Following on from last weeks Pull Back Slack presentation cast, in this issue we take a look at a cast which is probably a natural progression in that you have a lot more positive input with which to affect where the slack resides, and how much of it there is ~ The Wiggle Cast.
The animated image sequences below show roughly how the cast will look. You'll have to forgive the stop-start characteristic of the sequence as I've removed some frames to improve download time.
Objective?
- Having established a probable lie, observe the current(s) and anticipate the likely drift of your fly
- Position yourself so as to be able to deploy the cast and fish the lie effectively
- Apply the cast in such a way so as to provide enough slack to fish your fly correctly, but, maintain so little of it that if your target fish takes, tension in the line can be brought to bare quickly.
Why do I like this cast?
Whereas the Pull Back Slack cast is somewhat limited, this cast allows me to apply as little or as much slack as I would wish, and, at any given point along the length of the fly line whilst maintaining good leader and fly control. It can also be deployed in both vertical, horizontal and anywhere in between casting planes effectively.
Where do I use this cast?
I'd use this when confronted with more complex currents where my approach is not directly upstream but one where my flyline is likely to lie across the river at any given angle.
For those that like to fish downstream it can also be deployed with copious amounts of slack line to aid fly drift, or give considerable slack to a swirling eddy or recess that might otherwise be a tricky lie to fish.
How do I execute this cast?
More often than not when I'm faced with more complex currents I'm also in quite tricky terrain, with this in mind stand in a manner that's safe, comfortable and feasible in order to make an effective cast.
- I apply my back cast in the desired plane
- Having stopped abruptly on the forward cast to traject my fly line, I use the wrist and apply a side to side horizontal movement of the rod tip to impart a wiggle/snake like effect to a pre-determined position along the length of the fly line.
- Timing - Stopping the rod high gives me more air time to apply the wiggles before the lines falls to the water, conversely the lower the pitch of the rod tip the less time I have to apply the desired shape in the line... high stop and slow application of wiggles, or low stop and quick application of wiggles, you may need to work with either or find something in between that works for you.
Wrist v Forearm
The adjacent sequences are running at exactly the same frame rate and speed.
My preference is to use the wrist and not the forearm to apply the necessary horizontal movement in the rod tip to give me the desired fly line shape.
I find it exceptionally easy to flex the rod tip as well as be both speedier and a lot more precise than I can using my forearm.
I'll let you decide which suits you.
'There are many nuances you can apply to improve and refine this cast, a slightness of hand or particular movement or rotation of the wrist and arm etc... be an artist, imagine the rod tip is the tip of the finest brush, the river is your canvas so go paint on it, with movements and energy that are both smooth and deliberate'
Shooting line - Applying wiggles to a fixed length of fly line will reduce the achievable distance significantly depending on how large the wiggles you apply are formed. Ensure you Shoot line into the cast after stopping the rod abruptly prior to shaping the fly line with a horizontal rod movement.
Other slack line cast variations - The snake (spiral), tip bounce and pull back slack cast are but a few alternative methods that can deliver a variety of slack line wiggles/waves in your fly line and afford you the correct fly drift in a number of situations.
Once again and because it's far too important to ignore!... Your Dry Fly Leader - The idea of putting slack in the fly line is to bide you time, there's no point in doing that however if your fly is connected to a 'barbed wire' type leader or at best a poorly tapered/constructed alternative. With the occasional exception the most important place to have slack is in your leader, especially the tippet above all else, slack in the flyline is secondary to it... to have both! - now your cookin'.
By request - Next week I'll be looking at casting in windy conditions
Jim is our ESF in house fly casting contributor and AAPGAI Master level instructor teaching full time in the Cotswold, Wiltshire & Hampshire area... visit his website.