Advanced Casting:
Fixed Line Fly Fishing in Four Dimensions Part Three of a Three Part Series Rob Worthing
Welcome to the third and final installation of our three-part series on advanced casting for fixed line fly fishing!
The first two parts of this series gave us a common language we can use to explore advanced casting, and gave us the tools to start building our casting skills. In Part One, we introduced Four Dimensional Casting. Four Dimensional Casting taught us to dissect complex casting strokes into four basic dimensions - the vertical, the horizontal, the rotational, and time. In Part Two, we began combining the four dimensions to form casting strokes. We organized select strokes into a Casting Progression Table, a training tool that builds skills in a logical, stepwise manner.
At this point, you should be used to thinking in terms of the four dimensions, and spent some time - in the lawn and on the water - honing your casting skills by working through the casting progression table. That means you're ready for the fun part. You're ready to learn how to apply advanced casting skills on the water to catch fish. Read on.
Part Three: On the Water
There are essentially two ways to use advanced casting skills on the water. First, to reach difficult lies. Second, to influence the drift of your fly. The first is pretty obvious, almost intuitive. The second can take some effort to grasp, so the meat of this article will be spent on it. As we look at each, remember the goal is not to simply memorize what you read and copy it on the water. The goal is to understand how casting strokes interact with the environment, how different casting skills combine to form those strokes, and how this can be used to trick fish.
Using Casting to Reach Difficult Lies
Many of the best lies on the water go unfished. Some appear so out of reach, anglers walk by without even noticing they exist. When they do notice, it may be just long enough to ponder the trophy fish that must be holding in that perfectly protected, “unfishable” prime lie. By playing with combinations in the vertical, horizontal, and rotational dimensions, you can unlock those prime lies.
If you've spent any time at all playing with the casting skills described in Part Two of this series, the potential for reaching difficult lies with advanced casting should be easy to imagine. A 45 degree or 90 degree sidearm cast is a great way to reach a good lie under overhanging cover. A steeple cast is incredibly useful for presenting your fly when standing with your back to (or, with a bit of practice, while standing under) a tree.
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