So I know this isn't actually fly fishing, but I'd argue that ultralight spin fishing with the right casting technique is actually much closer to fly fishing than it is to conventional spin fishing. I usually fish with 2-3lb line...I tie most of my own "lures," and it requires as much tinkering as fly fishing. So there's my justification for why I think you guys should find this interesting.

I talked Joe Robinson (Austin fly fishing guru) into letting me record some of his special ultralight spin fishing casts with a high speed video camera. He has found that fly fishers seem to be more interested in it than anyone else, so I figured that I should pass it along here. The dynamics of the tip are very similar to the tip dynamics during a fly cast.

High Speed Casting Video

Cool. Thanks. Here is an old school fiberglass spinning video.

It isn't fly fishing but it's danged cool! He is hardly moving his arm at all. Flip, pow!

I am a bit unclear on the whole no bail thing, they remove the bail from the reel and polish up that nub. I am sure it somehow adds to the effect.

That might be my next crazy burr under my saddle to pursue.

Oh and please share some more on this subject. If no one else is interested I surely am!

and throw in a fresh Joan Wulfe clip too please !

The flip cast is pretty cool stuff.

Steve, if you're going to salivate over Joan Wulff, I'm sure we all agree that you owe her at least the respect of spelling her name right. After that, you're...um, on your own I guess.

Yah, the video is probably a little out of place without some background.

Joe Robinson has recently written a small book called Piscatorial Absurdities about what he refers to as "radical ultralight spin fishing." It's basically his opportunity to openly talk about and share his obsession of super-ultralight spinning tackle.

Not to over simplify things or put too many words in Joe's mouth, but one of his central arguments is that the true art of the spinning cast has been lost in the past 50 years. Modern rods are so stiff and modern lures are so heavy that the typical caster doesn't actually use much of the flex of the rod in the cast. The cast's power is generated by accelerating the tip of the rod as much as possible. These casts are the exact opposite of that style of casting.

The rods that he's using in those videos are all made on 1-3wt fly rod blanks, so they're much more flexible than typical spinning rods made in the past 30 years (TFO is now making a dual-purpose spinning rod / 3wt fly rod...you just switch out the reel to go back and forth between the two styles). He uses 7x tippet for his line (roughly 2lb test) and lures that are less than 1/20th oz. The casts in the video use very little motion from the wrist or arm, but take advantage of the dynamics of the rod to propel the lure. My background is in engineering, so I nerd out a little bit on the dynamics of the whole thing; however the timing and feel of the cast also make it very comfortable to me as a fly caster.

Joe does a much better job of explaining all of this than I do. If you want to read more about the topic, I would suggest you grab a copy of his book from Sportsman's Finest in Austin (512-263-1888). He talks about the whole process, from equipment to casting technique to general motivation.

I should also probably also mention the website that they're putting together to go with the book.

Very cool. I wouldn't know how to describe it properly being that I
a) haven't spin fished since I was a kid,
b) don't have any engineering background or knowledge at all, and
c) am a hapless idiot,
but I would say that all the casts involving multiple flexes of the tip before the lure is actually launched are some of the coolest things I've seen done with a fishing rod.

I can't say I have seen much of this kind of finesse casting recently among spin fishermen. Many are of course deadly accurate which is cool to see, but these casts do seem to be somewhat "lost."

Oh bail-less spinning reels...

Manufacturers added the bail to open faced spinning reels to make them easier to cast, but they also lead to the dreaded birds nest in your line. If you flip the bail over as the lure is flying, it stops the lure abruptly, causing the lure to snap back. That in turn puts slack in your line and can lay down a slack loop on your spool as you start to reel in. The slack loop then catches on the line during the next cast, both slowing down the lure as it flies through the air and pulling at the loop on the spool. If you don't do anything about it, the eventual end to this is a birds nest.

People take the bail off of their reels so that they can do all of the line control with their index finger. It gives you control to feather the line and slow it down as the lure reaches the target. If you stop the line with your finger, then the line never goes slack, and you don't risk birds nests.

You can do all of that with the bail on, but it's arguably easier without the bail.

Excellent information!

I always use my finger to feather down a cast with a spinning rod. Didn't know I was doing something right!

I know this comment is not fly fishing related but just want to say that I've been instinctively executing those moves the day I was taken out of my diapers. Carry on.

I just love the dialog of the "old" films. They had not "dumb down" the writing yet. That is another reason I like to read old books. It gives you the opportunity to expand your vocabulary. Everything now reads at a 5th grade level. I managed to pass the 5th grade so I prefer to read at a higher level than most. Rant over.

I've been watching Deadwood for the same reason. SWEDGEN!





So even though the bail is removed from the spinning reel, the line wrapper (I don't know what to call it) is still there to wind the line around the spool?

Yes! I have seen some of the old spinning reel that were made with out the bail. The line roller is the only thing attached to the rotor. You had to place the line on the roller after the cast before you could retrieve the line. True old school!