The journal · Casting
Casting Faults and Their Cures
Five things go wrong with a fly cast, and each has a plain mechanical cause. Ten minutes on a lawn with a scrap of wool will mend most of them.
· 4 minute read · 936 words
The fly line goes where the rod tip sends it. That one sentence explains every fault below. If the tip travels in a straight line and then stops, the line follows in a narrow loop. If the tip dips, swings round in a curve or never really stops, the line records the error faithfully and lays it out on the water for you to look at. Faults are tip paths, and tip paths can be changed.
What a good cast is
Three things happen in every sound stroke, forward or back. The rod starts slowly and speeds up smoothly. It comes to a crisp, definite stop. Then there is a pause while the line unrolls and straightens. Speed up, stop, wait. For a short line the stroke is small, with the rod moving between about ten o’clock in front and one o’clock behind. As the line lengthens, the stroke lengthens and the pause grows with it.
Fault, cause, cure
| Fault | Cause | Cure |
|---|---|---|
| Tailing loop: the top leg dips and crosses the bottom leg | Power applied too early and too sharply, or the rod creeping forward during the pause so the stroke is too short | Start slowly and accelerate smoothly to the stop. Keep the rod still, or let it drift back, while the line straightens. |
| Wind knots in the leader | Tailing loops. The leader passes through its own loop and pulls tight | Cure the tailing loop. Check the tippet often and replace any knotted length. |
| Wide, open loop that dies in a breeze | Rod tip travelling in a broad arc, usually from the wrist breaking open on the back cast | Firm wrist, shorter stroke, higher stop. Think of the tip moving along a level ceiling. |
| Cracked whip, flies snapped off | Forward cast begun before the back cast has straightened | Wait. Turn your head and watch the line unroll, then come forward. |
| Line piles in a heap at the end | No clear stop, too little line speed, or the cast aimed down at the water | Stop the rod firmly at about ten o’clock and aim at eye level above the target. Lower the tip only as the line falls. |
The tailing loop
This is the fault of the improving caster, and it tends to appear on the very cast you most want to go well. Reaching for extra distance, you hit the rod hard at the start of the forward stroke. The rod bends deeply too soon, the tip dips below its straight path and then springs back up, and the line copies that dip as a wave that crosses itself. The other route to the same result is creep: easing the rod forward while the back cast is still unrolling, which leaves too little room for the stroke, so the power has to be crammed in.
The cure is in the feel, not the force. Imagine flicking paint off a brush: a slow start, speed building to the end, then a stop. The hardest moment of the stroke should be the last. If you catch yourself creeping, deliberately let the rod hand drift a few centimetres further back after the stop. It gives you a longer stroke and makes creeping impossible.
More effort is almost never the answer. A later, smoother effort almost always is.
The open loop
A beginner’s fault, and a tiring one. The wrist hinges back until the rod points at the ground behind, the tip sweeps a great half circle, and the line opens into a wide, slow loop with no power to turn over a leader. Keep the rod butt close to the forearm on the back cast and stop when your thumb is level with your ear and still pointing upward. A useful trick is to tuck the end of the rod butt inside your shirt cuff for a few casts. The moment the wrist breaks, you feel it pull.
The crack behind you
That sound like a small whip means the fly has changed direction too fast, and it often means the fly is gone. The line was still a curled loop when you started forward. A longer line needs a longer pause, which is why the crack arrives just as you lengthen your cast. Turn side-on and watch the back cast over your shoulder for a dozen casts. Come forward when the loop has all but opened and you feel a slight pull on the rod.
Ten minutes on grass
A mown lawn is a better classroom than a river, where your attention is on the fish. Short, regular sessions beat long occasional ones.
- Set up the rod with a 9 ft leader and tie a small tuft of bright wool where the fly would be. Never practise with a hook.
- Pull off 9–10 metres of line, measured from the rod tip. That is real fishing distance on most rivers. Resist the urge to add more.
- Lay a cap on the grass at that range. Make ten casts at it, false casting no more than twice each time.
- Now cast side-arm, with the rod horizontal, so that both loops unroll in front of you at waist height. Faults that are hidden overhead become obvious.
- Finish at ten minutes while the casts are still good. Tired arms teach bad habits.
Do that twice a week for a month, changing one thing at a time, and the faults thin out almost without your noticing.