Spey casting techniques tend to be more associated with double handed rods than they do single handed fly rods. With a preference for the single handed rod myself, do I use spey casting techniques when fishing? The answer is "Yes", all be it with some slight variation that makes the cast work when fishing for species that bely the use of a single hander.
This Jump Roll is perhaps a consideration for those wishing to start the process of understanding and learning the single spey cast. The Jump Roll affords us many of the single spey cast attributes ( lift, sweep, anchor... and so on ) but without any additional complication by way of a directional change at this early stage of learning.
The location: This cast is best deployed on a river (preferably) or stillwater if no other option. As for grass, forget it. The anchors within any spey cast are crucial and any similarity grass has to that of water when needing to understand how a fly line releases from it, or its impact of an anchor placed upon it draws no comparison as far as I'm concerned.
The tackle: I'm using a 9ft #5 rod and #5 weight forward floating fly line. The featured casts are made with a fixed 31ft length of fly line outside of the rod tip and 9ft tapered leader with wool as a fly. Fix the line at the rod hand, don't be tempted to manoeuvre more than you can handle with ease, nor be tempted to shoot line for distance until the technique is near perfected.
Position/Stance: Having waded into the shallows I position myself facing downstream. Facing downstream will help everything layout prior to initiating the Jump Roll cast, don't make it harder already by facing upstream at this stage and attempt to deal with unwanted slack line. With plenty of open space on my casting side as a left hander, I am leading with my left foot (closed stance) but in such a way that allows for slight shoulder rotation so as to apply the casting stroke comfortably.
Alternative: The open stance can be adopted for the above and more. Should you wish to lengthen the casting stroke to achieve greater distance for instance, this stance could afford you an extended reach both back and forth with which to do so.
Ultimately it's about comfort, safety and your application as required.... try both!
The Lift
The object is to minimise the amount of fly line on the surface of the water prior to initiating the next phase of the cast - the 'sweep'.
With the fly line paid out in front of you downstream and with as much slack removed as is possible, lift the rod vertically and smoothly.
How high do I lift the rod tip?
Perhaps having understood the sweep in the next phase will determine this height... whatever height this is will become your reference point for consistency.
Hand Rotation.
You may do this naturally but be conscious that you do as it makes for good form.
The amount of rotation is relevant as to how horizontal you want the rod to travel through to the next phase of the cast which is the 'sweep'.
The Sweep
From the lift...pause... I sweep, accelerating the rod to my left hand side at an angle that allows for a comfortable stroke/sweep to place my anchor off my casting shoulder..
The rod hand stays flat initially (First 2 or 3 dots). It is this part of the sweep that I release the remaining fly line from the waters surface having already released as much as was relative to the lifting phase.
Through the casting stroke/sweep phase the hand rises with a steady incline curving up to the hand stopping point which in this case is circa my ear height. (Climb stairs!... don't allow the rod to follow a path that imagines a shallow 'U' shape... if your initial lift is far too high this 'U' shape path is difficult to avoid). The final hand stopping height at the end of this sweep can be subject to many variables such as stroke length of sweep, wading depth and amount of fly line beyond rod tip when initiating the cast.
At what speed do I sweep?
- Too fast and the fly line speeds passed you looking not to dissimilar to a horizontal side cast. As a result there is no anchor placement and therefore no 'D' forming from it as a result.
- Too slow and the fly line doesn't release, instead it just drags in the water. Almost like you're setting up a roll cast with the rod at a low side angle.
The Anchor
What is the anchor and where do I place it?
- The anchor is a portion of the fly line we intentionally place onto the water (Generally the tip), one which offers resistance upon which a 'D' loop can be formed, the 'D' loop forms between the anchor placed and the rod tip.
- Too little line anchored will allow it to potentially skip off the water, a poorly formed 'D' loop or none at all is likely.
- Too much line anchored and although a reasonable 'D' loop can be formed, the final forward delivery could be hindered due to the amount of surface tension created. It is possible however to apply more controlled force than would otherwise be necessary in the forward stroke to recover and make good the final cast.
- As to anchor placement, a good start is to aim for approximately 1 to 1 1/2 times your rod length off your casting shoulder. In this case my left.
- IMPORTANT - OBSERVE THE LINE SWEEP, ITS ANCHOR and LOOP FORMATION (In the above pictures you'll see my head rotate to observe such... guessing it by not looking leads to inconsistency and likely failure)
Keep in mind: When observing these animations or other casters for that matter, don't fixate about mirroring the reference points such as hand at ear level during a particular motion, or the rod tip sweeping just above shoulder height, so on and so forth. If I was wading waist deep to perform this exact same cast, amongst other things I'm likely to do so by reaching higher and moving the line faster. Likewise, if I was stood on the bank, it could all look lower and slower.
Forward delivery
Once the line has been anchored, and your 'D' loop has maximised in its potential, apply your forward stroke stopping briskly at an appropriate rod angle to send your line, leader and fly in the intended direction as per the animation at the top of this article.
Developing the cast further to energise the 'D' loop and make the cast more dynamic for distance perhaps, hauls, drifts and shallower sweep angles can be applied. Once mastered and with a good understanding of body rotation, you'll have yourself well on the way to single spey casting...
Jim is the Brand Manager for Vision Fly Fishing and instructor & guide at the Wiltshire Fly Fishing School
