How to Cast the Floating Fly

The sportsman who has fished only with the wet fly may rest assured that should he take up dry fly fishing he will discover a renewed interest in the sport of fly fishing for trout, which, perhaps, through custom, may have lost something of its former charm. Moreover, in dry fly fishing he will find a sport of such wide scope that, it is safe to say, he will never consider himself other than a beginner in the art. For the scientifically inclined sportsman—the man who chronically seeks to know the "reason why"—it is difficult to name any outdoor recreation which would prove more to his liking or more worthy of serious research and study in its various branches, particularly that dealing with the entomology of the trout stream.

In photographic work most people are perfectly willing to "follow the directions," trusting that the results will be good enough, and caring little for intimate knowledge of the scientific details of the various processes which produce the completed photograph. This, certainly, is not at all the state of mind with which to take up dry fly fishing, or, for that matter, angling of any sort. In fact, the dry fly man should be a student of causes as well as of effects, for the simple reason that only in comparatively rare instances can the desired effect be produced unless the angler knows the underlying cause and proceeds to utilize it practically. This is particularly true of the selection and manipulation of the floating fly and, in a lesser but quite considerable degree, of casting the fly.

Almost every book on angling contains a more or less understandable treatise on fly-casting, and it is only for the benefit of the virtual beginner at fly-fishing for trout, and further with a view to completeness and the emphasizing of certain points which even the old hand is prone to forget or possibly neglect through carelessness that the following brief explanation is incorporated here. Casting the floating fly differs little essentially from the manner of casting the sunken fly; in detail, however, the difference is very great.

Casting the floating fly divides naturally into two quite distinct phases; first, the actual cast which places the fly, cocked and floating, upon the surface of the stream; second, the subsequent manipulation of the fly in such a manner that its action approximates with all possible fidelity the action of the natural fly—the fly must float in the exact manner of the natural fly under like circumstances. Granting judicious selection of the fly in the first instance and some skill and finesse in placing it, it is with the correct action of the fly—after all the most important thing in the whole art of dry fly fishing—that the sportsman has chiefly to deal, and the dealing is not always of the easiest.

It should go without saying that properly and effectively to cast and fish the floating fly it is essential that the tackle be correctly assembled. In this regard I believe the point most in need of emphasis is the question of the right way to fit the reel to the rod; that this should be done so that the reel is underneath the rod with its handle to the right (in the case of the right-handed caster) is in my experience the only satisfactory and thoroughly efficient way. With the reel thus placed it is never necessary, when playing a fish, to turn the rod over so that the reel is above, as in the case when the reel is fitted to the rod with the handle to the left. After a fish is struck, if it becomes necessary to use the reel, the rod is simply shifted to the left hand—without the awkward necessity of turning it over to bring the reel on top—and the fingers of the right hand fall naturally upon the handle of the reel.

Of the English books on the subject of dry fly fishing I have seen only those of Mr. Halford. In "Dry Fly Fishing," by this author, the cut illustrating the proper grip of the rod shows the reel rigged underneath the rod with its handle to the left, and this is the method advised by the author. It may be said with certainty that this manner of assembling rod and reel is not sanctioned by the majority of American fly-fishermen.

The manner of casting a fly is best described by an explanation of the overhead cast—the typical cast although by no means the one exclusively used in fly fishing, and in dry fly fishing, for reasons stated below, a cast which is used only when the horizontal cast is for any reason rendered difficult. Having assembled rod, reel, line, leader, and fly, using the knots shown in Chapter III., and taking pains to see that the leader before bending on the fly and attaching to the line has been previously well-softened by soaking in the leader-box, proceed to make the overhead cast as follows.

In the case of the beginner at fly-casting, the first practice casting may best be done casting downstream as the current will help to straighten out the line and leader. Two distinct motions constitute the complete overhead cast; first the back cast which throws the line behind the caster, then the forward cast which returns it in the desired direction. Fifteen or twenty feet is enough line to use for the first practice casting. The right hand should grip the rod firmly with the thumb extended along the upper surface of the handgrasp—this is the only proper grip of the rod and is a distinct factor for accuracy in placing the fly and also tends to make the caster use his wrist.

Good casting results only from utilizing the elasticity of the rod; the casting power of the rod is brought into play in one way only—by using the wrist in casting. Keep the elbow low.

In the back cast swing the rod smartly up to a position but slightly beyond the vertical and inclined a little toward the right so that the line when passing to the rear, or returning, will not tend to strike the rod. In the back cast throw the line up in order that there may be no possibility of its falling upon the water behind you—a high back cast is very essential. Lift the line from the water quickly and neatly. Care must be taken not to carry the rod too far back—only a little beyond the perpendicular—as this will inevitably result in loss of control over the line.

Instantaneous photography has conclusively proved the fallacy of the orthodox advice of the older school of angling writers, to "wait for the line to straighten out behind you" before starting the forward cast. This fact was noted sometime ago in a short paper in one of the outdoor periodicals and the writer at once proceeded to verify it—since which time I have often seen in print the old, familiar warning to the novice stated above. However, it is now generally recognized by well-informed anglers that when casting any fair length of line there is a considerable loop of line and leader which straightens out only after the forward cast has been started; that, in fact, the right time to begin the forward motion of the rod is when the line first begins to pull noticeably on the tip of the rod—a psychological moment soon readily recognized after a little practice. To avoid weakening the leader by whipping, or in rare instances snapping off the fly, the forward cast should not be started too forcefully.

Start the forward motion of the rod, then, when the line, having passed to the rear, begins to pull back on the rod-tip, and carry the rod forward and down with increasing speed, stopping it when it is a little beyond parallel with the water. Before beginning another back cast be careful to reel or strip in any slack line. The beginner should concentrate on casting accurately and delicately; ability to cover average fishing distances is soon gained without much conscious effort to that end. As for accuracy, the dry fly man cannot possibly over-rate its importance or more profitably seek to perfect himself in any other branch of the sport. Particularly when casting to a rising fish, other things being equal, everything depends upon accuracy.

At this point it seems best to note the matter of the use of the left hand in fly-casting for the purpose of controlling the rendition and retrieve of the line while casting, playing a trout, or floating a dry fly. In brief, the caster should control the line, practically at all times, by holding it in his left hand, as it comes from the reel, stripping in the line through the guides of the rod when it should be shortened, or allowing it to run out through the fingers when a longer line is needed in casting or when giving line to a hooked fish.

It should be understood that the left hand, when used in this manner, need not be held in an awkward position, that is, close up to the reel, but may be held in a natural way at about the waist-line; it is simply a matter of the length of the loop of line drawn out by the left hand between the reel and the first guide of the rod. When this loop for any reason becomes so long that there may be a possibility of fouling it may be taken care of by shifting the rod to the left hand, clipping the line to the handgrasp of the rod beneath the fingers of the left hand, and winding up the superfluous slack line.

The beginner should accustom himself to handling the line in this way when first learning the use of the fly-rod; later it will be all the more difficult to master since at the same time he will be under the necessity of correcting other casting habits which may have become almost second nature. Further reference to this manner of manipulating the line—a most important factor in effective fly casting and fishing—will be found in connection with various subjects such as playing and landing a trout, methods of preventing drag, and so on; in fact, in one way or another the method is essentially a part of practically every phase of the purely manual side of dry or wet fly fishing.

It has been noted above that the overhead cast, although the typical cast and the one, by the way, with which the greatest accuracy and distance may be attained, is less used in dry fly fishing than the horizontal; in the latter the rod, in the back and forward casts, moves in a plane about parallel with the water. The reason for this preference is a very real and practical one although difficult to explain in detail; the fact of the matter is, however, that the horizontal cast is far more apt to cock the fly—to place it upon the surface of the stream with its wings upright and not floating on its side—than is the overhead.

The reader should carefully note the above point and, wherever it may be possible, always employ the horizontal cast. It would not do to say that every trout would refuse to rise to the fly when floating down on its side—although I have seen a statement made to that effect; but with shy fish the probability of a rise to the correctly cocked and floating fly is greater than to the fly coming down upset. Apart from the known advantage of the horizontal cast cocking the fly is a matter quite beyond the caster's control.

Where there is smoothly flowing water with little chance of drag, and little if any wind, if the fly is cast with some skill it will float properly with wings upright more often than not. If the horizontal cast cannot be used, owing to the conformation of the banks or other reasons, the caster in employing the overhead cast should direct his fly at an imaginary point in the air some two or three feet directly above the spot where he intends to place the fly; the greater delicacy in delivering the fly resulting from this will tend to multiply the chances of cocking the fly.

As I have said, the horizontal cast is made by swinging the rod, in the back and forward casts, in a plane parallel with, or slightly above, the water. The back of the caster's hand should be turned toward the water, the fingers uppermost. The attempt to cast too long a line, or the slightest delay in starting the forward cast, will cause the fly to fall upon the water behind you—a thing to be religiously avoided.

The above includes the essential details of the first phase of casting the dry fly—the actual cast which places the fly, cocked and floating, upon the water over a trout which has been seen to rise or where the angler may have reason to believe a fish is lying, the latter being more frequently the case upon American streams. We come now to the second phase of dry fly casting, the subsequent manipulation of the fly in such a manner that it simulates as accurately as possible the action of the natural fly floating in a like position. The importance of simulating with all possible fidelity the action of the natural insect has previously been emphasized; the subject is one of very broad application, but at present we may note merely the necessity of upstream casting.

I believe that printed briefs for or against up or down stream fishing with the fly are wearisome to the average well-read and experienced angler; wherefore brevity in discussing this point seems advisable. As regards wet fly fishing any broad-minded angler willingly concedes that under certain conditions it is best to fish the stream up and under other conditions to fish down. The dry fly man, however, has no option in the matter; regardless of all other factors for upstream fishing, the practical fact remains that the floating fly cannot be fished downstream for when thus cast it is drowned almost at once.

But even if this were not the case the application of the rule of exact imitation of nature upon which dry fly fishing is based would prove the method of casting downstream and pulling the fly up against the trend of the current wholly wrong. Even the wet fly should never be fished in this way. Parenthetically, the present writer has always recognized a distinction between fishing downstream and casting downstream; the progress of the angler may be with the direction of the current—always most advantageous upon the swift and rocky mountain trout stream—while the actual casting may be cross-current, a very effective way of fishing the wet fly under normal conditions, or upstream and slightly across if desirable. When upon the water the natural insect floats downstream as the current directs it; wherefore, as invariably as may be, the dry fly caster should cast upstream, allowing the fly to float down toward him without restraint from the line, following the natural trend of the current.

Leaving aside for later discussion the matter of drag, a state of affairs wherein the artificial fly tends to travel at an unnatural rate due to conflicting currents in the stream which affect line and fly differently, and also passing over for the moment certain other points more or less intimately connected with the advisability of upstream casting, there remains for present consideration the matter of false casting, or drying the fly.

As a rule, when casting a fair amount of line, the fly will be quite free from moisture—if previously well-waterproofed—when the angler has again lengthened out his line after having made a cast and allowed the fly to float down over the water he desired to cover. Unless the fly has become thoroughly soaked four or five false casts are enough. These should be made as gently as possible to avoid whipping the fly; the constant casting tends to shred the wings, and if this results the fly loses much of its natural appearance and is more difficult to cock.

The longer the line used when drying the fly the longer distance the fly travels through the air; thus a lesser number of false casts are necessary to dry it. But it is better to take more time, use a shorter line and more casts, and endeavor not to whip the fly out of shape. After playing and landing a fish the fly will be thoroughly soaked and draggled. Ordinarily it is then best to put up a new fly; if this seems unnecessary, much of the water can be removed by holding the fly close to the mouth and blowing off the moisture, after which the wings should be nursed into their original form.