Overhang is the amount of running or shooting line outside the rod tip during the casting strokes.

• A. Running/shooting line outside the rod tip during casting strokes
• B. The whole leader
• C. Backing remaining on the reel
• D. A branch above the angler

Answer: A.

The definition is narrower than “all the line beyond the tip”. Only running or shooting line counts. The leader is not overhang, and backing still on the reel is not outside the tip at all. Nor is overhang a statement about the whole fly line: it is the handling line beyond the tip, measured while the casting strokes are being made.

That timing is part of the definition too. Overhang is a quantity during the strokes, not a fixed length of the outfit: pay out more line and the overhang grows. Asked what overhang is, give both halves of the definition — which line (running or shooting) and when (during casting strokes).

On the lawn the term earns its keep because it points you at the right piece of line. A long leader lying on the grass is not overhang. A full reel of backing is not overhang. The running line hanging beyond the tip while you cast is.

Source

Defined in the FFI Fly Casting Definitions (August 2025); terms on this site follow the same FFI Fly Casting Definitions.