Focus on Flycasting

from Grizzly Peak Fly Fishers - February 2020 Irideus

by Zach Karinen

CONSERvATION Conversation

Focus on Fly Casting

The Key to Successful Fishing

Articles by: Todd Pond, Mark Likos & Alice Gillibert

Editor’s Note: One of the things I have heard for decades and on both coasts is some angler loudly proclaiming “I’m not a great caster but I CATCH FISH”. The implication being that good casters don’t. As Todd Pond points out in the next article nothing could be farther from the truth. Good casting is the key to successful fly fishing. We in the Bay Area we are blessed with world-class casters who are happy to share their knowledge. GPFF’s fly casting Clinic is scheduled for March 8 and monthly workshops begin again this March one hour before our meeting. Also beginning in March the Oakland Casting Club will offer free casting lessons (but you must sign up). Details follow Todd’s article.

Why Focus on Casting? By Todd Pond

On a snowy day in December, I was surprised to notice a large trout’s snout breaking the water. The trout was feeding on midges. I decided to cast my streamer to it in hopes of triggering a strike. I knew my fly would have to land two feet up stream and two feet from the spot where I saw the trout feeding. This would give the fly time to sink in the water column and put it in prime position for a strike.

I fired off my cast and my streamer landed exactly where I needed it to be. As I was slowly stripping my line into position, POW, the fish nailed it and the battle was on. Ten minutes later, I netted one of the biggest trout I have ever caught, a male brown in full spawning colors. I was amazed. If my cast was off by 12 inches, I would have spooked the fish instead of netting it. Fortunately I had learned at the Oakland Casting Ponds that accurate casting is achievable with a little guidance, practice and patience.

The roll cast and the overhead cast are the foundation of all other casts. Both are taught by GPFFers and the Oakland Casting Club. With some practice you will soon be able consistently to place a fly six inches from

a target 35 feet away. You will also find that you can stay on the water longer because efficient casting saves your energy. Having mastered the overhead cast and the roll cast, you may want to learn some specialty casts. The good news is that most specialty casts are just embellishments and tweaks of the roll and overhead casts.

Specialty casts are like special tools in a carpenter’s tool belt; they are utilized when the main cast cannot get the job done. There are several casts in a fly fisher’s tool vest. Specialty casts include the double haul, the single haul roll cast, the side arm cast, cross shoulder cast, the parachute cast, aerial mends, reach cast, pile cast, steeple cast, the up-and-out cast, under and over-power curve cast, C-pick up, the oval cast, the elliptical cast, and the bow and arrow cast. All of them are much easier to learn and done much better, if you start from a solid foundation. By far, the best tool in anyone’s fly vest, a tool which is weightless and does not take up any space, is the ability to cast well.

One place to start on the road to being a good fly caster is the casting ponds at McCrea Park in Oakland. Nestled in between highway 13 and highway 580. It’s a beautiful park where the ponds are surrounded by redwoods, pines, and oak. My video https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=o5CRvy2Wcag gives you a good idea of what the facility is like…but nothing beats being there.

On any given day, it’s guaranteed you will meet other fly anglers at the ponds. Many have won national and international flycasting competitions; these guys and gals know how to cast. Most of the time, the advanced casters offer guidance; their guidance was instrumental to developing my fly casting. Another resource is our club. Grizzly Peak Fly Fishers is having a Fundamentals Casting Clinic March 8, 9am1pm, at the Oakland Casting Ponds. This event is open to club members and guests. In this clinic, we are going to focus on the basics, roll casting and the overhead cast. Although this sounds like a beginner’s class, it is not. It is for all levels, unless you have been trained by a national champion and have practiced a lot. Everyone will leave a better caster, with tighter loops, and better prepared for the 2020 fishing season.

This will be a great event. At the end, we will play some basic casting games for prizes. It will be a fun morning. I am looking forward to improving my casting, too.

Accurate casting is achievable with a little guidance, practice and patience. Improving the cast is a great asset to enrich a day on the water. Casting is fun, whether you are fly fishing on your favorite water, or taking advantage of the local casting ponds. Once you understand and develop good fundamentals, you are on your way to becoming a good caster. The reward is wading upstream firing off streamers or grasshopper patterns that consistently land within six inches of a trout hiding beneath an undercut bank.

March Casting Practice with GPFF By Mark Likos

March will bring us back to longer days (clock change Sunday March 8th) and we will once again provide on-going ‘Casting’ support for our members an hour ahead of our regular monthly meeting. Fortunately, we have a grassy field one block north up Milvia St. only a minute or two from our meeting location at the Berkeley Sports Basement (2727 Milvia St., Berkeley.) We will have casting practice for any

club member who wishes to participate. Measured targets will be placed at multiple intervals (much like you see at the Oakland casting ponds.) If you have time to grab your own rig to bring to practice, do so. If you come straight from work, no worries, I’ll have a few club rigs for you to use.

Remember, casting is the only essential skill in fly fishing. Learn to tie flies, build your own rod, master aquatic entomology. All good but if you can’t cast, you can be an expert in those other skills and never catch a fish… Hope to see you on the grass an hour ahead of the club meeting! Free Casting Lessons With the Oakland Casting Club. By Alice Gillibert

The Oakland Casting Club offers free public casting lessons on the 3rd Saturday of March, April, May, June and September. Lessons start at 10AM and typically last 1.5 to 2 hours. All lessons are held at McCrea Park in Oakland (Carson and Aliso Street, just off Highway 13). Check the OCC website (oaklandcastingclub.org) to see a map.

Sign up (required) by emailing “Henry” at: (oaklandcasters@hotmail.com). Either bring your own fly fishing outfit, or borrow one of theirs.