Best Casting Techniques for beginners

When I started fly fishing this time, I couldn’t find beginner-friendly techniques. But for this reason, I want to explore those techniques from some expert fishers. After much research, I found some easy and beginner- friendly techniques. Now I want to share those with you.

Technique no. 1 : The first thing you have to start with is a grip. That is the way that I chose to hold a fly rod is putting my thumb on top of the cork and the next thing I do is put out the leader and a rod lengths of a fly line out the front of my rod. I want to have at least 9-10 feet of floating line from the tip of my rod when I start making the cast. A lot of new fly fishers don’t care about the cast and line. They make that cast either with no floating line from the tip or just the leader; it’s not a good idea. And it’s also not good enough to get more energy and speed.

Technique no. 2: If you are a new fly fisher, then your biggest mistake is not caring about mental discipline. But I want to give you a lesson and that is starting a mental discipline that does not allow the rod to go back any further than two o’clock and no further than 10 o’clock. It’s a must to have a mental discipline of 10 to 2 than the rod not going to go too far back on the back cast and too far forward. It really does influence the cast if your arc is too wide on a shorter cast. So it’s a best practice if you are new and starting fly fishing.

Technique no. 3: You have to create a straight-line path to the tip of your fly rod. Most of the fly fishers have a tendency to snap their wrist, turn their wrist during the cast which does not create a straight line path with the tip of the fly rod. If your fly line is kind of arcing back and forth, your fly line is going to follow the path of your tip. You will learn later that pointing is very important for casting. It’s not an easy thing. But you can obviously influence that where the line goes by adjusting where your rod is pointing at the end of the cast. You have to practice more and more until you become a pro. Because your fly line has to follow the path of the tip of your rod. When you are casting, then look back and make sure that you are not turning in or turning out or snapping your wrist when you are going back on that back cast.

Technique no. 4: When I was a new fly fisher like you, then I made a mistake and that is I was trying to whip it back and forth too quickly and not allow the line to fully extend out behind me before bringing it forward. And it’s very important to start feeling that flow, having that very patience. Cadence is important, your cadence thinks of a hand of your grandfather clock right, you want to have slight delay on the back of your cast and a slight delay when you bring it forward right. It’s not a matter of whipping it back and forth as fast as you can. If you have an opportunity you are out in a float tube a lot of people I have casted I said as soon as you are ready to bring it forward wait a half a second longer and then bring it forward. If you’re gonna find that the line will just start to generate speed the rod is making energy but you have to have that cadence. Another thing you have to consider when you get the cadence down is that you want to have a hard stop on the back and a hard stop in the front that is a helpful thing. It transfers energy that the rod is creating into the line. Once you get the cadence down practice the hard stop in the back hard stop in the front. Remember practice is the key.

Technique no. 5: Now I want to give you some extra advice, that is if you are trying to shoot maybe a 30-50 foot cast you are going to want to have that line pulled from your reel and at the ready. Sometimes we use a stripping basket, sometimes the line is just at our feet but you want to be able to pull enough line out of your reel to be able to achieve that 30 or 50 foot cast. When you start that line you just pulled out of the reel now you want to start allowing the line to carefully roll through the left or right hand depending on how you are casting. So I am a right-hand caster and that’s why I am always controlling the line with my left hand. So always make sure how you are casting. If you are a left-handed caster then you should use the right hand to control the line.

I hope these tips are really helpful for you. Because I was like you in my earlier time. But I practice consistently. And you have to practice all of these tips consistently and then you will become a pro fisher.