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Wow, I'm really bad

3K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  Warren 
#1 ·
OK, I've been an avid paddler for 30 years in all sort of waters. Basically, I can paddle anything... at any degree of difficulty. For example, I paddled 229 miles of the Grand Canyon in a squirt boat at high water. Paddling is my life and my livelihood... and I iz good at it (patting myself on the back now). I've been a fly fisherman for even longer, but not as avid.

Yesterday I combined the two and I totally sucked at fly fishing! I ended up putting knots in the leader a couple times. The leader got all twisted up several times. And, the line hit the water behind me on more than one occasion.

I realized that I've only ever casted flies from a standing position or from a higher position in a canoe. I'm wondering if there are any of you who experienced the same dramas as I just described? Oh, one more thing, I used a new rod for the first time too. It's lighter and more active than I'm used to. I hope that's it.

Any insight is very welcomed... mild to harsh flaming, as long as funny, is also welcomed. :Eyecrazy:

Thanks...
Dave
 
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#2 ·
Ive tried out of an inflatable kyak (sp?) and it is incredibly difficult.. The craft is spinning with every back cast's momentum.. and your cast sucks..

but, eventually you get the hang of it.. and I suppose a canoe would be easier because you are a bit higher up.. but ya, using two hands to paddle, then another two to cast doesnt work well..
 
#3 ·
Hey Zimflo,

Yep, inflatable are horrible in that respect. That's due to their flat hull design. I didn't have any problems controlling the boat. I took my two-piece paddle apart and used skulling strokes to keep pointed the right way and the right distance away.

But man, my technique was sure poor. I guess it'll come back with practice... just hoping someone might have experienced this too and had some advice.

Thanks for you input. :)
 
#4 ·
Galong,

I fish from a Yak quite often, usually with a 8'6" or a 9 foot fly rod. I cast side armed if the cast is a long one. Try stopping your back cast higher while the line is still going in an upward direction. It takes some getting used to, but I find my Pungo a very good craft to fish from in lakes & slow moving rivers. I find that a 40 or 50 foot cast is all the distance I usually need, if that in most situations. Actually thirty feet is usually more than adequate for New Hampshire. I do not use the Yak in salt....yet that is! Fishhawk is working on me.....:D And I want to get a sit on top for salt anyway. More for transportation than fishing.
 
#5 ·
One trick I use in a canoe, if I don't have to paddle a long distance, is to sit on a large picnic cooler in the middle of the canoe. It gets me a lot higher up in the air than I would be if I were sitting down in the stern. I started doing this to distribute my weight evenly in the canoe so that waves won't slap the bow when I'm solo, but then I found out that it makes flycasting easier too. Also, it's easier when I want to stand up and cast because I'm already more or less in the middle of the boat. (My old fiberglass clunker was better for standing than my new and improved kevlar canoe.)

I don't think that this would work in a touring canoe with a narrow beam, because the cooler might not fit, but in an ordinary fishing canoe, with a more or less flat bottom, for when you're puttering around ponds, it works great.
 
#6 ·
Another option...

Do it in the DARK :whoa:

No one will ever see including yourself! :eek:
Practice DENIAL and convince yourself your casting is INCREDIBLE! ;)

p.s.
While under way, I'll drag the 25-28' weighted line section behind the boat...
Trolling? Perhaps...
But mostly, ready to load the rod and get off a quick shot...
One false cast and mugs away!
 

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#7 ·
This is my winner for post of the day!
PS: I decided to get a yak and am looking forward to many happy hours learning to do this impossible task of flyfishing from one!! (I am Irish German, and don't believe in doing anything the easy way!!) ;)
edited to add PS:)
 
#8 ·
I fish from the yak quiute a bit. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it can be effective. One thing I found that helps a lot is using a drift sock to control the drift of the yak. In any kind of breeze, I used to find it incredibly frustrating setting up what I thought was a good drift only to find the yak swinging away at the last minute due to a slight shift in the breeze. Getting used to casting from a sitting position also takes a little while for the new muscle memory to kick in but it does come pretty quick.
 
#10 ·
Cast across your craft rather than in the direction it's pointing. Just as you stand sideways to your target when casting on foot I find it helps. Beware of raising your elbow to compensate it can mess with your shoulder and elbow joints. When I did fish from a yak it was in saltwater, to breaking fish so a water haul off the back cast wasn't a big deal and it helped. I caught some of my biggest fish trolling in front of Plymouth beach.
 
#11 ·
Another idea is to use specialized gear.

My favorite line for casting from the yak with a 9wt is a head 25' cut from a 12wt line. That short section is enough to load the rod and I can make a fairly long cast with a very short stroke.

Will take some getting used to if your normal cast involves long arm movements.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for all the advice guys!

I just got back from three days of practice casting at my favorite reservoir. I was trying to catch fish, but they didn't participate in the exercise for some silly reason.

So, I got tons of practice casting in. :tongue:

One of my buddies was fly fishing from a kayak too and at first I was having problems. I was hitting the water behind me... thinking that the line wasn't loaded yet I guess.

I found that holding my casting much higher than I would when standing helped a lot! I especially raised my arm on the back cast.

I also found that my lighter weight outfit was easier to cast than my heavier one... which seems to contradict what some of you suggested. I guess it's just me, not your advice. :biggrin:

Now the next step is to figure out how to get a fish on the sharp end. :Eyecrazy:
 
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