
Stance
Fly casting… starts with… how to adopt the correct stance… to maintain comfort and balance… Ally Gowans.I agree with Ally Gowans.
Gary Borger suggests stances such as neutral, open, fully open, closed, fully closed and neutral stance. He’s right too.
When fishing, the terrain, water, canopy and fish usually determine stance. I suggest you practice on the lawn, throw a Frisbee. Cast to it until you hit it, then kneel down, throw it again and cast till you hit the target. Assume a different position, throw and cast. Keep throwing the Frisbee from different positions until you can hit the target consistently.
Practice Tips
Practice, practice, practice.
Practice makes perfect if it’s perfect practice. If not perfect, all you are doing is reinforcing the wrong motor skill.
Lazy eye syndrome.
Watch a major league pitcher. He studies his target intensely, looks away then delivers his pitch. Do the same when you’re casting
Resist the urge to throw
You’re not playing baseball, you’re casting a fly line.
Stretch a rope...
...in front of you (with a target) at the end, a Frisbee is perfect.
Practice until your line lands parallel to the rope and the fly hits the target. It’s better to miss a small target by a couple of inches than to hit a hula hoop every time.
Pause
There is a pause between the back and forward cast. It is not a continuous motion. The pause should be short, about ¾ of a second. If you over extend the pause the line falls too low behind you, too short a pause produces shock waves and loss of control.
Bending the wrist ...
too much is the most common casting fault
Loop control
By simply running the arm through the basic casting stroke it’s very easy and very effective to practice loop control without the rod.