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Casting in wind

12K views 39 replies 17 participants last post by  bonehead 
#1 ·
When the wind is coming from the casting side of the body (crosswind) there are a few things we can do to prevent hooking ourselves.

Not counting two-handers (which have great off-hand casting provisions) what do you do with single hand casts to cope?
 
#3 ·
1) Turn around and backcast - good for putting out a long line where accuracy isn't a big factor.

2) Make the cast off the "opposite shoulder" - useful for shorter casts requiring a bit more accuracy.

3) Cast with the left arm. Just started seriously practicing left handed this year. Short distances are pretty fair with good accuracy. Next step is getting the haul going and I'll have a "full quiver".

In cases 2 and 3, I reverse the angle of my body by bringing my left foot back (as opposed to my right for RH casts). "Opening up" frees up the left side rotation and makes these casts a whole lot easier :)
 
#6 ·
I back cast if the wind is ridiculous, if not, side cast and duck...but after watching JimS cast equally, long and accurate with either left or right hand...there is no doubt that that is the best way to go....given one is willing to spend lots of time practicing which I have not done as of yet.
Ron
 
#7 ·
I'm a lefty, but can throw a decent line with my right. The toughest part for me isn't casting w/ the opposite hand, it's the line management (hauling, stiping, etc). One of the benefits to kayak fishing is you seldom need a cast over 50', most are even much shorter.
 
#8 ·
If river/stream fishing:
Step 1: Cross the river.
Step 2: Turn around so the wind is blowing over your non-casting shoulder.
Step 3: Cast.

If pond/lake fishing:
Step 1: Rotate float tube 180 degrees.
Step 2: Cast.

:)

If one of the above techniques doesn't work, then I just lower the front of my casting stroke and punch it through the wind, and keep the backcast up high and out of the way. Honestly, after 17 years or so of fly fishing, I don't even think about it any more. I can't remember the last time I hooked myself though so I must be doing something right.
 
#9 ·
It seems most people have adopted safe and effective means of dealing with crosswinds. It wasn't too long ago that one could observe fly casters hitting themselves over and over because they would not adapt. I think the internet has had a very positive influence in that respect, meaning that people discuss things and learn what others are doing even in mid-winter in forums like this one.

On topic -

I've been a backward caster for many years, having an eye surgeon for a brother who emails me images of mishaps :Eyecrazy:

I insist on my clients backcasting in crosswinds or will change the route for the day to put them on the strong side.

Actually fishing the backcast does not lessen your ability to reach fish, in fact it strengthens your casting because 50% of a flycast is the backcast and being able to drive this backcast makes the forward cast more potent when you switch back.

The body does not have to turn back to target, just shift your casting shoulder to the front and reach across the body a little. Rotate the body a bit (approx 90 from normal toward the other side of the body) keeping the eyes forward.

The key is the keep your knuckles toward the target, thus making it a back(hand) cast. The traditional cast across the body reverses the hand to push with the thumb. The backhand cast does not.

Another secret is to lean the butt of the rod against the inside of the forearm during the stroke to target. This has the effect of really flexing the rod with power that is frankly hard to find on the strong side.

Regardless of how you deal with a crosswind (left hand, cross body, back hand) it's key to keep the path of acceleration true otherwise all the power you apply dissipates into open loops or off-line vectors.

Wind adds tension to the line in flight thus actually helping the fly cast in most cases.
 
#10 ·
Great advice from all on dealing with wind and casting. Over time I have extracted close to a dozen flies from fishermen. A couple were large flies in the cheek and neck. I've seen a few rods get beaned with heavy clousers and go "bang" on the next cast. If you fish on the Cape long enough, the wind will be on your casting shoulder at least 50 per cent of the time.

As Juro and others have said, backcasting is a tried and proven method to thwart the wind. The one downside to this method is when you are sightfishing. Most will take their eyes off the fish when turning their body to backcast.

As someone with average eye-hand coordination, I started practicing flycasting with my other hand about five years ago. The first step was attempting to form a short, tight loop by emulating what I did with the other hand. I was dismal at the beginning, but as I continued 15-20 minute sessions daily, muscle memory kicked in. Once I felt confident casting short distances, I started lengthening the line, and then shooting on the back and forward cast. The next step was accuracy, and finally learning the double haul. The double haul is not hard if it is broken into single hauls, and then combining them.

Learning to cast with the off-hand has actually improved my casting with the other hand. It has shown me some of the poor techniques I have developed over years of bad practice.

CSJ60 is another guy I fish with that has become an excellent caster with his off-hand.

If you feel overwhelmed by learning to cast with the off-hand, don't. Trust me, if I can do it, anyone can
 
#12 ·
The pinnacle of dealing with crosswind is to become ambidextrous. Having observed both Jim and Craig they know the type of comments and compliments I've given them on this feat as I am truly impressed.

With the two-hander I am quite adept at off-handed casting (left in my case), also fluent with all my Spey casts offhand; but I must admit that in SWFF situations I use a backhand partial cross-body cast almost 100% with the single hander in salt & wind rather than refine my left-hand skills. But it remains a goal for a number of reasons.

Jim speaks the truth about the off hand teaching the dominant hand (and the mind). Learning to cast lefty on the Spey rod was like having a personal tutor it was amazing how much it revealed about casting... to me! I do practice regularly offhand, although I can't say I'm fully there with the single hander like Jim and Craig.

Perhaps because my "cack-handed" single hand overhead solution is refined over years of practice and is an effective weapon. This is diff.erent than a standard cross-body cast in that the thumb does not push the rod. Instead the butt of the rod presses against the inside of the forearm which forces the rod to bend more on the power stroke. It throws a very powerful cast and with a positive stop a very tight loop into wind.

One benefit of this backhanded type of cast is that it dramatically increases your backcasting power, which helps your forehand casting significantly when the wind turns around.

However I do feel it's important to become adept at offhand casting to be a good instructor (which was the initial motivation for my offhand Spey study) and practice offhand single-hand casting regularly regardless of how I fish. I hope this practice leads to the ability to surpass my current backhand solution in hard wind situations someday.

I think I will take a first step by applying it more in fishing this season.
 
#13 ·
One thing I'll mention because it came into play on the Deerfield on Monday: I wear a canvas hat (see pic, not the same one but close enough) that covers my neck and ears pretty well, and I realized that a couple of sloppy backcasts in heavy winds came around and bounced the fly off my hat. So wearing the right headgear can go a long way...
 

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#14 ·
teflon,

I would argue that no cast should ever touch any part of the body, or clothing. It's as simple as keeping the line moving only on the downwind side, hence the need for offhand casting per this discussion.

Not meaning to split hairs on the topic as that is a fine piece of headgear, but on the topic of casting I would stand firm to that, particularly as an instructional note to a new caster to instill the thinking early, etc.
 
#15 ·
I recently purchased a 4 wt and have been practicing off-hand casting. I think am coming to a conclusion that off-hand casting will be easier to master on a lighter rod before I move up to the saltwater rods.
 
#16 ·
juro said:
the thumb does not push the rod. Instead the butt of the rod presses against the inside of the forearm which forces the rod to bend more on the power stroke. It throws a very powerful cast and with a positive stop a very tight loop into wind.

One benefit of this backhanded type of cast is that it dramatically increases your backcasting power, which helps your forehand casting significantly when the wind turns around.
The other major benefit: locking the butt against your forearm will prevent you from getting tennis elbow if you spend a lot of time backcasting grain lines.
 
#17 ·
juro said:
teflon,

I would argue that no cast should ever touch any part of the body, or clothing. It's as simple as keeping the line moving only on the downwind side, hence the need for offhand casting per this discussion.

Not meaning to split hairs on the topic as that is a fine piece of headgear, but on the topic of casting I would stand firm to that, particularly as an instructional note to a new caster to instill the thinking early, etc.
I'd definitely agree. That's why I said "sloppy backcasts" because it happened because of poor technique. After casting for 7 hours my arm was getting tired! :)
 
#19 ·
I think one thing that has been lost in this discussion is that you may start a cast and need to reposition to target fast moving fish. Knowing when you need to drop the cast or make other adjustments only comes with practice and feel in real-life situations. I think this applies most to boating situations where the "ground" is moving underneath you. Saying a cast should never hit your body from an instructional view is one thing but if you spend a good amount of time in a boat chasing fish it will happen. You can only hope to minimize the number of occurances and take appropriate steps to prevent a more serious event, such as wearing eyeware.

Sean
 
#20 ·
Sean,

I respectfully disagree. I was using the instructional element as a way to qualify the point but if there's a hard stand to be made on it I believe that there really is no acceptable time that a fly should touch any part of you or your clothing, period.

Having a maneuverable craft below you only increases the options as others with boats have pointed out. I've run boats a lot until just recently when I sold my last one, and in very hairy conditions particularly the north pacific coast for feeder salmon. Those rips would make anything south of the maritimes look mild, in fact they are on lattitude with the maritimes. Setting up is an option that a boat offers that the shore does not.

Change of direction is made with intermediate false casts when overhead or by angular positioning of the line on the water or in the air (e.g. snake roll, Spey casts) and never require a collision. Spey casts do it in one movement with no risk. Hence investigating some of these options is very much an option as is moving the boat.

I do agree completely that eye protection is smart, believe me. I will post some pics of eye injuries one of these days, if you all can stomach them (my brother is an eye surgeon who has dealt with many eye injuries from fishing).

I also agree that in the heat of the moment we do silly things. However I can't accept that these are correct and acceptable, they are in fact IMHO dumb and dangerous and it does well to refine safe tactics in your pursuit of the "Art of Casting".

.02
 
#21 ·
Juro,

Yes you can position a boat to fish a rip or even schools of blitzing bass or blues. They stay up long enough to do so. But I have to disagree that these are always valid options when fishing for speedsters which is what I was eluding to. A school of skipjack crashing the surface at 40mph and staying up for 4 or 5 seconds gives you very limited options to get the fly in the mix. Couple that with the fact that you may only get a few shots all day due to boat pressure or just lack of fish and you are going to take a risk to get the fly there. Now of course you will do everything you can to not hit yourself but even the best casters will have mishaps. A very likely scenario is just miscommunication as the angler is expecting the wheelman to turn one way and he goes the other. Unlike from shore being able to cast using either hand is really no help as the console and helmsman are on the other side and you should not cast over them. In this instance, IMO, the best option is a series of water hauls and some chuck and duck. Would I argue this is textbook casting or the correct way to do it. Probably not. But I will say you do what you need to do get tight and I don't care if the cast has a name or not.

Sean
 
#22 ·
We don't always do what's right, we sometimes have to do what it takes.

However, that doesn't make it an acceptable approach it just means we do it anyway.

My point is quite simply this - proper casting technique (the point of this section) is to find ways to keep the casting stroke on the downwind side. Period.

I think you are creating an argument where there is none, I also do what it takes fully knowing it's wrong in the heat of the moment. So when I hit myself, I say to myself "self - YOU EEDIOTT!!!".
 
#23 ·
Juro,

I don't think I am creating an argument, just discussing casting in the wind. I thought this thread was about dealing with the wind and ways of doing it. I have to disagree that having your cast on the downwind side is always "the right way". The right thing in my opinion is as I stated (getting the fly to the fish.) Using water hauls is an effective means of casting with wind coming into your casting shoulder. I have never taken an official FFF casting lesson so I don't know if it is taught but I think it should be. Yes there is a narrow margin of error with this technique but without it I would have caught far fewer speedsters on the fly. Maybe an on the water session this fall is in order to demonstrate our concepts :lildevl: .

Sean
 
#25 ·
whatever it takes . . .

I agree with Sean on this issue . . . do whatever it takes, how ever it takes you, by whatever means, no matter how it looks . . . to get the fly where it needs to be, when it needs to be there. The "McDermott Sling 'n Slay" - call it what you want.
I played a lot of hockey in my youth and knew some great "practice players" who sucked in the heat of the game. Many of the best players were not great skaters, not great shooters . . . but they were always in the right place at the right time and didn't mind taking a hit.
 
#26 ·
Hey Alan -

Good to hear from you.

Yeah well your friend and mine changed his tune from "it's ok to hit yourself" to the water haul, which I do use in fact he saw me doing half the day off his transom on Brewster this spring :lildevl: ;)

Of course magnifying load due to friction will help resist the effect of a crosswind, however the maneuver will be limited to side/side (boat in the way and not a target) and limited to shorter lengths of line, preferably with short heads like the T-series, QD, Rio deep sea, etc.

Nothing is more of a water load than a Spey cast, particularly a Skagit cast, however as the line leaves the surface of the water it is still dangerous in wind.

A water haul by definition does not have the pulley wheel component that a Spey cast does, so it would project linearly along the path - provided that point of release was close enough forward so as to not cross the path of the angler while in flight.

So a short tight pull against the surface sounds reasonable regardless of what 'the experts say' yet when I get home I will check what Wulff, Jawarowski et. al. have to say about casting in a cross wind; maybe they feel the water load is the cat's meow.

Once again, I put the fly in my mouth and spit it at the fish if that's the best option however the cast will be significantly more effective if I just load it back and forth in the lee side of the wind.

Another cast talked about a bit is the "belgian" or elliptical cast which draws the backcast out and away to the windward side then comes directly overhead while ducking.

Drifting with the outdrive down puts the nose into the lee thus the backdoor man always gets the crosswind. If not for the center console the backcast would be roomy, makes a panga sound attractive for inshore flycasting. :hihi:

ok back to the coal mine...
 
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