The Myth of the Long Cast

 We all do it, especially if the fishing is slow.

We stop fishing and start casting. I mean really driving it out there. We still keep up the pretense. We watch the drift with eagle-like intensity and carefully retrieve with just the right action but as soon as we have enough line-in-hand for a good double haul, zoom!

We wing it out there, sending another long cast looping through the air, just because we can.

It is fun. It is usually the exact wrong thing to do but we all still do it, especially if someone is watching.

The fact that any fly-fisherman worth his salt who witnesses the exhibition invariably mutters under his breath, “What’s that idiot up to?” does not seem to inhibit us in the least.

 

 I have often been on both sides of that scenario at different times on the same day.

Casting is a pleasure. Even when you begin to understand the mechanics of the thing, it still seems a little miraculous.



Here is my experience with the practicality of the long cast.

Most of the trout I have brought to hand were within twenty-five or thirty feet of me, many much closer. Most of the salmon were within thirty or forty feet of me.

Fishing is about many things but catching is all about line control.

Here is the thing, keep in contact with your fly so that a movement of your rod tip to tighten on a fish does not have to first pick up coils of slack line. That is it. There is no great mystery or secret.

I heard that bit of wisdom from an old guide in my early years of trying to learn to fish. I have spent the past twenty or so trying to get it right.

As you become more skilled with your fly gear your circle of effectiveness will expand from five to ten to twenty yards and more. Most of the trout you catch will still be within twenty-five or thirty feet but you will also be able to reach out and pick off the odd fish foolish enough to show himself within range. Those moments are exceptional and can sure make your day.

Salmon fishing often requires long casts under difficult conditions. Some of the most memorable and spectacular salmon I have connected with were the result of extraordinarily long casts. A long accurate cast is often the difference between, “Fish on” and fishless.

Having written that though, there are many places where I have watched salmon anglers work through a pool I know well, casting long elegant lines a mile past where the salmon were laying.

I have done the same thing and will doubtless do it again. It is hard to resist even when you know better.



A big Nova Scotia salmon taken in the Fall



I should note here that the biggest salmon I have ever caught was a rod length from me when I saw him and and he took with just my leader and about four inches of fly line poking out of the tip. I was wading across the River Phillip and saw him roll on the edge of the fast current above me.








In thinking this ramble over, here is the gist of the opinion I am offering:

The ability to cast a long line will sometimes give you an advantage.
The ability to control your line so that you keep positive contact with your fly will always give you the advantage.