[BigCliff]

I knew this would come up soon but didn't mention it in the last post because I didn't want to bombard you with too much all at once.

Doug's explanation of mending is dead on and is the best way I know of to use mending to achieve a good drift, but you may have read some things that make mending sound like something altogether different. Many anglers wait until the fly line is already on the water before they start "throwing mends" into their line. These mends are also used to control the speed of the fly's drift, but all take place after the cast.

I think the type of mend Doug mentioned, which can also be called a "reach mend" or a "reach cast" is the easiest and most effective type of mend. I say this because once your line, leader, and fly are on the water, its very easy to move your fly while in the process of trying to get your line into a shape that will make your drift work better, thus totally defeating the purpose of mending to begin with. Having your line positioned for a good drift before it hits the water makes it easier to get a good drift, and usually also helps make mending easier and more effective once the line is on the water. (which basically consists of flipping line upstream with your rod tip)

Once you've got the reach mending/casting technique down, you are now inducted into the world of trick casts and all their wonders. Next you'll be asking about pile casts, bounce casts, tuck casts, and stack mends. I'm still working on getting stack mends down muhself.