Ron Beck Fly Fishing Missoula
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

10 Reasons To Use A Long Fly Rod

by MAngler

The industry standard length rod is 9’, with a 9’ 5 wt. being the most popular rod in the world. Does it work? Of course it does! When the top rod designers in the world compete for market share in the most sold rod, it’s a guarantee you’re getting their best work! But maybe not the most effective and efficient tool for the job.

The long rod has fought an uphill battle since rods went from solid wood and Greenheart to split bamboo. Dame Juliana’s 15 foot and longer rods allowed early anglers to control line and fly, but as split cane replaced solid wood, rods got shorter to conserve weight and allow single handed use. The long rod has been trying to find its way back since about 1880.

Fiberglass didn’t bring the long rod back- the combination of weight and butt diameter didn’t lend itself to the long rod . When graphite appeared in 1973, rod rolling machines were incapable of consistently creating a straight tip on a 10’, 2-piece rod.

It’s a new millennium, and graphite construction has changed. The two-piece rod has pretty much gone the way of the coelacanth (thought to be extinct but still sighted), and it’s easy to roll pieces for 4-piece 10 foot rods and longer. The technology has caught up with the product, but anglers are lagging behind!

So without further ado, we present the Missoulian Angler’s Top Ten Reason For Using A Longer Fly Rod!

1. Distance

Straight physics says a longer lever is a more powerful lever. With a longer rod, you generate more energy and cast further. While distance might not be critical to a lot of trout fishing, the ability to add power definitely allows you to fight the wind with more authority. More power = more distance = better in the wind. Streamer fishermen need distance at times, as do still water anglers. The roll cast is much more powerful with a longer rod- ask any Spey fisherman. Get a power boost with a longer rod wherever and however you fish.

2. Longer Leaders, Thinner Leaders

With additional power in casting, longer leaders with finer tippet are now more easily handled. When you think of a leader as an energy conduit, (Leaders) then more power from the rod handles a longer, thinner leader. Since Charles Cotton in the 1600’s, fine and far off has been the mantra. The longer rod makes that happen, providing more space between line and leader. With less chance of lining the fish, and better drift on lighter tippet, the long rod enhances your presentation.

3. Faster line pick-up

The longer rod requires a bigger, heavier reel to correctly balance the rod. With a bigger reel comes a larger diameter, which means faster line pick-up. When you hook the fish of the day, getting the trout on the reel is the fastest way to control. Larger diameter means faster to the reel. A 10’ 4 wt. rod might use a reel designed for a 6-8 weight rod, depending on the weight. When you get a longer rod, make sure to get a reel that balances. The longer length creates a heavier swing weight, and balance becomes more critical to comfortable, all day casting.

4. Mending


This is the most important reason for owning a long rod. With the tall stick, your ability to mend expands exponentially. It’s not an extra foot of mending capability, it’s an additional 8-10 feet of mending capability. Since mending is essential to success, and a longer rod accentuates your ability to mend, there is NO REASON to trust the crucial aspect of mending to a short stick. Once again, physics shows you how much more effective a longer rod is. The longer rod also extends your reach casts, adding additional float to your drift. In every aspect of mending, on water and aerial, a longer rod outperforms its shorter counterpart.

5. Line Control

Along with better mending, long rods provide better line control. Line control begins with casting distances that are short enough to maintain contact with the fly. As we’ve said, the longer rod handles more line, allowing a longer cast to be fully under the anglers control. Another aspect of line control is removing drag by keeping the line off the water. Longer rods keep more line off the water, eliminating drag. While this is important for classic angling, it’s critical for…

6. Euro Nymphing

Mending and line control are essential to Euronymphing. Euronymping success is predicated on complete line control. It’s why the best Euronymphers use the longest rod they can comfortably handle. The longer rod creates more separation from angler and fish, adhering to the fine and far off mantra. It allows micro control over the fly line at distance. The people who are the most effective at taking fish, the anglers who must control their fly line, use a long rod for its effectiveness. Maybe you should think about taking advantage of an extra foot or more in your fishing.

7. Dapping

The gentle art of dapping has been somewhat supplanted by the upswing in Tenkara, but it’s still highly effective taking trout out of tight, tight lies. Dapping keeps everything off the water but the fly, and is often used in small streams or places a cast can’t be made. The longer rod keeps you further from the action, which is further from spooking the quarry. Dapping can be utilized on large rivers as well as small streams. Find yourself above an eddy with rising trout, and dapping will get you a drift not found by traditional casting.

8. Use A Lighter Line Weight

After 30 years of using nothing shorter than 10’ rods for trout fishing, I can say from experience that pretty much anything a 9’ 5wt. rod can do, a 10” 4wt. rod can do. The mechanical advantages of the long rod allow a lighter line to do more, making it equivalent to a line size higher in a shorter rod. When dry fly fishing technical water (think Clark Fork River and Bitterroot River after July 15), and you have a tool that allows you to use a lighter line to accomplish the same tasks. The drop rule applies to all long rods. A 10’, 5wt. matches a 9’ 6wt, and a 10’ 3wt. handles the tasks of a 9’, 4wt. With a longer rod, you’ve just gotten a bit finer in the fine and far off game.

9. Versatility

Whether you toss dry flies, throw nymphs, huck streamers or straight Euronymph, a longer rod helps you do it better. Every technique of fly fishing is enhanced with a longer rod. Magnify distance, mending and line control at any situation, and you find you’re a more versatile angler on the water. You get places others can’t get to, or control drag in spots where others can’t. With a long rod, the river just got smaller, and you just opened up new opportunities. That’s versatility.

10. Annoy Your Friends with Your Ability To Catch Fish

When you grab the long rod, your effectiveness on the water rises exponentially, just like your ability to mend, ability to cast farther, ability to handle smaller tippet and ability to control your line. That’s a long list of upgrades, without even practicing! Imagine how much more you’ll want to fish when you’re catching more.

The Missoulian Angler has the largest selection of long rods in town. With 10’ and longer from Douglas, Winston, OPST and Echo, we’ve got you covered from standard trout to Euronymphing right through mini skagit. We cover 2 wt through 6 wt, at many price points, and have the rod you need when you’re ready to heed physics and take the mechanical advantage to the water.

Blackfoot River Montana Salmonfly Hatch
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

What is the best fly rod length

by George Kesel

It’s a thorny question, one that brings out the opinion of anyone asked. When you buy a fly rod, you make a choice. And with the cost of fly rods, it must be a well thought out choice. When deciding on the best fly rod length, here are the things to think about.

The Physics Of Rod Length

The only thing about rod length that can’t change is physics. From a physics standpoint, longer rods mend better and hold more energy- allowing longer casts. Shorter rods fight fish better. Those two statements can’t be refuted. Mending and fish fighting are easy to understand, distance a bit more so.

A longer rod (in the fly fishing industry, that’s over 9’) generates more energy, and casts further. However, that energy needs to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is you. Think about spey rods. They can be 16’ long, and a good spey caster throws 140 feet plus. You need two hands/arms to generate the power to make a rod that long work. Try casting a spey rod with one hand, and if you do, don’t sprain anything. The energy required and the swing weight will tear your wrist up. When we say swing weight, we mean the energy required to maintain position while the front or back cast extends to load the rod.

This holds true for all fly casting- all rod lengths and line weights. A 10’ 9 weight will cast further than a 9’ 9wt, which casts further than an 8’ 9wt. However, energy generation and swing weight multiplies with length, making a 10’ 9wt a beast to cast. Swing weight and energy generation lessen as the line weight lessens, but is still present. All rods need energy and have a swing weight- it gets more pronounced the longer the rod

Manufacturing Fly Rods

Manufacturers tell you a 9’ rod is the best fly rod length. This is based on two premises. Prior to graphite, cane and fiberglass rod makers knew the physics, but the materials made length difficult to achieve. With graphite, longer rods were now a better option. However, ferruling and blank rolling became issues.

In graphite’s infancy, ferrules were terrible. They created flat spots in the action, so rods were two pieces to minimize that affect. A 10 foot rod needed two 5’ pieces, and early graphite rolling machines couldn’t handle that length. The best they could roll consistently were 4.5 foot lengths. You didn’t want crappy ferrules or a curved blank, so manufacturing settled on 9 feet.

The other factor is development. Manufacturers have been working with 9’ rods for 50 years. You can be sure they have that taper DOWN. Spend 50 years refining anything, and it gets pretty darn good. Even with exponentially better ferrules and rolling machines, the tapers developed by the manufacturers still focus on 9’ feet, where the most R&D work has been done.

How Usage Affects Fly Rod Length

But the real measure of best fly rod length is usage. How will the rod be used, where will the rod be used. What do you NEED from your fly rod. Let’s look at this from a trout fishing perspective.

Well, it doesn’t make much sense to use an 11’ rod on a stream 8 feet wide. That’s problematic from the word go. Conversely, it doesn’t make much sense to use 7’ rod on a river 100 yards wide. Neither rod works well in those situations

Small waters fish better with a shorter rod, it’s as simple as that. They’re lighter in hand, more accurate and less fatiguing. When a long cast is 35 feet, a 7’ rod will make the required mends and other presentations. Small waters, for the most part, have smaller fish, and you can throw small streamers with a shorter rod. You can Euronymph with a short rod on small water- not as well as with a longer rod, but it can be done.

Yes, short rods are more accurate. Imagine pressing a door bell. It’s easy with a pencil, more difficult with a 36 inch dowel, harder yet with a 7’ stick and even more so with a 10’ stick. Short equals accurate.

In our minds, the best fly rod length comes down to distance and mending. We have big rivers in Missoula, which require both. We throw big streamers, dry/droppers and massive double nymph rigs, sometimes with lead.

When casting some of that junk, one thing a long rod does that few think of is keeping the fly away from your nose! Just sayin’. . .

How To Choose The Best Fly Rod Length

If we had to make a bold statement, if you fish water 25’ or wider, a 9’ rod or longer is the way to go. That comes with this caveat, in fertile land, where trees grow thick, a 25’ stream can have a covering canopy, or close to it. Short may be a better option in that environ. With that explained, if you fish water without a canopy, get a 9’ or longer rod, even if it’s 15 feet wide. If you can wade the smaller waters, you can use a longer rod. One of the best features of a river is no trees in it to foul up the back cast.

Wow, bet you thought it was going to be more complicated. Nope. Straight physics says a longer rod works better, except for fighting fish. And face it, we’re catching trout. While they get big, and 4-6 weights are considered light tackle fishing, trout are not tarpon or wahoo.  They fight, but with 5X coming in at 5 lb test, you can land trout comparatively quickly. The longer rod is not going to significantly fatigue most anglers when fighting trout, nor overly tire from casting a longer rod all day.

The longer rod mends better, adds distance, and fights the wind better. It’s simple math.  

However, another reason for short rods in fertile land. The longer the rod, the trickier it is to maneuver through the brush. We know a lot of long rodders who break the rod down to two pieces for easier maneuvering. The longer rod helps keep your fly out of the brush when back casting, but does put you closer to the trees. In our experience, there are less trees than bankside brush.

How long is too long for the best fly rod length? Tenkara rods can be13 feet long, but they weigh less and cast shorter distances. Distance equals energy expended. Tenkara rods have swing weight, and need to be maneuvered through brush, but on the whole aren’t fatiguing. A 13’ 5wt is a trout spey rod, with a handle configuration for both hands while casting.  

For those casting, not Euronymphing or Tenkara fishing, we consider 10’ to be as long as you want to go for single handed casting. Above that length, the rod gets unwieldly to handle, and exponentially more fatiguing as the line weight increases. You also lose accuracy, though the more you use a longer rod, the more accurate you become. For dries and smaller nymph rigs, you can also utilize the extra energy from a long rod by dropping down a line weight. We say a 10’ 4 will do everything a 9’ 5wt does, except cast larger streamers. This math holds true for any length/line weight comparison.

When you start thinking about 7 weights and higher, or using sink tips, a 9’ rod has proven to be the best tool for the job. 9’ rods have a manageable swing weight, and the shorter length applies more leverage for heavier/sunken fly lines during pickup. They don’t fight fish as well as a shorter rod, but since heavier lines are thrown longer distances, we accept the more strenuous fight for cast for distance.

When you think of the best fly rod length, think about the waters you fish most often. Factor in the physics of fly fishing, your comfort zone, what’s available from the manufacturer and what feels best in your hand. Don’t immediately discount a 10’ rod or a 7’ rod- both have their place on the water. But we say go longer whenever possible, because the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

Best Fly Rod Packages For Beginners
Complete Guide To Beginner Fly Fishing

Missoula Fly Fishing Lessons
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Krieger v. Kreh Fly Casting Techniques

by MAngler

There are two schools of fly casting instruction that dominate fly fishing. One method is espoused by Mel Krieger and Joan Wulff. The other is espoused by Lefty Kreh and others. They are quite different in some respects, and very similar in others. It pays to note that world Fly Casting champion Steve Rajeff uses the Krieger/Wulff method of casting.

In the Krieger method of casting, the rod remains close to vertical through the entire cast, only dropping as the cast is delivered. It maintains the 10-2 casting stroke as most efficient. The elbow is mostly stationary during the cast, with only the forearm and wrist moving to propel the fly line. The wrist hinges to deliver energy to the rod, and the concepts of line control remain the same. The line must be extended behind you before starting forward- the line must be extended in front of you before starting a back cast.

The Kreh method of casting differs in these ways. The rod is held at an angle to the body, and the elbow is not stationary. The upper arm, forearm and wrist are all involved in the cast, with a longer motion through the body. During the elongated casting stroke, the wrist hinges from 10-2.

At the Missoulian Angler, we have employees who are proponents of both casting styles. It’s a matter of style, not substance. Each employee has their reasons for using the particular method, and most casts are a combination of both styles. We feel it’s important to know both styles, and then pick and choose the parts you like and work for you!

Most beginners will be shown the Krieger/Wulff method of casting. It has less moving parts (elbow stationary) and is quickly grasped by beginners. The main difficulty lies in the fact you can’t watch the line on your back cast, and you’re doing it all on feel. The Kreh method is not taught as often, due to the relative complexity of the cast. With a moving elbow, more places are introduced where the cast can have problems. Krieger for simplicity, Kreh for comfort.

Wondering how this relates to your casting instruction? If you click here to go to How To Cast If You Spinfish, you’re going to find the method shown is the Krieger/Wulff school of casting. If you click here to go to How To Cast A rod If You’ve Never Held One Before, you will find the Kreh school of casting. We think at some point, you should click on both links, and learn as much about casting as you can!

Fish Rising On Clark Fork River

Understanding Fly Fishing Drag

by MAngler

Understanding Fly Fishing Drag

Fish Rising On Clark Fork River

Fly fishing can be such a drag! If you’ve done a little fly fishing, you know why that’s funny. If fly fishing drag is new to you, let’s do some explaining. If you don’t understand drag, you can’t effectively fly fish.

When early man saw fish rising in a river, it didn’t take much intelligence to say, “That’s a locatable meal, and I can see what it’s eating.” Fly fishing evolved for a simple reason. It’s impossible to imitate an 8mm insect with a piece of shaped wood or metal. When fly fishing was invented, it was done by people who needed to eat. Success was bringing back a fish. It didn’t take smarts to see what the fish were eating. It took intelligence to figure out how to imitate and then deliver something as small as an imitation mayfly, caddis or stonefly.

What those three aquatic insects (and so many more) have in common is their inability to control their movement in moving water. This is in direct contrast to a minnow or crayfish, which have the power of directed locomotion in the water. A nymph (an immature aquatic insect) living on the bottom can only crawl. When a nymph is separated from the bottom, it can’t swim. It can only drift with the current. IT HAS NO CONTROL OF ITS DIRECTION. The same applies to an adult insect on the surface. When floating on the surface, it is moved by the current and with the current. IT HAS NO CONTROL OF ITS DIRECTION. Trout have been conditioned for millenia to eat insects moving exactly with the current.

THE SIDEWAYS BURGER

You’re sitting down to dinner, and it looks delicious. A burger, ripe and ready, juicy and tempting.

As you reach for your tasty burger, it starts to move sideways . . . . you can’t see why, you don’t know why, but it’s moving sideways across the table.

Are you going to eat that burger?

Probably not.

And why is that? Because it’s NOT doing what a burger should be doing! You’ve eaten burgers all your life- they don’t move sideways. Despite your hunger, you’re going to let that one pass by.

Welcome to the wonderful world of fly fishing! If you’re using an insect imitation, we can sum up fly fishing in one sentence.

MAKE YOUR FLY BEHAVE AS IF IT’S UNATTACHED

Simple as that. Except it’s not so simple, because your fly IS attached. It’s as complicated as that. Whenever your fly line or leader pulls the fly in any direction other than the direction of the current, it’s called drag. Think of drag as the sideways burger. You won’t eat the burger. The trout won’t eat your fly.

The river is full of currents. Big ones you can see. Little ones you can’t. Each one affects your line and leader. Each current pulls the line in a different direction. Every current affects your flies drift, and not in a positive way. How do you combat this? It’s the question every angler asked the first time they went fishing, the last time they went fishing, and every time in between. How do you eliminate drag on your fly?

Because 95 out of 100 times, when a fish refuses your fly, it’s dragging. Trout are obsessed by food. Trout are looking to eat all the time. To maintain their position in the river looking for food, they constantly expend energy. They need calories to replace that energy. They don’t look for excuses not to eat, they look for reasons to eat.

Think of it this way. In nature, who has more deadly issues, an ant or an elephant? The smaller you are, the more predators pursue you. The more you eat, the bigger you become, and fewer predators pursue you. That makes trout eating machines. They want to eat, they’re looking for reasons to eat and usually refuse only when your fly behaves unnaturally.

That’s a critical concept. When trout feel safe (not spooked) they forage all the time. Datus Proper wrote a book called What The Trout Said. The main concept states if you’re not catching fish, the trout say you’re doing something wrong. It’s that simple. You’ve spooked them, your fly is at the wrong depth, it’s dragging or it’s the wrong fly. The ultimate message- the trout aren’t eating your fly. They are NOT going to adjust their behavior to make you happy. You adjust your tactics to make them eat.

Drag stops fish from eating, and you need to eliminate it. Fly fishing drag is lessened with a proper cast and a balanced leader. Drag changes by moving from one spot to another when working the same fish. But most of the time drag control comes down to mending. Mending is the term we use to define any action designed to alter your fly’s action on the water. Mending can be done while casting, or after the fly is on the water. Both have positives and negatives, and both skill sets need to be learned.

When your fly isn’t floating with the current, it isn’t catching fish.

Additional Beginner Fly Fishing Resources

Casting
Importance of Mending
Best Fly Rod Packages For Beginners
Complete Guide To Beginner Fly Fishing

Missoula Trout Fishing Downtown

The Left Hand in Fly Casting

by MAngler

The Left Hand in Fly Casting (if you’re a righty!)

When you practice fly fishing casting, the left hand does very little, if anything. As you find the 10:00 and 2:00 points, learn to accelerate the rod, and then aim the line, the focus is on the right hand. Quite often, the line is tucked under a finger of the right hand, keeping the line the same length. This accelerates the learning curve, as the consistent line length allows a novice to get a “feel” for how the fly rod works with that amount of fly line extended. This is going to change drastically when you get to the water. The line is not a consistent length- it will change with every cast. You’ll need to be able to change the length of the cast, as well as control the line after the cast has hit the water. This is when the left hand becomes critical. If fly casting was a construction company, the right hand would do the work, the left hand would plan and organize. The left hand makes you successful on the water.

To start, the left hand controls casting distance. Two forces act on the fly rod when casting. One is the weight of the line extending beyond the tip of the fly rod. The other is the anchor created by holding the line firmly. When practicing, that anchor is created by tucking the line under a finger. On the water, the left hand is providing the anchor. If you’ve ever dropped the line while casting, you know the rod immediately straightens, as energy drains from the rod.

Knowing the left hand is an anchor, and how it affects the cast, allows you to add line to your cast. To start this process, you need to strip anywhere from 5-15 feet of line from the reel, and let it fall to the ground next to you. This line will be pulled up by the energy of the cast. Get used to having line at your feet when fly fishing. It’s the holding area for casting and line management when fishing. The fly cast doesn’t have the energy to pull line from the reel, only from the ground.

While practicing, you feel the rod load and unload on the forward cast, against the left hand anchor. To extend line during the cast, the left hand must release its anchor. The left hand releases the line just after the rod has unloaded, while the line is traveling forward but not fully extended. This is a timing thing. Release the line too early, and the cast flops. Release the line too late, and the cast’s energy has dissipated to a point where additional line won’t be pulled into the cast. It takes practice to coordinate the timing of the line release, but it’s essential that you get it.

When the line is released to add distance, the left hand does NOT drop the line. When fishing, most anglers hold the line between the thumb and index and/or middle finger. This is the best technique to maintain line control. When the line is released by those fingers, the fingers form a loop around the line. In essence, you’re forming another guide with your fingers. When the line has extended to the appropriate length, you simply collapse the finger loop around the line, stopping the line from extending.

When pushing for distance in a hurry, line can be extended on the back cast as well. You follow the same procedure of releasing the line just after the rod has unloaded, but this time it’s during the back cast. Not surprisingly, this takes a bit of coordination. It’s not simple, but it bears knowing this is possible when you’ve done enough fishing to utilize the knowledge.

The left hand also controls the line when the cast is on the water, especially with an upstream cast. The moment the line lands on the water, the current starts affecting the line. With a direct upstream cast, the line immediately starts floating back down at you. This is a problem when you don’t control the line with the left hand. The right hand is involved in line control as well.

As the line lands on the water to begin your cast, the left hand is coming across to the right hand, passing the line off to the right hand. Yes, the right hand is also holding the rod. The line gets tucked under 1, 2, 3 or all 4 fingers of the right hand against the rod handle. It’s up to you how many fingers- there’s no right or wrong here, do whatever is comfortable. The line isn’t clamped under the finger(s), it’s lightly grasped so the line slides through the fingers.

The line is now floating back at you. If left unattended, the line gets below you and forms a loop. At the base of the loop, the line is traveling at twice the speed of the current, rapidly removing slack from your cast. Since we know a drag free drift is critical to presentation, the loss of slack is detrimental to your drift. You need to control the drifting fly line by not allowing the line to get below you during the cast.

The left hand keeps the fly line from getting below you. The left hand comes up behind the fingers holding the line in the right hand, grips the line and starts moving backwards- moving backwards at the same pace as the current is delivering the line to you. When the left hand has gone back as far as comfortable, drop the line, return to the fingers on the handle, regrip the line and do it again. The line is held in the right hand to give the left hand a consistent point to return to after moving backwards. Sometimes this is a very sedate, slow movement. Sometimes it’s a frantic pull, pull, pull. It is completely dependent on the speed of the current.

Fast or slow, the left hand must move at the exact same pace as the current. Go too slowly, and the loop forms below you, removing slack, creating drag. Go too fast and the tug of the left hand will remove the slack. The left hand must be tuned into the current speed to maximize your drift.

Let’s add another component. While the left hand is controlling the line according to the drift, the right hand is using the rod to mend. (Mending) In order to mend, the line must be held firmly. This is another anchor point, but instead of being used in casting, the anchor point is being used to mend. In essence, a mend is a very tiny cast. You can’t mend if the line is unanchored. The left and right hand must work together supplying an anchor point for mending, while stripping to control the line coming back at you. It’s quite the dance your hands and rod go through to get a drag free drift.

The left hand also controls the action of your streamer when you choose to fish that way. Again, the fly line is underneath the fingers of the right hand, and the left hand contacting the line directly behind the fingers.

Streamers are cast down-stream and across. They’re fished on a tight line, just as you would fish a lure. Streamers have no built in action (wiggle bibs, spinning blades) other than material choice, so any fish-enticing action is imparted to your fly with the left hand. NOT through the rod tip, which is what anglers naturally do. Working the streamer with the rod tip may look tantalizing, but that method results in fewer hookups, for two reasons.

First, as you move the rod tip away from the streamer, you lessen the length in which you can set the hook. For example, if you move the rod tip backwards 9 feet to activate the streamer, upon the strike, the rod tip can only move 3-5 feet further backward during the hook set. That’s not a lot of distance to set a hook firmly. Which segues into reason two. A fly rod is designed for casting. The 9 foot or greater length is designed to flex when throwing the lighter fly lines used for trout fishing. When setting the hook, the fly rod bends very deeply, working against the hook set. The further the rod tip moves during the hook set, the better chance you have to hook the fish.

Which brings us back to the left hand. When streamer fishing, point the rod directly at the fly. Activate the fly by manipulating the fly line with the left hand– using the same motion you use to control line when fishing. But instead of matching current speed with your left hand, you’re pulling/tugging the fly back against the current. This can be done rhythmically or arrythmically, depending on the action you’re trying to impart to the streamer. Again, as the line is pulled towards you, the left hand drops the line and immediately goes to the back of the fingers to re-contact the line and begin the fly activation again. You do this until the fly has passed through the zone, and then you cast again. However, if the trout didn’t respond to your action the first time, change the action. If you moved the fly rhythmically, try moving it erratically. If you used short, fast strips, try longer, slower strips. Let the trout educate your left hand for what they want that day.

When you’re streamer fishing, you also use the left hand during the hook set. Known as the strip set, the left hand pulls on the line while the rod is moving backwards. This adds a lot of power to the hook set, but can definitely over power as well, breaking off the fly. It takes practice and time on the water, but you’ll learn in time when the hook is set, and STOP yanking with the left hand.

As you see, the left hand is as active in fly fishing as the right hand. While adding no energy to the cast, the left hand controls the line on the water. Some may argue that’s more important than the ability to cast. Maybe, but we think it’s better to be able to do both well!

Additional Beginner Fly Fishing Resources

Casting
Understanding Drag
Importance of Mending
Complete Guide To Beginner Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing From a Boat

by MAngler

Fly Fishing From a Boat – How NOT to snag the rower!

Beautiful Scenery On Clark Fork River

Fly fishing casting from a boat is different than casting from shore. Mostly because in a 13-16 foot space, there are 2 casters with someone sitting between rowing. That’s a lot of people in a confined area. You might be seated when casting, which is also a challenge. Accuracy with both back cast and front cast, standing or sitting, is critical when floating.

While not exactly casting instruction, this is important information when float-fishing. Both anglers must cast from the same side of the boat. Fishing off opposite sides of the boat brings both fly lines into the same back cast fly zone. Also, the backseat angler doesn’t cast when the angler in front is casting. Both statements are designed to prevent the lines from tangling. The angler in the back can see the whole boat. They’re in charge of making sure their cast doesn’t tangle with the caster in front, because they have the line of sight.

The front seat caster also has responsibilities. The front of the boat always casts at a 45 degree angle downstream. This gives the back seat angler somewhere to fish. If the angler in the front is casting perpendicular to the boat, the back seat angler has nowhere to cast. When you’re in front, cast front! Onto how to fly cast in a boat.

There are significant changes you make when fly fishing from a boat. They’re not made at all times, but are critical when your back cast is going over the rower’s head. For a right-handed caster in the front seat, the cast goes over the rower’s head when casting off the right side of the boat. In the rear seat, casting off the left side of the boat puts a righty’s cast over the oars.

You don’t want to hook the rower. A list of reasons isn’t necessary. If you DO snag the rower, DON’T set the hook!! Sounds ridiculous, right? There are some anglers who foolishly start yanking and flailing every time their line gets snagged up. Don’t be one of those anglers!

When back casting over the rower, it’s easy to make sure you don’t snag them. Start your back cast with the rod tip almost touching the water. Make sure the slack is out of the line. Bring the tip of the rod up from the surface, stopping your back cast at 12:00. Correct, your casting stroke is going from 8:00 to 12:00.

The line follows the path the rod tip travels during the moment of acceleration. The diagram shows the line traveling almost straight up in the air- far away from the guide! This back cast, however, has a very specific disadvantage. It’s not very efficient for coming forward.

The reason you take a backswing in golf and tennis, or wind up in hockey, is to prepare the body to come forward with the same motion in the same path. Try it some time. Take a club, racquet or stick back in a different path than you plan to bring it forward. It takes a lot of concentration to go back one way, forward another.

It takes the same concentration when casting forward in a boat. If the front cast goes from 12:00 to 8:00, matching the back cast’s path, the line travels straight down. You need to adjust the front cast to make sure it goes forward, not down. You need to change the path the rod tip traveled during the back cast to a different path on the front cast. The change occurs near the end of the back cast, just as the line finishes unfurling. The tip of the rod needs to be dropped to 2:00 o’clock, so you can take the forward cast from 2:00 to 10:00. We know 2:00 to 10:00 is the correct path for the rod tip to travel to cast forward.

For the record, this is not a very efficient cast. Dropping the tip of the rod to start the front cast breaks the continuity of the loop. You’re taking a line traveling up, and throwing it forward. Much of the casting energy is used to change the fly line’s momentum from up to forward. The energy transfers over an angle- this is not the case in a standard cast. Wish we could fully explain this with a dazzling display of physics mastery, but we can’t. It gets complicated with momentum, paths of energy, and most dreaded of all- tangents! You’re going to have to trust us, changing the direction and angle of a cast isn’t easy or efficient.

We often won’t worry about maximum efficiency when fly casting from a boat. Put simply, if you can’t get a cast close to the target, the rower takes you closer to the target! Try THAT when you’re wading! The best fly fishing guides in Missoula will gage your casting, and then keep the boat in position to maximize your casting abilities. It’s the reason why you get in a boat. You maximize coverage of the water. You also see a lot more water in a boat than when wading. That’s the reason so many traveling anglers hire guides, and so many local anglers own boats. You cover more water, more efficiently, from a boat. If a friend invites you to float, and you hook them in the ear, you might not get another chance to float in that boat again! Be ready to change your cast when floating. Safety’s no accident!

Additional Beginner Fly Fishing Resources

Casting
Understanding Drag
Importance of Mending
Complete Guide To Beginner Fly Fishing