Casting

Does anyone really understand Kefty Kreh's casting method? Does anyone use it? My small stream, short cast is a little different than my long distance stuff. I did not think I had a problem and was therefore confused as to what Lefty's method was going to do for me. Then I found the "answer" in Lefty's "Advanced Fly Fishing Techniques" 1992. Page 38 he says "I soon learned that with this method (the traditional way) only the strongest men could throw a long line or get any distance under difficult conditions." That made some since because I used to be very strong, but now I am less so. Perhaps my handle should be El Gordo. I may need to work out on the weight machine some or relearn how to cast. Getting back in shape may be easier.

I believe it would be timing and technique as opposed to brute strength. I loved watching Lefty Kreh's video on casting faults for instructors, very eye opening.

He seems to me to move the rod way behind him and in a huge arc which seems to have a potential for timing errors etc p46 under the illustration on the forward cast... blah blah blah and then At this time a very brief acceleration of the forearm in the direction you want the cast to go (with no wrist movement) combined with a quick stop, will form a tight loop that travels rapidly toward the target"..

After I feel the rod load with the line out behind me I can give it a punch and... ta da... I have accomplished the final part of the Lefty cast... The part where the rubber meets the road so to speak. Of course I also never learned all the correct timing for that single haul / double haul stuff and think that people get in trouble by moving the rod arm and hand all over the place while the line remains stationary in the other hand ... I am not good with line control by pinching the line with my rod hand so I keep my hands together and in sync and shoot line when I want without messing up the rod loading by out of sync hands.. Can you follow that?

Yes, I understand Lefty's casting style and I have had the privilege to cast with him a few times. I use that style for some fishing conditions, but I also use other styles as appropriate.


However, I don't think I understand your question?

Guess I really need to find someone to work with and see if it would help me or just confuse me. Thanks

I use Lefty's method but I'm short like he is. I think a taller person with longer arms would do well without drifting the rod back to the 3 o'clock position on the back cast, then start the forward cast from that position. It is natural for me and i've been fly casting (self taught) for 60 years. Casting is not about strength, but about timing. When you develop a rythmn in the casting stroke, the cast will be almost effortless, as the rod and the line do the casting; you just start,stop, and manipulate the line with the line hand-p-

Thank you. I am 6'2" with a good wing span.. That "extreme" rear drift seems like a wasted effort for me and one more area for me to screw up... I can normally feel the rod load on the backcast without looking. Seems like if you deliver a whimpy cast, it will not matter how far back you took it... and I can deliver a whimpy cast when I want one with out the extreme back cast. I have not fished the bay before and am stressing if my casting is up to the job but don't want to try to teach an old dog a new trick if I can help it.. But I am not sure what that 3:00 is supposed to do that I am not getting done.. Next they will want me to take some running steps like a javelin thrower and get my whole body into it.

RexW, when I first started fly fishing in Tyler, a friend who was originally from Sherman, David Wilson, helped get me started.

Now I am in Paradise on the Rio but it would help if I were closer to the Gulf / Bay.. and I no longer handle the heat well.

Drift is something that is done AFTER the stop. If you don't have good casting technique, then you don't need to worry about Drift. Lefty's style works fine with or without Drift.

I primarily use Drift when I an interested in longer casts. I don't mess with it or need it for shorter distances. I'll also admit that I very seldom teach or even discuss Drift.

The way Lefty describes it, on the backcast after the stop and while the loop is unrolling, "slide the rod up the line". And that is kind of what it feels like to do a Drift. The result is that it allows you to have a longer stroke length on the forward cast. The longer stroke length allows for more power and a faster haul to be put into that forward cast.


Bill G. are you reading this one? I'm interested in hearing your comments on drift.

RexW, thank you. I think I have not been following the instructions close enough. I will revisit them and once it drops back out of the 90's here (102 today)I will try again. I will also make some markers and actually measure what I am capable of now. I will acknowledge even if it is not really noteworthy. Now to find a big enough stock tank.

Tio Pick, Paradise on the Rio

Rex, I agree with what you are saying; the drift has to be after the stop. I simply cannot cast without the drift as I put too much power in the shorter stroke and thus my line runs over itself, especially with fiberglass rods. The drift allows me a rhythm I cannot get with the shorter cast but I also agree that if one practices proper casting technique there is no need for the drift. Proper technique taught by a knowlegeable instructor eliminates many of the bad habits one gets when self taught; I simply practice bad habits-p-

Pearow, I agree, that situation is a good time to use drift.