02 Oct Off Season Casting Practice
3 Tips for Tuning – Up Your Cast
Well, the time has finally come friends. The cold weather has set in and we are closing up shop out here on the Aniak. Sad days indeed, but on a brighter note, it has been quite an amazing year with lots of new facilities, friends, and of course, big fish.
Even though the snow will begin to fall soon, it does not mean that you should be hibernating from fishing all together. The off-season is a great time to dial in those casting skills prior to next years season kicking off. Good coaches often say “practice makes perfect,” and while this is a great saying to live by, if you do not have someone physically there coaching you in the first place, it can be hard to improve on your own. That’s why we are presenting our three tips for better casting.
1) Watch Your Cast
Watch any good fly caster and you will be sure to notice one habit that is nearly always present regardless of their personal casting style; they always watch their cast.
When trying to improve your casting on your own, how can you expect to know what is going wrong if you aren’t watching your loops? Remember that both forward and rear loops are formed directly by the path of your rod tip. Where the tip goes, the line follows. Keep an eye on your loops and you will almost always see a dramatic improvement in your casting.
2) Straight Line Path
The path your line travels on both the back and forward cast is directly correlated to the path of your rod tip. The tightest loops are formed when your tip deviates from a straight line the least. Imagine your rod tip as a paint roller, moving across your ceiling in a nice straight line. Practicing this motion will help you form loops that are tight enough they could cut through a screen door.
3) Focus On The Tip
Without a doubt the most common casting fault seen in anglers is the inability to control the wrist. When the angler focuses on a good forward or backcast stop, the brain tends to associate that stop with the arm movement as opposed to the rod tip. When working on improving your cast, be sure to focus on what the very tip of your rod is doing as opposed to your arm. This simple notion can be a real game changer when it comes to improving your cast.
