Roll casts ... more

I do a lot of roll casting and teach it to people who have a lot of use for it. I think Jim figured out somethings and Gordy nailed some important details. I have some comments.

- Good loops on roll casts come from the same things they do on other casts- careful exact set-up opposite the target and high crisp stops. In wind, the "high" may be a problem but, too low and it's a surface crasher. We tell everyone to get increased loop speed and narrow loops to fight wind. I don't see many casters display any significant variety in their roll cast speeds nor adjusting trajectories. It can be done and adds a lot to the versatility of roll casting (Think Spey) .

1. To tighten the loop - stop harder (Thanks! Mac Lord). That means having a bigger difference between end acceleration and stop. This doesn't mean you are faster through the entire stroke just really zooming in the last few inches and "stopping from your pelvis with your whole being and attitude" as I like to emphasize to my student physician. A skilled haul works wonders to enhance end-of-stroke line speed and emphasizes this differential, too.

2. I see the wind DIRECTLY in my face as a potential advantage in that it holds the "D" loop straight behind my rod and takes out all of the slack in the "D" loop. There the advantage ends abruptly!

3. With the wind in my face, I want to lower the front trajectory slightly. To do this I make the highest point of my delivery casting arc MORE vertical (or higher) and deliver the end acceleration (the 'doink') just above my target rather than high above so wind has less time to act on the straightened delivery loop. (Practice changing delivery trajectory or loop height [not loop width] by casting over the hood of your car or over the car roof or under some branches or into your open car door. You'll build some fun nuances into your repertoire).

4. Another favorite wind fighter is to reduce the amount and profile of line exposed. I will shoot a little bit more and carry a little bit less sometimes. I also will raise the rod butt and my hand AT the stop so that they are behind the theoretical 'wind break' or wake of the unrolling loop (hide the rod leg behind the loop, if you will). This also may dampen counter flex that drives the rod leg toward the surface if the timing is optimal and the rod is not too stiff. Most of this effect may be from 'stabbing' the tip in the direction of the loop roll out, though. (another adaptation to headwinds).

5. I avoid rolling the cast onto the water as this is a speed reducer like dirty line through the guides. So clean lines and a straight, above the water delivery may help.

6. Longer cast - longer stroke. I think Gordy covered this perfectly describing the low and back rod tip at the start. I would add that this is where a longer rod seems to make me feel the line all the way through the roll cast on grass.

7. If you anticipate wind, you'll appreciate a higher line density. Usually that means increasing line rating. You also get larger profile in floating lines but, a sink tip fused to a long belly line is my ultimate wet fly wind fighter for fishing. It may raise eyebrows at a test, though.

8. Jim's side arm roll cast can produce cool curves to deliver just the leader into the feeding lane while the line stays to the rod side. I think that accuracy suffers here as it does any time the rod plane and sighting plane diverge.To me, that's just another reason to practice it when you can.

I gave separate roll cast and wind adaptation workshops at my shop this fall. Theory came out that is always good for an instructor to be able to banter about in a test.

Tight loops are a problem with multiple fly rigs, high profile flies, indicators and the like so, if you have to use complex rigs, plan on open loops.

I have a little trouble with the concept of the rod leg in the wake of the loop as yielding any real advantage (#4). As with any into-the-wind cast, a well executed STAB can get you more distance.

Side winds can be a real problem. A mild or moderate wind from the casting arm side can be handled with an adjustment to a more horizontal rod plane. If strong, however, the D-loop can be blown toward the line hand side which can make the line/fly strike you if you make a standard roll cast. Going off the opposite shoulder is an option which works.

Jason Borger in his, NATURE OF FLYCASTING, pp153 - 162 goes well into roll casting with various currents. Worth reading. One caveat here, is to consider making an off the opposite shoulder roll cast when necessary with a strong current downstream on the line hand side.

One thing to remember, is that your target should be a little to your line hand side to prevent a collision. By the same token, if you change directions, you must cast toward a target on the shoulder side opposite the shoulder over which the rod tip travels. ( Roll casting with your right arm over your right shoulder works fine for a target to your left. Using the same arm for a target to your right, you must cast with the rod tip over your opposite shoulder to avoid a collision.)

The pictures and clear, simple explanations of the roll cast in Ed Jaworowski's book, THE CAST (pp. 53 - 60) are definitely worth studying. The photos were made by Lefty Kreh and are exceptional.

2.) Minimal pause time on the back cast (practically no stop, so the fly in front of you keeps moving.) ie. "switch cast" or what some label, a "forward Spey".

3.) Casting with additional load behind you when you are in the middle of a stream, for example, gaining load from the D-loop in the water as you use a, "water haul" or tension cast for your forward cast. (Jaworoski's book, pp. 84 - 88 depicts this very well.)

Apart from these three options, all the things you do to make a good distance forward overhead cast pertain including rod load, tight loop, as definite a stop as you can make, SLP of the rod tip, control of trajectory, haul, etc, etc.

One slight difference in the forward cast from that of standard straight line overhead casting is that with roll casting, it's best to have a slightly sharper spike of power. This was shown well by Noel Perkins in his study of angular rod velocity curves and is depicted in Jason Borger's book , p.156.