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Casting troubles

1K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  James Mello 
#1 ·
I have been practicing casting my 3 wt lately and ive noticed that im hooking my fly line and leader a lot on the turnover. Has anyone had this problem before, anyone know how to fix it?

Rory
 
#2 ·
If it is a tailing loop then it is probably caused by the rod tip dipping too low at the start of the cast. At the end of the forward cast the tip is a bit higher than it was at the start due to rod flex. Probably too bit much accelleration at the start of the forward cast or too much power at the start of the cast or you are hauling too early. Try applying the power a bit later in the casting stroke. Maybe even lengthen your forward cast by starting it back further.

Could also be caused by not casting directly away from (backcast) and then towards (forward cast) the same spot. Maybe your back cast is going a bit southeast (behind you and a bit to the right) and your forward is going a directly north (straight out in front). This could cause the line when unrolling to be moving a bit from the right to the left maybe running into itself.

But why listen to me, I have the same probems from time to time, always seems to come back every now and again. Get the Casting with Lefty video and watch and learn from the best.
 
#4 ·
Klintd hit it on the head-- you've got a classic 'tailing loop', probably from applying too much power too soon in the cast.

Remember to start slow, and smoothly accelerate to a fast, abrupt stop at the end of the casting stroke. Since it's only a 3 wt, it may be a bit slower than other rods you're used to, so you need to be sure you're not overpowering the cast. Also, if you're fishing a long, light leader (as you might on a 3wt) it may not turn over very readily... 'slow down' your stroke, and apply power right at the end and you should see an improvement.
 
#6 ·
The other guys got it right, most of the time tailing loops are caused by applying too much power too early (sometimes caused by 'punching' (pushing) the rod), or applying the power at the wrong point in the casting stroke.

This 'punch' is a subconscious movement, and happens easily and quickly. To keep this from happening, here's a tip: when you start to move your arm through the casting stroke, whether it is the back or the forward stroke, consciously try 'pulling' the rod through the first part of the stroke. As the rod passes vertical, let your hand turn over like it normally would. When you concentrate on pulling the rod, particularly on the forward stroke, it will help stop you from 'pushing' or 'punching' the rod, and help stop the tailing loops.

Your casting issue/malady is one that nearly everyone who fly fishes has experienced, is experiencing, or will experience. :thumb:
 
#7 ·
No doubt. I had the same problem the other night. I was switching back and forth between my fast action 6wt and my med action 3wt. With the 6wt, I was making beautifil (in my mind anyway...) long casts with little problem. With the 3wt, I kept hooking the line cast after cast. But I was trying to use my 6wt casting stroke with it...
 
#9 ·
Might also happen from letting your tippet get too short b4 changing out (may or may not apply to you). If action is good and I'm changing flies often, it's easy to get impatient and keep using the same tippet as it gets shorter and shorter. Seems at some point it changes the mechanics of the cast, likely because I have the 'feel' of casting a certain length of leader/tippet. Good thing is, replacing the tippet tends to correct the problem. :cool:
 
#10 ·
So just to let you know Rory, a tailing loop is a bad problem, but it is generally a more "advanced" casting issue. If you were throwing that obese beginners loop, you wouldn't have that issue :) But since you're trying to throw tighter loops, you're going to run into this :)

As for the cause of the loop, it is strictly because the tip is making a concave path during the stroke. Punching it is the cause, and sometimes it's just cause you're trying to "power" your stroke. In my case, my "punching" was a result of me doing "the creep". The creep is where you begin your forward stroke early by very slowly creeping your hand forward as the the back cast unfurls. The result is an situation where you can't generate any forward velocity without a huge accelartion in a very short window.

If this is the problem you are having, you may want to try what I did to stop it.

1) Make a back cast and look back and watch it.
2) Let the line unfurl fully
3) Let the line drop fully to the ground
4) Count to 1 and do a normal forward cast

All the while make sure that you are NOT moving your casting hand forward at all! As you get better in waiting to start your forward cast, then move steps 2 and 4 closer together. Pretty soon you'll eliminate the step where the line drops to the ground and you'll then start making your forward cast just as the backcast is almost unfurled.

-- Cheers
-- James
 
#11 ·
James Mello said:
So just to let you know Rory, a tailing loop is a bad problem, but it is generally a more "advanced" casting issue. If you were throwing that obese beginners loop, you wouldn't have that issue :) But since you're trying to throw tighter loops, you're going to run into this :)
Big time beginner, intermediate, and advanced casting issue which usually occurs when a person is trying to punch or launch a big cast or shorten their stroke to make tighter loops. Even when beginners are making the big loops, a lot of times they'll make a little 'punch' or push towards the end of the stroke to either get distance or try to tighten up their loops, shocking the rod and causing the tip to dip and the tailing loop to happen.

I suspect this isn't happening to Rory because of his experience status, but a condition similar to tailing loops can also occur when the tippet is to light to support the fly being cast, and can't turn over the fly. If you use a 9' 4x leader for, say, a #4 weighted clouser, the leader will be collapsing big time and causing tailing loops. Different malady, similar results.

At the end of the day, say after several hours of non-stop casting on Puget Sound beaches, I'll start getting tired and instead of a smooth application of power and speed in to the cast I'll start punching and giving the rod tip a little shock treatment, causing the line to tail juuuust at the end of the loop. Grrrrrr.

As noted earlier, Rory, if it makes you feel any better, it's a common condition, and one that fly casters of many levels of expertise experience. :thumb:
 
#12 ·
I just had an issue that was very similar to what you're going through. I turned out that I had developed a small hitch in my back cast that was causing my rod tip to dip at the very end of my back cast.

I fixed it as best I could by just concentrating a little bit harder on keeping my rod tip level and keeping my wrist from moving out of posistion when I cast.
 
#14 ·
I fish a med. action three weight on every stream yak sized or smaller so ive had your problem a time or two, the biggest problem ive had was not keeping my casts on plane. If you start on one plane and try to change it (or change it on accident) you may end up snagging your line, it happens to me a lot when i get lazy and forget what im doing.
good luck
 
#16 ·
Richard said:
Big time beginner, intermediate, and advanced casting issue which usually occurs when a person is trying to punch or launch a big cast or shorten their stroke to make tighter loops. Even when beginners are making the big loops, a lot of times they'll make a little 'punch' or push towards the end of the stroke to either get distance or try to tighten up their loops, shocking the rod and causing the tip to dip and the tailing loop to happen.
:thumb:
Hehehe :) I guess what I should say is that with those big obese loops, you *can* do it, but it's pretty hard to do, and even if you do, you may not notice it. Rather than being "tailing" and crossing the lower leg, with a big loop you end up with a "tailing" section that is still above the lower leg. I said what I said, because the truely classic tailing loop is generally observed with tighter loops.

-- Cheers
-- James
 
#17 ·
James Mello said:
Hehehe :) I guess what I should say is that with those big obese loops, you *can* do it, but it's pretty hard to do, and even if you do, you may not notice it. Rather than being "tailing" and crossing the lower leg, with a big loop you end up with a "tailing" section that is still above the lower leg. I said what I said, because the truely classic tailing loop is generally observed with tighter loops.

-- Cheers
-- James
I'm involved with a fly fishing club that teaches group beginning fly fishing classes, and our typical enrollment is about 40, and we've started at about 70one year (although it whittled down to about 30 something after a half dozen sessions).

The big fat beginner loops are just part of fly fishing, and most beginners do it. When they start becoming aware of what they're doing and progress past the basic pick-up and lay-down cast, false casting, and focusing on tightening their loops, that's when I start seeing those big time tailing loops.

I'm thinking that's where Rory might be in his fly casting progression. And, with a 3 weight it's pretty easy to overpower it. Just guessing. :thumb:
 
#18 ·
Richard said:
I'm involved with a fly fishing club that teaches group beginning fly fishing classes, and our typical enrollment is about 40, and we've started at about 70one year (although it whittled down to about 30 something after a half dozen sessions).

The big fat beginner loops are just part of fly fishing, and most beginners do it. When they start becoming aware of what they're doing and progress past the basic pick-up and lay-down cast, false casting, and focusing on tightening their loops, that's when I start seeing those big time tailing loops.

I'm thinking that's where Rory might be in his fly casting progression. And, with a 3 weight it's pretty easy to overpower it. Just guessing. :thumb:
Totally agree :) BTW, you guys would do instruction for 70 fly fishermen? Wow, that is a hell of a lot of folks! Was that all at once?

-- Cheers
-- James
 
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