Fly Casting for the Beginner...
Congratulations!!!... This is the final page of Fly Casting for the Beginner. Now that we have been through the concepts, rules and a few basics, it is time for some videos and articles that will help take you to the next step in the process...starting to cast a fly rod.
Note: Before you get to the actual casting, I need to impress upon you the importance of using a fly rod, reel and fly line that are properly "matched". You will recall that the first concept listed on page one was "weight". Weight (wt.) enters the picture again but a little differently. This is very important to your success as a fly caster and it should not be ignored. All fly rods are designed to cast a particular "weight" fly line. For instance, a 5wt. fly rod requires a 5 wt. fly line so it will perform as it was designed. For the most part, this has everything to do with Concept #2 (Loading the rod). If your fly rod and fly line are not well "matched/balanced" with respect to the weight, it will be very difficult to get your rod to do many of the things we have already discussed and that will surely contribute to the frustration you will sometimes feel as you go forward. So, please do not go out there and start casting if the rod you will be using is not properly set up as described above.
Before you rush to YouTube or elsewhere to find all of the fly casting videos, a word of caution! There are thousands of videos on fly casting. Many of them are ego related...not necessarily good educational viewing. Once you are reasonably proficient with your overhead cast (can cast 25-40 feet and gently land a fly within 3-4 feet of your target) you will have enough knowledge to view all of these videos with a discerning eye and not detract from your fly casting experience. I have chosen the following few videos based on their content and the quality of their presentation by very well qualified casting instructors.
Learning the basic overhead cast:
The Basic Fly Cast - ORVIS - Fly Casting Lessons
How To Fly Cast article by Fly Fisherman Magazine
Fly Casting for Beginners article by Todd Tanner and Hatch Magazine
How to Fly Fish- Beginner Fly Casting by Chris Myers
Joan Wulff Teaches the Basics of Fly Casting
Fly Casting by Fly Fisherman Magazine
As you proceed, you will find that there will be certain parts of the basic casting stroke that cause you more problems than other parts of the cast. The following links are somewhat more specific to some of the concepts and rules you learned about earlier. So if there is something you feel you need more help with, check out the following links.
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Top 10 Casting Errors… And How To Fix Them by The Itinerant Angler
Tailing Loops by Sexyloops
Well, if you have taken the time to read all of this, watch the videos and have a fly rod to practice with, there is little more I can do for you. The rest is up to you. The key is practice, practice and more practice.
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I wish you well! Do not get discouraged! You will get there!
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Should you start to question yourself or start to get discouraged, watch this...
Are you already discouraged with fly casting? If so, here is a little something for those of you that may feel a little discouraged with your fly casting so far and for those that feel they have fly casting all figured out...click here for encouragement