Podcast: Why It Always Comes Down to Fly Casting — And What Matters Most — S3-Ep6

by | May 1, 2022 | 10 comments

 The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts.

** Note **  The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below.

This episode is about fly casting — why it matters more than anything, and how we can improve our accuracy and control over the system with just a few key adjustments.

All  fly fishing styles require good casting skills. My friends and I fish a Mono Rig for most underwater presentations. But this tight line approach for nymphs and streamers falls apart without the ability to cast and manage a long leader, through the air, exactly like a fly line. I say it all the time about tight line and euro nymphing — it’s casting, not lobbing — at least, it should be. Lobbing can get things done for a while, but to get anywhere beyond the basics, or even to get under the bankside tree limbs, we need good casting form. So we build loops with a great casting stroke, and then place not just the fly where we want it, but the tippet and leader in the best position too. Ironically, it takes refined fly casting skill to cast a Mono Rig.

All of us here fish long leaders and short ones. We choose a powerful Mono Rig for pushing nymphs and streamers around, and we cast dry flies with a fly line too. We fish a pure tight line with a single nymph, we fish dry dropper styles, yarn indys with short leaders and fly line, and streamers with sinking lines sometimes.

All of it, every bit of it, requires the same casting fundamentals and the ability to control lengths of line in the air. And we must build casting loops with speed for the line to go anywhere.

It’s fly fishing. So it starts with fly casting.

We break down some of our best tips for fly casting that apply to beginners and advanced anglers alike. We go through the essentials and some advanced ideas that apply to all fly casting styles, from dry flies to nymphs to streamers.

We Cover the Following
  • Correcting casting mistakes in the drift
  • Cradling the rod, and finding the balance point
  • Speed. short, crisp motions and clean stops
  • Turnover
  • Limit false casting, but use it for purpose
  • Oval in the rod tip travel
  • The casting V (10 and 2)
  • Distance discipline
  • Don’t reach

 

Listen with the player above, or . . .

Find the Troutbitten podcast on any of these services:

— Apple Podcasts
— Spotify
— Google Podcasts
— Amazon Music
. . . and everywhere else where you listen to podcasts.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Fly Casting
READ: Troutbitten | Bob’s Fly Casting Wisdom
READ: Troutbitten | Fly Casting — Squeeze It
READ: Troutbitten | Fly Casting — Acquire Your Target Before the Pickup
READ: Troutbitten | Fly Casting — Don’t Reach

 

You can find the dedicated Troutbitten Podcast page at . . .

podcast.troutbitten.com

 

Season Three of the Troutbitten podcast continues with Episode 7 — Find Your Water and Find Your Space.  So look for that one in your Troutbitten podcast feed.

Fish hard, friends.

 

** Donate ** If you enjoy this podcast, 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

 

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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.

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10 Comments

  1. Daniel,

    I so much preferred your written articles over podcasts. They were shorter, more concise, and to the specific point. I much prefer reading over listening to a presentation.
    Just me.

    Reply
    • I agree

      Reply
    • Who is Daniel?

      Also, if you’re talking to Dom, please realize that I’m still writing the articles! 850 of them are there for you to search and browse. It’s not an either/or situation. I still publish articles every week. I simply added the podcasts and the videos.

      Glad you like the articles. Nothing there has changed.

      Cheers, and thanks for your support.

      Dom

      Reply
      • Best podcast on fly fishing IMO. Keep ‘em coming. Love all the various opinions.

        Reply
    • I, for one, love the podcasts. They complement the articles very well. Specifically, I like getting different perspectives on fly fishing issues, and the banter is amusing.

      Reply
  2. Great video.
    One question I have for you that I feel others may find themselves wondering as well. Or maybe not. Either way…

    When wrapping up your leaders to the empty maxima spool, do you end with the side of the leader that will attach to the fly line.
    Thanks for your time. Great Pod Cast. The troutbitten.com is an excellent resource!

    Reply
    • Thank Matt,

      Actually, no. Usually I do the opposite. I wrap it up so the first thing I pull off the plastic spool is the tippet end. Then I pull, pull, pull, until I end up with the butt section in my hand, and I attach it.

      Make sense?

      Dom

      Reply

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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.

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