Every self-taught fly caster shares the same instinct – to push harder – and the same cure: slow down and let the rod work. Four fundamentals fix most casts.
The pause is the cast
The line must straighten behind you before it can go forward. Watch your backcast for a week; the moment it straightens is the moment to come forward, and it is later than you think.
Stop high, start low
Crisp stops at ten o’clock and two o’clock throw tight loops. Big sweeping arcs feel powerful and cast puddles.
Ten metres honestly beats twenty badly
Most river fish are caught within ten metres. Practice accuracy at short range – a dinner plate at ten metres is worth more than a heroic splash at twenty.
Practice off the water
Ten minutes on grass, twice a week, rebuilds a cast faster than a whole Saturday of fishing badly. The lawn does not care and the fish will.
