Learning The Basic Overhead Cast
The basic overhead cast forms the foundation of most other casts . In
essence, it consists of lifting the line off the water , pushing the
line up and behind you and then waiting for the line to extend before
casting it forwards to present your fly to the water .
Therefore there are three variables to manage :
Firstly Lift
To master lifting the line off the water correctly it is important
to regard yourself as a clock . Your head is at Midday
and your feet are
at six O’clock .
When lifting line off the water , make sure your line is
straight to your rod tip and your rod tip is at seven O’clock
.
Raise the rod SLOWLY until the rod reaches about 10 O’clock – at
this position most of the line has been raised OFF the water thereby
reducing the friction between the fly line and the water surface (This
becomes even more important when using Intermediate or fast sinking lines
) and then accelerate the lift until the rod reaches Midday . You will
find that the momentum of the movement pushes your rod back to 1 O’clock
, this is where your rod should be once the Lift is complete – the
acceleration is what will project the line back behind you
Secondly Back Cast
When the Lift is complete the line should flow UP and BEHIND you
in a straight line – try to ignore the temptation to watch the line
go behind you, this will push you off balance for one thing and take
your eye off your quarry – in time you’ll be able to feel
the line fully extend and tug at you, indicating the time to push
the line forward.
This is what we call “Loading the rod”. If the Back Cast
extends beyond the 1 O’clock position the line is in danger of
being pushed into the water behind you, this will cause two things
to happen:
- It will disturb water behind you
- It will reduce the power of the
Forward Cast due to friction
Thirdly Forward Cast
The forward cast begins as the Back Cast ends or Tugs at your line. So once the line is fully extended behind you project the
line forwards – at
this point you have two choices:
- To let the line down gently thereby presenting your fly to the
water
- To push the line forward over the water without breaking the
water film in preparation for another Back cast
If you want to achieve the first scenario, aim the line slightly downwards
(3 o’clock position) and then check your line. Inorder to check
your line you tighten the line between your fingers at the appropriate
distance – this will allow the leader to project forwards and “Turn-over” properly.
If you want to achieve the second scenario you need to project the
line forwards to the 2 O’Clock position thereby keeping the
line above the water in preparation for another Back Cast.
This section will be covered by False Casting later on.
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