You been watching me cast have you?

Yeah Gus. I wondered why all the fish were headed down my end of the country!!

Whats the prob ? Remember the bigger the fly the more air has to be displaced so it becomes more difficult to cast, & the heavier the fly the shorter your casting angles should be. So instead of the recommended 10 oclock / 2 oclock try around 11 & 1.
The thickness of the leader also makes a big difference with air displacement because there are no sinkers, which means only your line is acting as a projectile to get the fly out there.

Cheers Dave

I`d rather be fishin`!!!

A. always putting a knot in the line,

Too much wrist 

B. catching the fly on the line,

Too much wrist 

C. getting caught on something with the backcast,

Chop the tree down 

D. fly & leader landing on the water in a heap & so frightening any fish away in the vicinity.

Stop the rod! 

E. simply not casting far enough.

Use your back more

[youtube] http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=2nJ9xGuSH7g [/youtube] 

I assume yoru talking saltwater?

Lefty Krey

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=RrGIhcFx-20 

Stop the bloody rod!

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=ESxrRngGGkU 

by your answers to each problem, but many learners certainly wont, & what Lefty said & did in the video
( indoors) would mean nothing to them.
I got more out of the Joan Wulff ( herstory)video that popped up alongside.
I have yet to view the other youtubes you suggested.
The most important aspect of the whole casting technique is being aware of the line`s movement thru the rod action & it takes a lot of practice because it is so much different to casting a lure or bait. In fact many people who havent fished in any way before seem to fare better when first introduced to fly fishing.

I`d rather be fishin`!!!

the last youtube you suggested would be useful. Dont know if its my old screen or just that youtubes are always fuzzy, but it would have been nice to see what the line was doing in each case.
Anyway you & I are here for folks if they need us.
Cheers Dave

I`d rather be fishin`!!!

My probs are as  follows:

 A. always putting a knot in the line - yep this happens a fair bit.  I am fishing a 5-6wt with a really light leader, say 2kg and I get a fair few knots - some small ones, some absolute doozies.

B. catching the fly on the line - yep this also happens sometimes - not as often as the knots.

C. getting caught on something with the backcast -yep, only sometimes, if I am fishing in long grass, around snags, etc.  I try to keep the whole casting movement higher and that seems to help.

I can cast alright, I get close to the spots I aim for and I can lay the fly down gently but I am sick of having to re-rig leaders because I tie them into knots.  I use a fly loop connector to my leader - that woudln't affect it would it?

I also have a 9wt rod that I have not used yet.

Gus

a) too much wrist action

b) in an effort to garner more distance, many people start madly thrashing the stick and not letting the loops unfurl in either the forward or back cast (but more so the back cast)

c) People making the rod angle too "flat" and not sticking in a "10 to 2" range on their forward/back casts which can result in the fly hitting the ground behind them or just plain horrible loops

Best advice I could give would be keep your wrist like a rock, and make sure you accelerate forward - stop. accelerate back - stop. And watch your loops religiously until you have a "feel" for when they will be unfurled. And initially, keep your casts relatively short (30-40ft) until you have that mastered and then you can start trying to get distance.

The best thing you can do is pick an old fly you dont want, squeeze the barb in to the shank with pliers ( to render it harmless) then go out to a paddock or an oval & practice your casting while watching what your line does fore, above & aft.
That way you will learn to judge the important pauses that allow the line to fully extend both in front & behind. When this is achieved there is always a certain feeling thru the rod to your hand that you will only be really aware of with practice & visional observation to begin with.
I also once used the loop provided to tie on the leaders but found it was cumbersome & showed a small bow wave in the water during retrieve. (Flies also got caught in it some times.) Found the best method ( though fiddly) was to poke a hot needle down the centre of the line for 1.5 cms then push the leader end ( loop cut off) down the core & superglueing it in.
Dont forget commercial tapered leaders are the best, but you will need to add a length of tippet so that each time you tie a fly on it will be the tippet that gets shorter & not the leader. I find double blood knots are the easiest & neatest for this.
If you are using weighted flies they are the hardest to cast because they will drop fore & aft. By reducing the casting angle from 10 /2pm to 11 / 1pm it should help.
Using a shorter leader will also make it easier.

Good luck Dave

I`d rather be fishin`!!!

Thanks Dave and Huggy, I practiced for ages on the oval before ever getting near the water.  I tied an indicator to the and cast 100's of casts.

Sometimes when you get wrapped up in fishing you forget to be patient and let your line go right back and right forward as well, that is what leads to my probs mostly.  When I focus on getting a good loop I do pretty well.