Below I’ve listed some of the remedies to the most common mistakes I see people make while fly fishing.
When stripping your fly
you need to remove as much slack out of the line as possible. To do this, keep your rod tip very close to the water. If the wind or tide is blowing a bend in your fly line, point the rod tip at the angle of the bend. If the bend is too large, mend the line.
Always have your fly rod rigged with the fly you are going
to fish before you get to the location you are going to fish. To many times you see fish as soon as you get to the flat. Don’t waste opportunity.
When making a cast, and shooting line
do not drop the line when you shoot it. Keep in contact with your stripping hand. When possible pinch the line at the end of the cast before it hits the water which will remove the slack from the cast and you are able to start the strip quicker and more effectively.
Learn to cast
60 or 70 feet with a minimum number of back casts. (2 or 3)
When you’re making a cast that requires a specific distance
sometime you can cast twenty feet to either side of your desired target to get the distance correct and then simply pick up the line off the water and lay a cast out to your target.
The smaller and lighter the fly
the better it will cast and the softer it will land.
Learn to double haul
and back cast.
Here is some idea on how to work in some practice and have fun.
Take your kids or friends up to the field and make a game out of casting at targets. Give a point value to the targets and turn it into contests. (Trash can lids make good targets).
Keep your fly rod rig with a small piece of yarn for a fly and store close to the door.
You only need about 5 minutes to do this. Find a place in the yard, driveway, or street where you can get about 20 feet of line out. Hold the rod and line in the same hand and just work on keeping a tight loop on your forward and back cast. Keep the line up. Do not let it hit the ground. This will help with your timing and your start and stop.
Different people are more comfortable making casts at different angles.
Some are straight over the top; others are ¾ and some are more side arm. When you need to be accurate, it is easier to have the fly line unfold in a more vertical plane, which means try casting over top. The more horizontal the plane when the fly line unfolds, not only does your distance have to be right but your timing has to be perfect to have the fly drop on your target as your fly swings over it.
Try not to increase your rod speed over your false casts when making your final cast.
In other words, DO NOT TRY TO THROW HARDER on your final cast.
One of the most important things in tying great flies is having great materials.
We are fotunate to have a great fly shop here in Tampa: Tampa Bay on the Fly. Enver and Sandra Hysni own the shop and work very hard to insure that the shop stays well stocked with everything you need to fly fish in and around Tampa Bay. If you’re traveling to this area and plan to tie flies for your trip while you are here, there is no need to bring all your material. They are well versed on patterns and colors and are open seven days a week. Enver and Sandra are the type of owners that will do whatever it takes to get you what you need, when you need it.
