VIDEO: The Lagging Curve Cast — Dead Drifts for Days (Fly Casting Skills)

by | Sep 5, 2024 | 8 comments

** NOTE ** Video for The Lagging Curve Cast Appears Below.

The Lagging Curve is a beautiful way to provide slack to a dry fly, and it’s my favorite way to get perfect dead drifts to a dry fly rivers. I fish a lagging curve at just about any angle, using both a forehand and backhand cast, and it provides slack to a dry fly for days.

The lagging curve is really the opposite of what most people mean by a curve cast. This is an underpowered curve and not a power curve.

The leader design matters a lot, and so does the casting stroke.

In this video, I cover the following . . .

  • Gear
  • Baseline cast
  • Two types of curve casts
  • How the lagging curve is a setup in the air
  • How it makes for better mending on the water
  • Leader adjustment
  • Tippet adjustment

Here are a few other resources to support this concept of the Lagging Curve Cast:

READ: Troutbitten | Dry Fly Fishing — Stop and Drop
READ: Troutbitten | Ten and Two
READ: Troutbitten | Dry Fly Fishing – The Forehand and Backhand Curve Cast
VIDEO: Troutbitten | The George Harvey Leader Dry Fly Leader — Design, Adjustment and Fishing Tips
READ: Troutbitten | Dry Flies Need Slack — So Give It to ’em George Harvey Style
PODCAST | Troutbitten | Dry Fly Skills Series
READ: Troutbitten | Put More Juice in the Cast
READ/WATCH: Troutbitten | Casting Forehand and Backhand (with VIDEO)

And here’s the video . . .

(Please select 4K or 1080p for best video quality)

Got It?

The Lagging Curve is an essential part of my dry fly fishing. I use it at all angles. The Lagging Curve is the magic ingredient for using a slack leader, like the George Harvey leader design. Building in slack, having control and watching your dry fly drift down one seam for what seems like an impossibly long drift is where good technique blends with good fishing.

Fish hard, friends.

 

** Donate ** If you enjoy this article, please consider a donation. Your support is what keeps this Troutbitten project funded. Scroll below to find the Donate Button. And thank you.

 

Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com

 

Share This Article . . .

Since 2014 and 1000+ articles deep
Troutbitten is a free resource for all anglers.
Your support is greatly appreciated.

– Explore These Post Tags –

Domenick Swentosky

Central Pennsylvania

Hi. I’m a father of two young boys, a husband, author, fly fishing guide and a musician. I fish for wild brown trout in the cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round. This is my home, and I love it. Friends. Family. And the river.

More from this Category

Fish and Film – Fishing Fall Streamers (VIDEO)

Fish and Film – Fishing Fall Streamers (VIDEO)

Nothing compares to actively fishing streamers and watching trout attack the fly. In early November, I found good streamer action in some favorite water. The takes were spotty enough that I had to work for them, but frequent enough that I could learn the preferences of the trout and dial in a presentation . . .

The Jerk Strip – Streamer Presentations VIDEO

The Jerk Strip – Streamer Presentations VIDEO

Moving the fly with the rod tip and not just the line hand is a fundamental skill that opens up many presentations that bring trout to a streamer.

The jerk strip is critical for any serious streamer angler. It’s a must-have skill for animating the fly — for selling the streamer to a fish. And it’s the baseline for what I think of as a jig strip, a twitch strip, a glide strip, a head flip and twitch, a lane change, and much more. At its core, the jerk strip is a hand off from left to right — it’s about moving the fly with the rod tip and then recovering with the line hand. In this way, the jerk strip sets the table for everything else . . .

Fish and Film – Mountain Water Memories (Dry Flies, Dry Dropper and Wild Trout)

Fish and Film – Mountain Water Memories (Dry Flies, Dry Dropper and Wild Trout)

Deep into the fall season, I revisited one of the most important small streams in my life. I fished dry flies and dry dropper. Fishing was technical at times, and the weather swayed from sunny skies to strong winds that created a canvas of colored leaves, until eventually concluding with a cold, calm rain near the end of the day.

But as great as the fishing was, all of it was secondary to the memories, both old and new, among the minor waterfalls of a steep canyon valley.

Fishing Big Water – One Key Tip

Fishing Big Water – One Key Tip

Most anglers are tempted by big water. We fall for the trap. The river dares us to fish the far side, and it tricks us away from the things we do well.

. . . These are easy mistakes to make on big water. But discipline solves the problems. Actively planning and following through is an elusive quest with a fishing rod in hand. Most of us want to be creative. We want to follow our whims. The shady side of that boulder sure looks good, right? So why not make a few casts? Then fifteen minutes later, you’ve wasted time, energy and confidence with bad drifts and poor judgment . . .

What do you think?

Be part of the Troutbitten community of ideas.
Be helpful. And be nice.

8 Comments

  1. This video is so helpful. Hope you will do a video on spiral cast (or did I miss that?).

    Reply
    • Thanks, Bill. I think you mean the Corkscrew Cast. Yes, I definitely plan on that one, along with the Crash Cast.
      Cheers
      Dom

      Reply
  2. Very instructive video illustrating an important, and often neglected, cast. Thanks, Dom.

    Btw, the lagging curve cast is a powerful reminder of how difficult nymphing is. The same potential for drag exits under the surface of the current as on it, however, we can’t use a curve cast because then we would lose strike detection. So, we muddle along best we can.

    Reply
  3. Great description. I fish this cast on the quick Montana waters and didn’t know it had a name! Thanks for the instructional video!

    Reply
  4. You guys are getting pretty good at these videos. The camera work nailed it. Thanks

    Reply
  5. Hey brother. Spent a few hours messing around with drys today. Have you found that modern taper/weight lines make this cast difficult . I rejigged my Harvey multiple times but I found on casts under 30’ the leader wouldn’t cooperate.

    I have air cell on my other rod. I don’t remember having this issue with it. Either I lost this skill or I never had it lol.

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Articles

Recent Posts

Domenick Swentosky

Central Pennsylvania

Hi. I’m a father of two young boys, a husband, author, fly fishing guide and a musician. I fish for wild brown trout in the cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round. This is my home, and I love it. Friends. Family. And the river.

Pin It on Pinterest