Why are casting skills so important? When we are fishing in the river, our ability to cast properly can help us to:- Place the fly accurately and delicately Make the fly move naturally on or below the water surface Eliminate drag by manipulation of the fly-line Overcome difficulties caused by undergrowth, trees and other obstacles […]
Energy budget of the fly cast
This article was written by my friend Daniel le Breton and I did the illustration. All of the energy in the cast comes from the caster but we are going to discount the energy needed to move the body, joints and muscles of the caster and we are going to concentrate on the energy applied to […]
Strange effects of rod dynamics
A new contribution from my friend Daniel…… Fly casting can be analyzed by using various models and I use is the simple spring and marble one. When studying mechanics, it is usual to start from a simple set of equations and repeatedly refine them. Initially, the equations I used were rather crude and caused me […]
The Purpose of the Fly-rod
I am grateful to my friend Daniel le Breton reviewed this article before it was posted. Recently, a client that I was guiding asked me “What is the purpose of a fly-rod” and it caused me to think of a good answer, which forms the basis of this post. You may already appreciate that a fly-rod […]
Casting Objectives
When we are casting our main fishing objective is to turn the fly-line over and to present the fly in front of a fish. Depending on the fishing situation we may wish to make a long cast as well. To achieve both of these aims we have to ensure sure that the fly-line is:- Pulled along […]
More Salmon Statistics
In my last post, using Jim McLaughlin’s data taken from the Wye over the last three years, we showed, conclusively in my opinion, that there is a correlation between the height of water and the chance of catching a salmon. Using the same data we can plot the number of fish caught on rising and […]
River Height vs Salmon Catches
How many anglers check the river height to assess their chances of catching a salmon before leaving home and does river height play a part in determining salmon catches? My good friend Jim McLaughlin has been collecting fish catch figures from Wyesham, on the bottom part of the river Wye for the last three years […]
Salmon Fly Size Calculator
My good friend Jim McLaughlin has just launched a new App called The Salmon Fly Size Calculator which is based on the old Hardy Arkless calculator – for those of you that can remember it. To use the calculator you simply enter the water temperature, the speed of the river, the level of colour of […]
Old Photographs from The Nyth
I came across some old photographs of salmon fishing on the Wye when I was looking through my archives recently. There are many of them but this particular batch were taken on the Nyth. The Nyth, with its large,comfortable and well appointed fishing lodge, is situated on the upper part of the Wye and in […]
Early Season Wye Salmon Tactics
The salmon fishing on the Wye will start again on the 3rd March and no doubt the water temperature will be low and the river level high. The water may also be coloured. Historically this is the time when the “springers” will start coming into the river system; these are the big fish (20 – […]
Klink and Dink
“Klink and Dink” (also known as duo or New Zealand style) is used to describe fishing with a weighted nymph suspended from a buoyant fly such as the klinkhamer and this is my most successful way of catching grayling and trout, in all seasons and throughout the world. I have literaly caught hundreds of fish […]
Nymph Fishing
One of the most successful ways of catching trout and grayling all year round but particularly in the winter is by nymph fishing with a team of weighted flies. My two go-to patterns in the winter when fishing for grayling are the heavy nymph, which is the point fly, and pink nymph tied to a dropper. […]
Rod Loading
My friend Daniel le Breton made the major contribution to this article. The term “rod loading” is used quite widely for describing how the action of the caster causes the fly-rod to flex and often the expression “I could feel the rod loading” is used to describe the feedback that is felt, at the casting […]
Distance casting
All casters have the inclination to test their ability by distance casting. It is often used as a measure of their competence against other casters or to check their personal skill development. The amount of kinetic energy that is present in a fly line, at the point when it is launched during the cast, will […]
Sliding Indicator System
The prospect of having to set up a new rig when fishing in the river can be quite daunting and so as a consequence we fish on regardless, even though the selected method is proving to be unsuccessful. Then there is this nagging feeling in the back of one’s mind that maybe another technique would […]
Fly Rod Ratings
There is no way to find a perfect rod rating system for fly rods. Provocative statement isn’t it? But there are reasons why there cannot be an ideal situation. It does not mean that nothing is possible in this domain; it just means that this is not something that can be unique. There are rod […]
The straight line path extended
A definition of the perfect cast could be “the action of straightening the fly-line and aligning it with the direction of the forward cast by pulling it from the rod-tip, whilst providing it with sufficient kinetic energy for it to turn over, completely, after the rod tip has stopped moving”. As instructors we are indebted […]
Fly-rod frequency
A fly-rod has a natural frequency (see illustration) which is the number of vibration cycles per unit of time. It is usually expressed in Hertz in the technical domain: 1 Hz (Hertz) = 1 cycle per second. Some people prefer to use “cycles per minute” (abbreviated to cpm), and 1 cpm = 60 Hz. When testing the […]
Fly-rod casting model
Introduction Below you will find the outcomes of some 20 years of investigation (not full time I can assure you), sometimes with the help of a competition caster, and also from on line research of findings by academics. The spring & marble, fly rod casting model Here is a short presentation with a diagram to […]
Forming the D-loop
An important aspect of Spey casting is the formation of the D-loop, which is used to restrict the amount of fly-line that extends backwards prior to making the delivery cast. The top of the D-loop is connected to the rod-tip and the bottom is held by water adhesion causing anchoring. There are a number of […]
About this Blog
This blog is written by John Symonds and is intended to provide personal ideas and theories on flycasting and flyfishing for the interest of the angling community.
John Symonds – GAIA Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructor (Single and Double Handed Rods) and Federation of Fly Fishers Two Handed Casting Instructor.
email: john@fly-fish-guide.net
Website: www.fly-fish-guide.net
.... and is sponsored by Sage
Kingfisher photograph was kindly provided by my friend Jim McLaughlin, wildlife photographer and salmon fisher
Recent Posts
- Casting for Fishing February 8, 2016
- Energy budget of the fly cast January 29, 2016
- Strange effects of rod dynamics December 7, 2015
- The Purpose of the Fly-rod June 7, 2015
- Casting Objectives May 1, 2015
- More Salmon Statistics April 8, 2015
- River Height vs Salmon Catches March 23, 2015
- Salmon Fly Size Calculator March 11, 2015
- Old Photographs from The Nyth March 6, 2015
- Early Season Wye Salmon Tactics February 24, 2015
- Klink and Dink February 9, 2015
- Nymph Fishing January 31, 2015
- Rod Loading January 25, 2015
- Distance casting January 13, 2015
- Sliding Indicator System December 30, 2014
- Fly Rod Ratings December 7, 2014
- The straight line path extended December 1, 2014
- Fly-rod frequency November 24, 2014
- Fly-rod casting model November 17, 2014
- Forming the D-loop July 1, 2013
You must be logged in to post a comment.