One of the most frustrating fishing situations is when there are rising trout and the wind is so strong that it won’t allow for a good cast. Yet this type of situation happens all the time, especially on our big, western rivers. There are days when the wind seems relentless and persists throughout the day, forcing an angler to overpower the cast just to get the fly beyond the boat. The most common mistake is to overpower the rod and try to hammer the line hard into the wind.There is a simple adjustment an angler can make that will drive the fly line into the wind and even turn over large patterns such as hoppers. Most fly casters are familiar with the 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock casting stroke. So without getting into the intricacies of fly casting, we are just going to look at simple angle change for casting into the wind. Start the back cast with the rod tip low, at about 8 o’clock. Begin raising the rod tip slowly, and with a slight acceleration at the end of the stroke, stop the rod tip at 12 o’clock. It is important to understand that little power is applied to the back cast because, in effect, the wind will aid in turning over the back cast. The pause on the back cast needs to be slightly longer, allowing the wind to carry the line behind you and begin loading the rod for the forward cast. To make the forward cast, the angler will simply turn over the tip and cast back to the 8 o’clock position. This will drive the fly line downward toward the target as opposed to sailing it high, only to be driven back by the wind.This is not intended to be a long distance cast. What it will do is allow you to make more accurate casts in windy situations and reduce stress on muscles and joints. Try this technique the next time you find yourself in a windy fishing situation. I think it will make the experience a more enjoyable.
WARNING - casting in the wind can cause flies to not trail the fly line in it's normal path. When casting with the wind blowing on your casting shoulder you may want to switch to an over the shoulder cast or turn to cast up wind ..... right Jay!
2 comments:
I don't know whats more interesting the hook or the grey hair the old man is getting!
My wife wears her earings on the lob part of her ear! To each her own I guess.
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