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Casting question is this new?

2K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Gardener 
#1 ·
Ok for all you fancy double handed casters out there, here is a new one that I discovered in this months Field magazine. “How to cast in a Whisper, by Janet Menzies”.

It is called the Whisper Cast, I am a simple soul and only single & double spey off each hand, no fancy stuff just get the fly over a fish with the minimum of effort. It sounds a bit like a snake roll but that is another cast I have not bothered with.

Step one: standing in the water on the left bank, cast out your line. Fish it round as normal, then prepare for the whisper cast.

Step two: initiate the cast by lifting the rod to a 45-degree angle from the water.

Step three: this is the key step to forming the whisper cast correctly. Your rod at the 45-degree angle, flick the point of the rod round in a twisting clockwise motion, using your right hand (which is forward on the rod cork) to create this movement. The action is similar to using an old- fashioned starter handle, but quicker.

Step four: watch the line as it rolls up along the water on your right-hand side. I've never seen the Loch Ness monster, but I'm sure this is how it travels across the water.

Step five: now comes the tricky bit. You should allow the rod to follow the loop that forms in the line, taking up the slack as it comes towards and past you, and finally, almost without knowing it, bringing the rod though into the upright, that is the 12 o’clock position. I found this part much harder than putting the twist in the line to start with. It is a matter of both relaxation and timing, and the harder I tried the less I achieved.

Step six: if all is going well, by now you will have reached the peak of your back cast, with your shoulders nicely open and relaxed. Your line will be bellying nicely, though the fly will still be just on the surface of the water. This action should form a perfect D with your line, loading the rod, and your fly will be on the water in position for the forward cast, similar to the single spey.

Step seven: another tricky bit (the last one). You must judge the right moment to forward cast. If your timing is right this requires no effort at all, quite the reverse of the frenzied air punches of a heavy-duty Spey cast. The motion and energy has been put into the line through the rod by that initial twisting action at the beginning of the cast. All you need to do is release that stored energy to send the line out in front of you across the river in a low arc. If it's not working, try not to fight it. Instead, concentrate on feeling the movement of the line and the tiny changes in the weight and behaviour of the rod as the tip is loaded. This should help you recognise that moment when the rod feels almost elastic and you know you can nudge it forward.

Step eight: if all has gone well the line will have unfurled nicely in front of you, ready for you to fish it round. Just as with the Spey cast, the fly remains in front of you and away from overhanging trees or high banks throughout the cast. However, unlike the various versions of spey- and roll casts, the line will have spent the minimum amount of time being dragged through the surface of the water. The whisper cast makes for less disturbance of the water.

The last sentence is Ms Menzies words not mine, my single speys make little disturbance.
 
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#3 ·
this sounds a lot like the circle cast to me (I've also heard something like it called the "Coxon Kick" by Ed Jaworowski after UK caster and Sage rep Gary Coxon.)

also I've read a lot about concerns that spey casts disturb the water. While it is true that some of the casts disturb the water, this disturbance happens very near to the angler (who is disturbing the water by wading anyways) so is it really of concern since the casts are generally targeted well out and down from the angler? Even a fish that takes near the end of the swing has not been greatly disturbed by the splashing about going on 100ft upstream...
 
#4 ·
Water disturbance

Dana, at the risk of diverting off topic, I'd say there are definitely situations where the disturbance of a spey cast risks scaring fish. I fish one such place, on the River Wye, on the English/Welsh borders.

It's mostly very flat, glassy water, and you need to exercise some stealth. There's no way I'd want to use a double spey on this water; a good single spey might be OK, but I'd still rather cast overhead. I find I can more easily use a lighter-than-recommended line with an overhead cast rather than a spey cast, though that may be a reflection on my (lack of) speycasting prowess. Incidentally, there are also few places where a 100' cast is needed on this water, 60-70' is adequate for many pools, and a longer cast at a more downstream angle may actually be counter-productive as the fly fishes too slowly.

I would also question the notion that wading necessarily disturbs fish. Certainly once you're in a pool, and moving down a pace or two between casts, the fish shouldn't be unduly worried by your presence provided you don't flounder or splash. I think most trout fishermen would tell you that stealthy wading can at times bring you to very close to a feeding trout. But make a sudden splash on the surface at a similar range and they'll flee for cover.

On classic ripply floating-line water, or when using a sunk line for fish lying near the bottom, line thickness and splash may not be a problem, but there are certainly places where the reverse is true.
 
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