stream with some fisherman who is a
competent caster.
Lessons learned on the stream are the best
tips you can acquire anywhere in your quest
for learning fly fishing.
open the loop inches above the water instead
of feet above it so the wind has less time to
blow it off target. You can change the angle of
your fly cast without changing the casting arc
by rotating your arm slightly at the shoulder so
that your elbow moves back and up just
slightly.
Lubricate Your Fly Fishing
Knots!
If you break off a fly and the end of your fly line
comes back in a curlicue, your knot didn't
reach its maximum breaking strength, it
slipped and failed. Odds are you seated the
knot without lubricating it. Never attempt to
draw your knots up dry. They will rarely, if
ever, seat correctly and will slip and fail before
reaching their maximum breaking strength.
Form the knot by tightening it up just enough
to keep it from unraveling on its own, and then
lubricate the knot with a little bit of saliva or
by dipping it into the water before the final
tightening. Then wrap the line around your
fingers a couple of times and pull until you feel -
the fly line stop stretching. That's tight
enough.
Better Fly Casts into
the Wind!
Learning how to cast your fly line into the wind
will allow you to catch fish when others are
blown off the water. When the wind is blowing
into your face, don't drive the fly rod tip
farther down in an attempt to generate more
energy and line speed. If you drive the fly rod
tip farther down, all you are doing is widening
the fly casting arc. This produces a wider open
loop, which the wind will be happy to blow
back into your face.
Instead of trying to put more force into the
cast, concentrate on getting a tighter loop,
which will go through the wind much more
easily. Also change the angle of your cast to
Angling Times Weekly SA
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