[Tim Morrison]

i cast my first spey rod today with some help from joe at pacific flyfishers in millcreek.
he tought me alot of the basics and got me shooting some line, BUT, i have a tendency to use my top hand to try and power the rod especially when i focus on not doing it. i totally get the idea of using the bottom hand for power and even executed some decent casts but i have a hard time not trying to push it with my top hand.
does anyone have any excercises that they used to break this habit when you started casting?
also im casting a tcx 7126 with a rio flight 575 and a 15' type 3 sink tip and a piece of yarn if that matters.

 

[Guest]

Nice work welcome to the dark side.... I think you are going through the same things we all did. Time on the water brother, it will happen. Hold that stick like a petite woman on the waltz and it will just happen. Good Luck - see you on the water some day.

 

[Tim Morrison]

thanks stewart. i was babying the rod too much when i first started casting and just blowing line up then i started relaxing and feeling the rod and applying more power to it. its coming i just got alot of practice to do.

 

[Mark Walker]

I was given the tip; imagine trying to hold a book under the top hand armpit without it falling out while you execute your cast.
Worth the thought/try.

 

[FLGator]

Hold your top hand with (literally) your thumb and forefinger and use it only to steer the rod.

 

[5119]

one of the tricks that helped me was focusing on pulling your bottom hand in a straight line to your armpit.

 

[Gone’r]

move your top hand as low on the upper grip as you can. like right above your reel it helped me a lot. having cast a single hand rod forever you are gonna struggle trying to get that bottom hand into the game for awhile. but lots of practice will wake it up and get it going. the wallet under the arm trick works for me when i start getting too crazy with my motions. the compact line takes a compact stroke! that trick helps you keep things tight. im by no means any sort of accomplished caster, just been powering through the same things you're gonna deal with.

 

[Ppppp]

Practice, Practice Practice, FLGator gave a great tip. If you are holding the rod lightly with the your fingers it is virtually impossible to push it. Along with that Practice setting the anchor and the swing with using the bottom hand as much as possible. I found that with a dominate bottom hand at the beginning of the cast it was easier to continue that motion all the way through. Keeping elbows down and in will also not allow you to push the rod

 

[Abyl]

I agree with holding the top handle between just your thumb and forefinger. I've only been casting for about a month and a half or so and have found that it helps a little bit, the second part is just remember to relax. For that, I recommend to just do 10 casts or so with just a roll cast to start out with and then take a short break to process what you are doing, then gradually go onto more complicated things you've learned. These are just a few things I've learned that seem to help out a lot in the beginning.

 

[Bob Jones]

That's it All of the above and then repeat, repeat, repeat. It will come to you as time passes in practice. Relax and have fun!

 

[Mumbles]

Hold your top hand with (literally) your thumb and forefinger and use it only to steer the rod.

I was taught this same lesson that FLGator suggests. I was told to make an OKay sign with your thumb to index finger on your top hand to keep you from overpowering with the top. Seems to work when I think about it and do it.

 

[Tim Morrison]

ok i think i got it. im going to be gripping the top grip as low as i can with my thumb and my index finger and clasping a book in my right arm pit and not letting it fall and pull my bottom hand in line with my arm pit. im going to try and employ all this together in the morning because i only have a few days till my first spey fishing focused trip woo hoo.