Fly Fishing: Principle Number 2
Tom Bishop fly fishing in the Andros Islands
Years ago the Federation of Fly Fishers’ dedicated fly casters set forth five principles for a good fly cast. They determined that many casters would have different styles of casting but in order to make a good cast they all will incorporate these five principles. Last month we covered the first principle, which was to eliminate slack in the fly line….which brings us to Principle 2.
Principle Number 2: Smooth Acceleration. Your casting hand should accelerate smoothly during the back cast or forward cast, increasing in speed as your hand travels through the casting stroke to a crisp STOP. You can imagine, if you just casually waved your rod back and forth, the fly line would never load or put a bend in the rod and no energy would be built up. The line would just fall to the water. However if you accelerate the rod through the stroke the weight of the fly line causes the rod to load and when you STOP the stroke the rod unbends or unloads and the fly line propels forward in a loop. The energy of the unloading rod is transferred to the fly line and loop which carries your leader and fly along with it. Some of the fly casting gurus call this a Speed Up and Stop. Others call it a Loading Move and Power Snap. Just remember if you use too little acceleration the fly line will not load the rod and you will not be able to form a decent loop, if any at all. If you accelerate too fast your cast will be all jerky and again, poor loops and possibly a crossing loop because the rod tip dipped. The proper amount of Acceleration will also help you keep the rod tip following in a Straight Line Path which is next month’s principle! I’ll see you in the park practicing!
Capt. Lawrence Piper is a San Marco resident who fishes out of Amelia Island. He is a FFF Certified Casting Instructor and a member of the First Coast Fly Fishers. The FCFF meet the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Southpoint Marriott Hotel. Capt. Piper can be reached at www.TheAnglersMark.com, (904) 557-1027 or [email protected].
Send your pictures, stories and favorite destinations to The Miller Brothers at [email protected] or Ted at [email protected].
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading... 
