Roll Cast Efficiency
Learning to make a roll cast in fly fishing will serve you well when dealing with obstacles in limited spaces. It offers an advantage for changing direction when fly casting. Learning to make a static roll cast helps teach proper rod loading. Sounds like a stretch, right? How can a single cast teach rod load? Either it works with ease, or many hours of frustration will set in—especially for greater distances. Problems during the loading move will most certainly show up in the static roll cast. Terms can be found here for fly casting. The oversimplified models that many have adopted as "mantras" for turning things around have only added to the confusion.
History of Casting Regression
As instructors, it is rewarding to watch folks improve and understand the steps to get there. I would guess most of society remains stuck in the "good enough" mentality throughout their lives. They remain content losing loads of flies, making knots from poor casting, and maintaining very remedial skillsets in distance and accuracy. These folks tend to move onto other sports and dabble with them as well. They simply will never get motivated at whatever they choose to do! We cannot change the prideful, egocentric nature of these folks. I hear it all the time: "Mac, I catch plenty of fish with my 20 feet of mono on my Euro-nymphing rig." What will they do when fishing a lake or larger river where fish are rising just beyond their casting abilities? This scenario describes why many instructors decided to take the journey deeper into discovery.
For those throwing big open roll casts that dump at the end at greater distances, read on! In order for fly casting to progress, we must move ahead in the evolution of the sport. In the age of Skagit, bobbers, and tight-line nymphing—all leading to an overall regression of the sport globally—these facets are great for getting new folks into the sport and for the industry, but there is more! It is refreshing to witness great roll casters on the water. One of the greatest rewards as an instructor is witnessing the lightbulb moments when students begin to see the light. Learn efficient static roll casting!
Why Learn To Make A Roll Cast Fly Fishing?
Listed below are many reasons to add the basic roll cast to your game on the water! The how, what, why, where, and when to use roll casts is a game-changer for your fishing, regardless of what species you pursue. The roll cast opens up an entirely new method for changing direction with ease when fishing. It addresses safety concerns when dealing with wind. It aids in eliminating slack in the fly line. It recovers flies from snags. It assists in raising a sink tip or heavier fly back to the surface. It assists in hook sets. It forms the foundation of all water casts through the use of an anchor (Spey casting). It initiates casting stroke efficiency while fishing when the roll cast pickup is combined with an aerial cast. It handles limited room for using an aerial cast. The efficiency of using a folded line with twice the weight is often advantageous when fishing. The most important reason is that it is COOL!
Gear and Style Differences
There are so many configurations of rods and lines available today that the rod loading move adjusts for these differences. Many of the world record distance records set in Millom in August 2018 illustrate this well. There are big differences between casting 1200-grain lines with 18-foot two-handed rods and making an efficient roll cast with light lines used in trout fishing. Techniques and style vary to match the type of gear, and the substance of mechanics also changes, such as timing, stroke, arc, and effort.
In general, use a long-bellied line (WF) or a DT for practice. The Scientific Anglers Mastery Series ED 120-foot line in orange is perfect for practice. It is also fun to cut and splice your own! Roll casts in America tend to be the problematic part of most CI and MCI tests for candidates. Why? When I look back at the books available in my childhood, it is really due to a lack of leadership from the so-called "experts" in the casting arena. There is no need for roll cast cheating tools, complaints about grass, or other slick surfaces! Once you master this technique, it will benefit your time on the water actually fishing. Applying the roll cast to your fishing is where the magic begins.
Problems Encountered from Self-Taught Casters or Poor Mentoring
Too Much Power
The most compelling issue when teaching is the struggle of human nature—attempting to force things rather than letting them flow! Too much power from the student is a problem in the majority of every lesson. Casting a loop is very different from typical projectile motion sports. In other sports, throwing an object farther means hitting it harder! In fly casting, the concept of "less is more" takes a bit of practice to create that lightbulb moment of appreciation. This only comes about through practice, practice, practice! How do we grow the sport with the "good enough" crowd? You know, the caster who looks into gear choices over technique? The knowledge base of principles will always serve you better than any gear consideration. It is the key to the kingdom for progression!
Ineffective Rod Loading
Minimal rod loading often occurs because the student has not grasped that hand timing and rod timing are two very different things. There are many methods for loading the rod: tracking, stroke length, rate of rotation (the body can be thought of as a kinetic throwing whip), and so on. All come into play because the rod bends as a result of your effort. If it bends prematurely, whose fault is that? The main reason there will always be instructors in fly casting is to share knowledge of how the body moves. There are many ineffective teaching methods all over social media that have missed the boat in understanding. In casting, one of my favorite ineffective lines is when instructors claim the line loads the rod. That is incorrect in so many ways that you, the student, need to discern everything you hear or read to form your own perception of what is right. In reality, the caster loads the rod, and the rod moves the line. This snowballs into many other avenues of discovery, such as line tension. Waving a bendy stick is not rocket science.
Limited Understanding of Loops
Throwing a loop of line off the rod is among the most magical things about fly casting. There are loads of scientific papers explaining what is actually happening, and the dynamics are similar to a whip. In simple terms, imagine you could travel where the fly is attached to the tippet. The forward stroke begins slowly and goes faster to an abrupt stop of the rod. The oncoming line overtakes the rod tip, and a new loop of line is folded over on itself. The fly leg is turning over faster throughout the whole process as the rod leg section of the loop grows longer. The narrower the loop, the faster it turns over. The efficiency of varying the loop size is entirely up to you as the caster to control. Whatever shape and size it becomes is all about you, because you made it occur.