October 2019 (Reprint from 2015)

Mel Krieger along with Lefty Kreh were the main casting instructors I learned from in my early years of fly casting. Lefty neatly outlined his essentials; Mel was not so kind. Below I try to outline what I believe his “bullet” points would have been. This info is from a book by Mel Krieger “The Essence of Flycasting”. This book should be a must read for everyone who wants to learn to flycast. This book should be required reading for all casting instructors. I strongly recommend you get this book. He has a video of the same name as talked about in last month’s casting tip. So here goes my attempt to give the basics of Mel Kreiger’s essentials. (Forgive me Mel).

There are three main aspects of the cast: 1) The casting stroke. 2) The casting arc. 3) The casting Loop.

The casting Stroke = the entire motion. The casting arc = the V shaped arc between the stopping point on the fore and back cast. Casting Loop = the shape of the line as it unrolls through the air and off the tip of the rod.

Good casting requires that the forward cast and the back cast work together in a straight line. (Remember SLP? – straight line path of the rod tip). The size of the casting arc and stroke must fit the amount of bend in the rod in order to maintain SLP.

“A good casting loop is formed by decisively stopping the rod at the end of the casting stroke”. The shape of the loop is determined by the path of the rod tip during the casting stoke. SLP = good loop. Convex path of the rod tip = open loop. Mel goes on to say, by correctly applying the speed up and stop you can make narrow or wide loops with both narrow and wide casting strokes. The greater the bend in the rod the larger the casting stroke must be to maintain SLP.

Mel seems to believe timing and feel will come with practice. My favorite quote of Mel’s is the essence of teaching is enthusiasm and the essence of learning is repetition (practice). Get Mel’s book and video then go practice with enthusiasm – he was (and is) a great instructor.

Bill Armon, bagoodloops@gmail.com

September 2019

Fly-Casting Videos – Which ones are best?

Three of the best fly-casting videos, 5-star rated on Amazon are:

 1)    Joan Wulff’s – “Dynamics of Fly Casting: From Solid Basics to Advanced Techniques” 

2)    Lefty Kreh and Ed Jaworowski – “The Complete Cast - Applying Principles to Fresh & Saltwater Fly Casting 

3)    Mel Krieger’s – “The Essence of Flycasting I”, and “The Essence of Flycasting II and The Essence of Spey Casting”

All instructors teach the same principles but to listen to them one could believe they were teaching very different disciplines. Therefore, it is important to find an instructor you like and understand. This is the best video for you. My personal favorite instructor is Lefty Kreh. He has many videos available.

Our club library owns a number of instructional videos. As a club member they are free to check out and view. I highly recommend this; and keep looking for an instructor until you find one that amazes you. He or she is out there and it will lead to an increased enjoyment of our sport.

Bill Armon, bagoodloops@gmail.com

August 2019

After a long time of not being able to decide on a topic for this month I decided to make this tip about two of the most common problems I see. Beginners have not developed a good stop. Intermediate casters have a tendency to not keep the 180-degree rule. The stop is what forms the loop. It must be timed correctly and it must be strong. Joan Wulff’s description of the “power snap” is one I like a lot. The power-snap must occur toward the end of the stroke. If it occurs at the start of the stroke one gets a tailing loop.

The 180-degree rule says the line on front and back cast travels on a straight line. Many casters have a tendency to twist their shoulder and cause the tracking to be closer to 270-degrees. This decreases the efficiency of the cast significantly.

I am in need of ideas for casting tips. If you have a suggestion, please let me know. or give me a call. Thanks!

Bill Armon, bagoodloops@gmail.com

Past Tips

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