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← Master the Cast: fly casting in seven lessons

Lesson 5 — Casting in all planes

Casting in All Planes

Up until now we’ve discussed only the perfect textbook cast executed under ideal conditions. As any angler knows, however, actual fish- ing conditions are rarely ideal. You’ll constantly be faced with imped- iments in the form of wind and other obstructions preventing you from delivering the ideal cast. Casting vertically is the most accurate way to cast, and I’m con- vinced it’s the best, fastest way to learn good fly-casting form. But once you’ve built a solid fly-casting foundation in the vertical plane, learning to adapt your cast to deliver a fly in all planes will give you great versatility as a fly caster and allow you to fish successfully when faced with a variety of conditions and obstacles. A sidearm cast, in the horizontal plane, is useful to place a fly under overhanging trees. In salt water, this might be a mangrove. You can use a sidearm cast to pitch a bass bug under a dock, or to cast low to the water to avoid the wind (keep in mind that the wind is always moving slower close to the water). Casting off-vertical, with the rod tilted slightly away from your body, keeps the fly from passing directly over your rod tip or over you and is a good way to cast a weighted fly such as a Clouser Min- now, which could break your rod if it hit it. It’s also a good way to cast when accuracy isn’t critical, as when fishing streamers or wet flies quartering downstream. Out of ease, convenience, and safety, the vast majority of fly-fish- ers cast in the off-vertical plane to the exclusion of all others; how- ever, doing so compromises accuracy and limits versatility. As we’ve said, very often pinpoint accuracy is not a concern. Nevertheless, restricting your fly cast to a single plane would be like trying to fish for every species of fish, and in all situations, with a single fly pat- tern. Casting off-vertical over the opposite shoulder—called off-shoul- der or backhand casting—positions the rod tip outside the line-hand

side of your body and allows you to deal with a wind blowing in from your rod-arm side to avoid getting hit with the fly. It’s also a good way to avoid an obstacle that might be lying directly behind your rod arm. Casting in all planes requires only that you make slight adjustments of your forearm and elbow. To cast sidearm, simply lower your upper arm so that the tip of your elbow is pointed at the ground or water. The palm of your rod hand will be facing the sky, and the back of your rod hand and forearm will travel nearly parallel with the ground or water during the casting sequence. When casting sidearm from a closed stance, your shoulders remain square to the target, and your elbow remains very close to the side of your body throughout the stroke. It’s common for beginners, and even experienced fly-fishers, to let their elbows escape their sides when casting sidearm. However, keep in mind that the farther your rod hand gets from your body, the less strength you have. Also, the farther your elbow gets from your side during the casting stroke, the more likely you are to bring your rod hand through a curved path. Aside from the plane in which it is executed, the sidearm cast is virtually identical to any other straight-line cast: the basics of the fly cast never change. To cast off-vertical, raise your forearm so that it’s canted away from your body just enough that the rod tip is outside the line of your rod arm. Rather than being pointed directly above you at 12 o’clock, the rod tip is pointed at 12:30 or 1 o’clock (assuming you’re facing a clock; that would be 11:30 or 11 o’clock for a left-handed caster). When you’re casting off-vertical properly, your upper arm and forearm will be out of alignment only slightly. Again, your shoulders remain square to the target, and the tip of your elbow will be pointed at your target. As with the sidearm cast, the most common mistake made by flyfishers casting off-vertically is to allow the elbow of their rod arm to escape their sides. Again, the farther away from your body your rod hand gets, the more strength it takes to cast, and the more quickly you’ll become fatigued. Also, the farther from your eye your rod hand is, the less accurate your casts likely will be. To cast off-vertical over the opposite shoulder (that is, off-shoulder or backhand), your elbow moves out from your body slightly, only a couple of inches, and your rod hand acts as the pivot point to cant the rod shaft toward the line-hand side of your body. This drops the rod tip outside the shoulder of your line hand (see illustration page 86). When casting off-shoulder, make sure you keep the shaft of the rod, just above the cork handle, above eye level. If you drop the shaft below eye level, you’ll cross your body (see photo page 86). This constricts the length of the casting stroke, and you also sacrifice accuracy. Keep the rod shaft above eye level. If you need to lower the off-shoulder casting plane, you can move

your elbow up, away from your body a little farther (see illustration next page), but again, make sure you keep the shaft of the rod above eye level. If you need to lower the casting plane more than this, do so by bending sideways at the waist. Off-shoulder, you can cast almost horizontally.

Cast sidearm by lowering your upper arm so thatTo cast off-vertical, cant your forearm the tip of your elbow is pointed at the ground or wa-away from your body such that it’s only ter. The palm of your rod hand will be facing theslightly out of alignment with your upper sky, and the back of your rod hand and forearm willarm and the rod tip is pointed at 12:30 or travel nearly parallel with the ground or water dur-1 o’clock (or 11:30 or 11 o’clock, for left- ing the casting sequence. Your shoulders remainhanded casters). square to the target, and your elbow remains very close to your side.

Allowing the rod shaft to cross your body constricts the length of the casting stroke and sacrifices accuracy.

To cast off-shoulder, your elbow moves out from your body only a couple of inches, and you cant the rod shaft slightly toward the line- hand side of your body, dropping the rod tip outside the shoulder of your line hand.

You can lower the casting plane further still by bending sideways at the waist. Learn to cast in various planes first using only your rod arm, with the fly line trapped under the middle finger of your rod hand. As you become more comfortable with it you can add your line hand. You can also roll cast off-shoulder, which you’ll need to do when the wind is blowing in from the rod-arm side of your body. Move your elbow out from your body just enough to drop the rod tip just outside the shoulder of your line hand. Again, the shaft of the rod remains above eye level. Everything else about the roll cast is the same. During the stroke, your rod hand moves directly toward the target (see photos next page). If you’re a right-handed caster roll casting off-shoulder, you need to make the cast to the right of the line anchored on the water. As with all other casts, practice the off-shoulder roll cast first with just your rod arm, with the fly line trapped under the middle finger of your rod hand. When you feel comfortable with this and have achieved a good measure of proficiency, you can add the line hand. When fishing, you’ll rarely find yourself in ideal casting situations. There are always going to be obstacles. Being able to cast in all planes gives you options for overcoming these obstacles. Learn to cast in various planes first using only your rod arm. As you be- come more comfortable you can add your line hand.

To roll cast off-shoulder, move your elbow out from yourEverything else about the roll cast is the same. During the body just enough to drop the rod tip just outside thestroke, your rod hand moves directly toward the target. shoulder of your line hand.