Dune,

I will tell you how I learned a lot and what helped my casting curve. If you have a current rod or an old one, tie some yarn to the end of it and take it out in the yard or your street in front of the house and practice. I did this for 6 months before I ever went fishing. 20-30 minutes a day for 4-5 days a week and you can really improve your casting. Youtube is also a great resource for getting the fundamentals. Then go do it.

Good luck !

4Weight, I practice at least 30+ minuets a day. However, I have not tied a piece of yarn to my line yet.

There are several publications that have helped. YouTube has been awesome. Orvis has several �how to�s� for beginners. Capt Chris Myers has several awesome videos as well.

Honestly, I feel like I am at the point I would need to start videoing my self and critiquing. The problem I have is I may not be good enough to do that. LOL

And then there is double hauling. Ya, not even going to go there... LOL


I did learn Capt Myers�s quick cast. That�s a handy cast.


Duane

If you go out and practice in the grass, take a junk leader and tie a bunch of gnarly loops into it, then snip several of the loops to give you a bunch of tag ends. Google pics of a "grass leader" to see an example. What it'll do is catch up in the grass and help load the rod on the backcast. It simulates the load you get on the backcast when the line you have laid out begins to break surface tension with the water. It helps when you're lawn casting for practice.

Floon I like that, sounds like you are simulating a pick up cast which is a great way for beginners to learn to feel how tension in the line can help you throw it. Duane, I've been fishing many years and double haul like %$%$ ! Don't worry about that or how you look. Learn to cast where you need your fly to be and then go catch fish.

That's whats is all about anyway.

Good feedback everyone !

4W

Man, I really dig your enthusiasm for this stuff. It can get you into some truly magnificent places and give you a reason to find little special corners of your own neighborhood that you'd otherwise never know existed. Cheers brother!

You know, I took my own advice and Googled a grass leader. The places I saw it show up were on spey casting posts and websites. To think of it, that's when I used one, too. Maybe it is not as useful for the pickup of a regular cast...not sure. To be honest, I've parking lot casted a bunch of rods, but the only thing I've ever practiced in the grass was spey casting. A regular cast might lift the lift the line quick enough that it is not necessary.

Rex is your man for casting advice. He doesn't know it, because, well "Floon" rings no bells, but he's helped me with a cast or two over the years. He's a great caster - take his advice.

Rex - you ever use a grass leader with your casting instructions for just regular one-handed casting?

Floon, you are awesome and thank you for putting up with me!! I have a passion and love for the outdoors which was kindled by my father. I am just lucky I can share this passion with my family.


I look at fly fishing as a performing art. (Remember I have an advanced degree in music performance.) When I hit the water, I want my basics fundamentals to be there. I have found this concept has made my time on the water with a fly rod more enjoyable.


I have 5 ponds with in a 10 min drive from my house. 3 of which are on family owned land. Then there is also Bonham State Park, Loy Lake, Dean Gilbert, and Herman Baker which are all 20-25 min drive from my house and life is good.


I am familiar with the drag on the water you are referring to. Capt Myers does address this in one of his videos for the overhead cast. He makes it look so effortless as he emphasizes the importance of lifting the line, as he lifts the fly line off the water all the way to the leader before he even starts his back cast. His coaching then focuses on progressively accelerating from the 10:00 to the 2:00 positions, throwing the �paint� loaded on the tip of your fly rod up and back behind you. The practical application of this theory, well, let�s just say that it is not 100% muscle memory yet. LOL

Floon, thanks for the kind words. I've played with grass leaders a little bit and I've met some instructors that use them, but I don't use them. They are most often used for Roll Cast or as mentioned Spey style casting on the grass. Those casting styles use a "water anchor" to help load the rod and grass leaders and other types of casting aids can be helpful when practicing on grass in place of water. Personally, I tend to focus more on timing and stroke length when learning to Roll Cast than using casting aids, but other instructors love using them.

One more comment to add the general discussion. Use caution when practicing on parking lots or driveways. Asphalt and cement are very hard on plastic fly lines and will wear them out quickly. I use an old fly line anytime I have to do a class in a parking lot. Grass does less damage to fly lines, but it will make them dirty. Keeping a fly line clean will help it to fish better.

Also, always use some type leader whenever practicing your casting. Casting a fly line without a leader can damage the tip of the plastic fly line. A mono leader is cheaper to replace than a full fly line.

Have fun!

That is an awesome point. To many times we get caught up in gear/form and forget what brought us to this sport.

Duane.

Great point! And actually, a very thoughtful one as well. Let�s face it, fly line is not cheap...



I am fortunate enough to live on 5 acres in the country. So grass casting is not a problem. I also have a designated fly line with mono leader & tip I use for practice.

My theory has been that if I can cast decently with the cheap fly line that came with the Cabela�s combo, then I should not have any problems casting with the �better� Scientific Anglers line.

"One more comment to add the general discussion. Use caution when practicing on parking lots or driveways. Asphalt and cement are very hard on plastic fly lines and will wear them out quickly. I use an old fly line anytime I have to do a class in a parking lot. Grass does less damage to fly lines, but it will make them dirty. Keeping a fly line clean will help it to fish better. "

Interesting; I always thought that (and I still do). But there is another school of thought out there that says grass is harder on your fly line than concrete or asphalt. I don't see how it could be, but I've never (and am not about to) done valid comparisons. Food for thought though......

Jim, I can only comment based on my own experience. We have to use a parking lot for classes at Fly Fish Texas each year and my fly lines show a lot more wear after a day casting in a parking lot than in the grass.

I will add that I use different lines whenever possible for practice and for fishing. I use my best lines for fishing.

Same here; we have done classes on neatly mowed grass, concrete parking lots, and water. I never threw my own lines on concrete, but the grass never seemed to cause any significant harm to my lines, and I used them frequently on grass. Just thought I'd throw that perspective in here, even though I'm not an adherent of it. I can't really call BS on it until I prove it wrong, and I'm just not that motivated. It's a "born in the forties" thing.........

After considerable research, advice, and the fact that I found it on Amazon at a really good price, I ended up purchasing a Fenwick Aetos 905-4 rod.
(I think Fenwick lists it as a 904-5. 9ft, 4pc, 5wt.)

This may sound crazy. However, with this rod, if my performance is less than desirable, I know that it is my execution of the cast and not the rods potential or ability.

In English, if I am sucking, it is me and not the rod. LOL

Nice job Scout I hope you are happy with the rod. Good luck and good fishing !