Fly-casting tips for novices

span.deletedtext { background-color: red; background-attachment: scroll; background-repeat: repeat; }span.embeddedtag { background-color: yellow; background-attachment: scroll; background-repeat: repeat; }span.note { background-color: lime; background-attachment: scroll; background-repeat: repeat; } Judging by the numbers of students in my fly-casting classes, fly fishing very good reason. Fly fishing is fun and can be enjoyed by people of all fishing abilities.

Fly casting is, of course, only one facet in this exciting outdoor sport. Fly casting is actually "line casting" because the fly line provides the weight which is actually thrown by the rod tip. The fly just follows the line. Learning to control the rod tip is the key to fly casting. Most of the students in my classes are beginning fly casters.

Here's three fly casting tips that are recurring themes in our classes:

• Lower rod tip. Point the rod tip low to the water before trying to lift fly line off the water to start the backcast. Raising a rod tip that is low to the water will immediately lift the line off the water.

On the other hand, if the rod is held out parallel to the water or, worse yet, pointing up, the line will be pulled back toward you when you lift the rod tip, rather than sent up and back into the backcast. Good casters don't have to dodge their own flies.

• Slow down. Beginning casters often rush into the forward cast before the line is fully extended into the backcast.

Ever "cracked the whip" on a fly cast? Well, that means the end of your tippet was traveling faster than the speed of sound and you just lost that $1.98 fly.

The backcast should be "slung" behind you using the same "accelerate-to-a-stop" motion that produces your forward cast.

• Watch your backcast. Beginning casters should watch their backcasts when they practice casting.

Don't move your feet. Just turn a bit from the waist to watch the fly line.

When the fly line is fully extended, push the rod forward to get the line moving forward, then smoothly accelerate the rod tip. Proficient casters don't watch their backcasts when they are fishing.

After hundreds of backcasts, you should be able to feel a slight "pull" when the backcast is fully extended. That's the signal to start moving the rod forward.