How far could you cast with these set ups?

[thechroniclesofmasi]

My first POST!

Quick hello and thanks to all of you who give your time and knowledge to this forum.

I challenge anyone to Google any fly fishing question and if this forum is not in the top three answers then you are not spelling your question right.

I have been interested in fly fishing ever since I can remember remembering. I have physically only been fly fishing for two months, only been in my boat once and have only caught two fish on fly. So to say I am new is an understatement.

So hear goes, my fists question...

I do not know any one that is in to fly fishing so I am going to use you all as my fishing buddies and ask you the questions that I would normally ask a fishing buddy.

I have four rods and four lines and am wondering how my casting is evolving. By only comparing my self to the studs on YouTube throwing 130 feet I am doing very poor. However maybe some of you will help me understand a little better what my gear is capable of and what I should expect to get from it.

Here are my rods:
1. 9' TFO BVK 8wt
2. 9' TFO Lefty Kreh Pro Special (says Med-Fast)
--- The two lines I have to cast with are SA redfish taper WF 8F and
a DT 9wt Hi Vis generic brand.

3. 9' Fly Logic 5/6wt (I think Med-Fast but seems very flexy)
4. 9' Grey's G series 5/6 (I think Med-Fast as well)
---The two lines that I have for these rods are Cabelas WF5F and Cabelas intermediate sinking line 5wt.

Could you all share some perspective as to what these combinations can produce in casting length?

Thanks so much and I am super pumped to be part of this community!

[glcaddis]

A good caster could undoubtedly throw the entire fly line. But in my experience that is neither required nor desirable. In general a properly timed cast with a WF line will travel farther than with a DT line because the running line of the WF is much lighter than the belly of the DT line. Your own casting stoke really determines how far you can throw the line. As you practice, you will notice your distance improve. If it doesn't, you're doing something wrong. The fly cast is a smooth movement between two sudden stops. Lift the line off the water, smoothly flick it behind you and stop with the rod somewhere in the 1 to 2 o'clock position. Then let the rod load as the line straightens out behind you. As you feel the load, accelerate the rod forward and stop it again at the 10 o'clock position. After the line tip has passed beyond the end of the rod slowly let the rod drift down.
This is a long answer to a question that can only be answered by you as your skills improve. But, remember most of the fish we catch are caught within 30 feet of where we are standing, so relax, slow down, and enjoy your time on the water. The cast will ultimately take care of itself.

[troutnut4]

Congrats on your first post and welcome to the forum. I joined the forum in Dec. and have learned a fair amount in a short time from the variety of opinions expressed. I am also a novice as well, having fished only 1 season. I am sure you will enjoy the feedback and excellent knowledge displayed by a number of the participants here.Tight Lines and good luck with your post.

[Jackster]

What are the line ratings for the first two rods?
If those two rods are 5 weight or above 100' isn't out of the question in good hands.

[Diver Dan]

Welcome to the forum first of all.


Next, your question is pretty much unanswerable. I hear people on here more than you would think, say things like "I can't cast past 40 feet." which seems almost inconceivable to me, and on the other end of the spectrum I know a guy that can take literally anything and blast it past 100 feet.

The distance you can cast is only 10% or less the rod, and the rest is you. Form and practice will mean far more than the rod and line.

Now a couple of questions from me. Have you figured out how to haul? How far are you casting these rods?

---------- Post added at 09:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:09 PM ----------

Originally Posted by glcaddis

A good caster could undoubtedly throw the entire fly line. But in my experience that is neither required nor desirable. ........... But, remember most of the fish we catch are caught within 30 feet of where we are standing,

That might be true where you are, but that is not at all true in a lot of places including here. I get far more fish farther away than 30' than less. In fact I would say at a rate of about 40:1. In fact most of my fish are from better than 50' out. Here distance is desirable and in fact there is no such thing as to long a cast.

[turbineblade]

+1 to the above, excellent advice. I was in your place about 9 months ago and have come along tremendously in that time. I practice casting and fish every spare minute I get outside of work. And I'm usually not working because I'm thinking about getting out to the water .

My take:

1. Your rods are fine. You'll notice that as you get better, your fly rods all of a sudden also get better . Seriously, I never fixed a problem with a different rod or different fly line in general. It's all about practice. You'll get to a point where you don' really care what line is on the rod (within reason), because you'll be able to still get a good cast regardless.

2. Eliminate slack in your cast and you'll solve most problems. I used to throw tailing loops on longer casts (about 50') because when I started my forward cast there would be a couple of feet of 'slack' to take up, which was causing the rod to make a tailing loop path. Problem is fixed now, unless I'm really not paying attention and even then I can predict the crappy cast before it happens.

3. Practice a lot -- not with yarn, but with the flies you'll be using. Heavy and large flies really show you if your casting is good. They show you 'the truth'.

4. Learn to haul -- you need it for wind and it makes casting big flies easier and is just an excellent technique to use.

[Diver Dan]

Originally Posted by turbineblade

2. Eliminate slack in your cast and you'll solve most problems.

That's a good thing to do. One of the most common things I see a beginner do is introduce slack in the forward stroke by (if you have the rod in your right hand) holding their left hand in one spot like a statue. What it does is as the rod goes back in the back cast, the left hand increasingly becomes farther from the stripping guide. This in effect creates a haul of sorts. That's where you get the comments like "Well my backcast seems fine but...". Then when they go into the forward stroke, the left hand becomes increasingly closer to the stripping guide. In effect it creates an 'anti-haul' and induces slack in the line between the left hand and the rod. A cast killing move.

Originally Posted by turbineblade

Heavy and large flies really show you if your casting is good. They show you 'the truth'.

Also a good observation. In fact your whole post was a good one.

[wt bash]

Originally Posted by Diver Dan

That might be true where you are, but that is not at all true in a lot of places including here.

That's pretty true for 90% of eastern trout fishing when fishing nymphs or dries up stream. Downtream different story but for most of the fishing I do and witness being done the shorter that cast and the more control you have of the drift the better that cast will fish.

[silvertip8k]

I always wondered if the "River runs through it" movie got this really revved up...if you cast a rod to the backing...then what do you do??start giving some backing out in the haul too...probaly not..

do you want a 5pound plus brown trout 100 feet away??not me.chances are you will never land him...just tire him out and he will die from the stress...in which place everyone loses...especially the fish...

I have given lessons for quite a few years...and the most important thing for me is accuracy...throwing strikes, if you will...if you can hit 50-60 feet accurately, you are doing awesome, actually 60 makes you a pro in my book....I am talking hitting a basketball ...if not it should be the goal...now we are talking trout rods here...not speys...OK...but the rods mentioned are saltwater rods ?...and tarpon and redfish are sight fished a lot...so being able to lay that flie in the right place is really the #1 deal...

25 yards is a long way away in fly fishing where I fish...my comfort zone with dry's is about 40-50 , 60 feet max...beyond that and its really a **** shoot...and Im just scaring fish...actually over 40 might really be more honest...IMHO...high sticking is double the leader plus my rod length...streamers would be the longest thing I do comfortably at my longest pitch...but again...accuracy means a lot more to me than anything else...but with streamers it more about presentation rather than sight fishing...generally...

Lefty Kreh at the denver show a few years ago for grins called his shot...some guy wasnt paying attention during his little talk...and was talking to his friend etc...Lefty threw out his line about 55-60 feet away and popped off the guys baseball cap, and brought it to himself!!!...now that is a strike!

great thread...all the best...t

[Rip Tide]

I've noticed that beginners often think that distance is the measure of a good caster.
And it is to some degree. You need good technique to be able to cast distance.
But distance is not the end-all. It's just one of many casting skills that you will need to be an accomplished fly fisherman.
You got roll casting, aerial mends, reach casts, puddle casts, tuck casts.... Head winds, tailing winds, cross winds....
There's a lot of stuff that's more important than being able to cast half way to France.
Again... I'm not saying that distance is unimportant... because it is.
It's just that it's not the end-all and with increased skills will naturally come increased distance.

I was at a casting clinic once and an informal poll was taken. There was very few of us that could honestly admit to being able to cast 80'.
75'-80' is about it for me. I can cast further but then I'd have to concentrate on it and that would make it casting and not fishing.
I do think that anyone should be able to cast any and every rod 60'. Even the worst POS