force is needed on the forward cast. Another variation is sometimes used for accuracy when casting short distances, or just as a "change up" to relieve fatigue during a long day of fishing. Instead of placing the thumb on top of the rod, try shifting the index finger around so that it lies along the top of the rod instead.

Fly Casting Stance

The correct stance is important to maintain comfort and balance. It's very easy to lose your balance when trying to get the most distance out of your cast, or to lose your footing on the loose, water polished rocks in the bed of a stream.

The proper fly casting stance is to lead with the foot on the same side as your casting arm (i.e. right foot forward for a right-handed caster). Your feet should be set approximately at shoulder width for balance and stability. This will allow you to easily transfer body weight from one foot to the other during the cast.

Casting

Start the cast with the fly rod extended horizontally in front of you with your forearm and the rod in a straight line, and the line straight. Accelerate smoothly in an upward direction making sure that the rod tip stops just short of vertical (the "12 o'clock" postion) so that the line will project backwards above the horizontal plane. In other words, the line will still be rising as it continues backward. If you go beyond vertical before stopping the back cast, the line will go downwards! A precise stop causes the rod energy is to be transferred to the line, and catapults it through the air.

Once you have stopped the back cast, pause so that the line reaches full extension above and behind you. Once you begin the forward cast, accelerate the the rod forward smoothly and stop the forward movement when the rod is at approximately the "10 o'clock" position. The line will project forward and straighten as it falls towards the water. Follow through with the rod to ensure that it lands taut, straight and softly.

Note that the vertical plane has been used for this discussion. That's why this method is called the overhead cast. The line flies overhead and over the rod tip. The same can be done in any plane to make straight line casts. Once you have mastered the overhead cast, you can apply the same techniques using the horizontal plane to keep the line low and avoid obstacles; or cross your body on the back cast, bringing the right hand toward the left shoulder in an off-vertical plane for a backhand cast.

More Fly Fishing Tips, Techniques, and Resources available from My Secret Stream.


MORE RESOURCES:

Wilkes Barre Times-Leader

Ice-fishing festival gets assist from cold weather | Outdoors
The Seattle Times
With a deep freeze settling into areas east of the Cascades, anglers are breaking through the ice to catch fish. By Mark Yuasa No comments have been posted to this article. With a deep freeze settling into areas east of the Cascades, ...
Mild weather not as nice as iceWilkes Barre Times-Leader

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Fishing the rivers will be different in 2012 than last year
The Times of Trenton - NJ.com
One of the most important of these facts is that fish, no matter where they live, being creatures of habit and their environment, thrive on stability. A stable environment causes fish to fall into patterns when it comes to movements and feeding, ...



Bellingham Herald

OUTDOORS: Lower Columbia fishing set, halibut hold line
Bellingham Herald
Early 2012 salmon, steelhead and sturgeon fishing seasons are now set for the lower Columbia River, giving anglers some hard information on which to plan trips. Expectations rate as good for the lower Columbia's early returning chinook fishery this ...
Biologists predicting strong run of Columbia spring chinook this yearTheNewsTribune.com
Outdoors Digest: Tuesday's ODFW meeting will explain public proposalsCoos Bay World

all 8 news articles »


Minister Ashfield Announces a 2011 National Recreational Fisheries Award ...
MarketWatch (press release)
GRANBY, QUEBEC, Feb 04, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Gateway, today announced that Claude Bernard is a winner of a 2011 National Recreational ...

and more »


Craftsmen have a passion for bamboo fishing rods
Duluth News Tribune
He's fishing a bamboo rod again. But he didn't buy it. Bamboo rods are prohibitively expensive for most anglers, running from $800 to $3000 or more. So, in his retirement, Johnson learned to make bamboo rods. He buys bamboo from the south of China.

and more »


Fishing biz mixes 'old world art' with tech advances
Kenai Peninsula Online
He found employment fishing for herring in Kodiak and that led to doing net repairs in the winter in a Homer shop operated by the late Dan Moran, owner of “Just Knots, Mostly We're In Seine.” “We hit it off,” said Alward of the connection he made with ...



For-profit fishing limited on reefs off Georgetown
MyrtleBeachOnline.com
Commercial spear fishing was stripping clean artificial reefs that were meant for recreational fishing, anglers claimed. Two years later, after The Post and Courier's 2009 report of the alleged abuses, a federal law has been put on the books to ...
For-profit fishing limited on reefsCharleston Post Courier

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Federal wildlife officials offer ice fishing day in Mississippi River refuge
The Republic
Federal wildlife officials are planning a free ice fishing day for kids on the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Children between the ages of 6 and 13 will be allowed to fish for free at a Mississippi River boat landing in Winona, ...

and more »


Brevard Times

Cocoa Beach Surf and Fishing Report for Sunday February 5, 2012
Brevard Times
As of 5:00 am on Sunday February 5, 2012, jelly fish were not present throughout Cocoa Beach from Coconuts on the Beach northward to Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral as a result of westerly winds over the last week pushing the jellies away from shore.

and more »


Feb. 2 fishing report
The Tennessean
There's still too much generation at the dam to allow for decent fishing. • Center Hill. Lots of smallmouth bass are being caught on swim baits and jigs. Try the creeks. • Cheatham. Striper are being caught below the dam. Crappie bite is good in main ...
Fishing reportsPryor Daily Times
Fishing Report 2-6-12Log Cabin Democrat
Outdoor notebookMuskogee Daily Phoenix

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