Roll Cast with a 3wt

[mickalo]

Went out for awhile this morning with my 3wt, it's a 7.5' rod with WF float line, and was attempting some roll casts without much success. I assume it's due to the shorter rod & light line. I normally have no problems with my heavier rods but can't seem to get it to work with a 3wt. Was wondering if anyone may have some tips/tricks roll casting with lighter & shorter rods ..... if it's even possible.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[ia_trouter]

Went out for awhile this morning with my 3wt, it's a 7.5' rod with WF float line, and was attempting some roll casts without much success. I assume it's due to the shorter rod & light line. I normally have no problems with my heavier rods but can't seem to get it to work with a 3wt. Was wondering if anyone may have some tips/tricks roll casting with lighter & shorter rods ..... if it's even possible.

Thanks,
Mike

I roll cast with my Redington CT 3WT 7-6 all the time. Moderate distances on smaller streams. Is there a particular distance you are trying to achieve?

 

[jawz]

Roll casting with a 3wt shouldn't be a problem, if you're using flies that aren't too heavily weighted.
The lighter line and also the shorter rod (less line in the D-loop) makes it a pain in the butt to try and chuck the same flies that you wouldn't have any problems with with a heavier outfit. The light line doesn't have enough mass to lift sunken flies to the surface and the cast dies.

If you want to roll or spey cast nymph rigs or bigger streamers with the 3wt rod, you could always put on a heavier line. Maybe even a 7 wt and there you have a ultra light skagit outfit!

 

[cpowell]

The lighter the rod the more critical the technique.

You should be able to easily roll cast with that rod. Line preparation is critical if you want to get a heavy bug up and out of the water.

 

[mickalo]

I was using some rubber legged hare's ear size #10's this morning to try out nothing really heavy along with a small indicator. The pond is fairly shallow in most areas do most of my casting from the banks or wade out abit. Wasn't looking for any great distance just getting a distance cast from the shoreline. Allot trees around this pond.

Going back out tomorrow in the AM for a bit and and do some more practice. I think I maybe lifting my line out of the water too soon not getting that good "D loop". I did think about try heavier line but not quiet a skagit setup

Thanks for the info guys.

Mike

 

[Unknownflyman]

With my 3WT I have to get a good belly of line out to roll cast also you might want to drop into the Spey section and learn a few Spey type casts for the single hand, works really good. A snake roll into a single Spey is a good one!

I started practicing my Spey casts on the single hand, before I bought the 2hand.

There isn't a lot of back casting unless I'm out in the river pretty far so I use these casts a lot on both rods.

 

[mickalo]

With my 3WT I have to get a good belly of line out to roll cast also you might want to drop into the Spey section and learn a few Spey type casts for the single hand, works really good. A snake roll into a single Spey is a good one!

I started practicing my Spey casts on the single hand, before I bought the 2hand.

There isn't a lot of back casting unless I'm out in the river pretty far so I use these casts a lot on both rods.

That snake cast look interesting I watched a video by Orvis showing the single hand snake/roll cast may try that out.

Mike

 

[honyuk96]

If you can't perform a simple roll cast you will not be able to do a snake roll, an advanced cast. Sounds like operator error to me. Maybe seek some casting instruction from a professional. Good luck.

 

[ia_trouter]

If you can't perform a simple roll cast you will not be able to do a snake roll, an advanced cast. Sounds like operator error to me. Maybe seek some casting instruction from a professional. Good luck.

True, but we have a lot of guys here that specialize in fixing operator error. I'm betting they will help him fix this without requiring him to get out his billfold.

 

[mickalo]

If you can't perform a simple roll cast you will not be able to do a snake roll, an advanced cast. Sounds like operator error to me. Maybe seek some casting instruction from a professional. Good luck.

Well I'm pretty much self-taught with some video and book instructions. We don't have any type of fly fishing instructors in my area. Taught myself double hauls, belgian and some other special cast so I think, with a little practice, this snake cast doesn't look all the difficult. I can roll cast my heavier rods just fine, just not use to the shorter rod and lighter line .... practice ... practice

Mike

 

[smilingduck]

Your 3 weight might not have a stiff enough tip section to turn over a nymph/indi rig. Maybe try it without the indi to see if you can get a better roll cast. Your line might be to light when fishing without loading up the rod with the full length of the line. I would maybe try a #4 line maybe a double taper or my favorite for roll casting a Triangle Taper very good line that is highly underrated in my opinion. Maybe just spend an afternoon tweaking your setup a little that might help.

 

[mickalo]

Your 3 weight might not have a stiff enough tip section to turn over a nymph/indi rig. Maybe try it without the indi to see if you can get a better roll cast. Your line might be to light when fishing without loading up the rod with the full length of the line. I would maybe try a #4 line maybe a double taper or my favorite for roll casting a Triangle Taper very good line that is highly underrated in my opinion. Maybe just spend an afternoon tweaking your setup a little that might help.

Good point about the indicator I'll try that. The rod is a Cabela's 3-fork rod I believe it's a med/fast rod cast well but like you say the tip end maybe a bit soft. I may pickup a 4wt line down the road and give that a try too. Time for a spare reel anyway

Mike

 

[huntschool]

I am going to go with Smilingduck.....

My 3 wt Winston BIII LS works best with a DT 3 wt line. In fact I am so satisfied I have not looked any further. (I do want to try a TT line though) I will say it took me some practice to make everything work right but I about have it. I also get better performance out of bigger rods.

I dont throw a lot of double stuff, however, when called for, I can but not as nice as single nymphs or drys.

Agood example is my Diamondback glass 6' 2 wt. I use the same reel and 3 wt line on it as I do on the Winston. It really is for small, close water and the heavier line roll casts great on that little rod.

As to your last post, dont buy another reel, just get an extra spool and line it with the heavier line.... cheaper perhaps.

JMHO

 

[Unknownflyman]

Well I'm pretty much self-taught with some video and book instructions. We don't have any type of fly fishing instructors in my area. Taught myself double hauls, belgian and some other special cast so I think, with a little practice, this snake cast doesn't look all the difficult. I can roll cast my heavier rods just fine, just not use to the shorter rod and lighter line .... practice ... practice

Mike

You will get it Mickalo, 3 wt is light, I've always done my best casting on bigger fly rods too. It took me a bit to adjust.

Spey type casts opened up a whole new world to me, especially when the vegetation is 7 feet tall up to the rivers edge right now.

Water load, aerial , touch and go, force and casting stroke, there are many ways to load a rod.

I still am learning every time out.

Add- keep going and have fun!

 

[honyuk96]

Sorry Mike, I hope my post didn't come off as offensive. I've been at this game a long time now and would like to think I'm pretty well rounded. That being said, I can't snake roll. Many Spey casts I can't do well. To delve deeper into your issues. My guess is you are not letting the rod and line work properly for you. Maybe you are not forming and unrolling a D loop properly. It could also be that you are trying to overpower the rod. ( probably a combination of both IMO ) I myself and probably many others have a tendency to try forcing the rod to do more than its capable of. I have a sweet Scott G3 in 4 wt. it's an awesome little stick, but even I have to remind myself it's only capable of so much. Your fly size doesn't seem to be an issue, so I'd rule that out. What length leader are you attempting to throw ? Hope some of this makes sense.

 

[jeep.ster]

I have a 15 year old cabelas three forks 7 1/2 foot 3 wt. It's made for a double taper line like most 3 weights are. The dt line will roll cast easily with that rod. I have a cort 444 on it. I haven't used it in years but it would prolly cast any 3wdt line I have now.

 

[craigthor]

Nice to see another Iowan, I did have to Google Orange City to figure out where it was. Roll casting with a 3 is a bit tricky I've done it so much easier with a 5wt though.

 

[ia_trouter]

Casting expert me is not. But here are a couple questions I have heard the pros here ask.

The line is on the water rod pointed forward. I believe you want to slide the line across the water toward you. Slowly so you don;t rip it out of the water. Almost to your feet before you execute the D loop and roll forward. If you start too soon the line will break surface tension and you'll lose a couple feet of line on the water that could be loading your rod better.

Not so important with a long 5WT as you can make up for it with leverage and a heavy line to rip the fly out.

And if none of this works I have a Cabela's Three Forks 4WT 8-0 I will swap you if you are interested. I know that would solve this, but I doubt it will be necessary.

 

[weiliwen]

I used to roll cast miserably, no matter the rod or line size. I joined a fly fishing club which conducts a twice-yearly "Casting Clinic." In less than 10 minutes, my roll cast went from 20 feet to 45 feet, just by having an experienced fly caster give me a few tips. Having somebody help you is very important, or at least was for me. It's been a decade or more since that casting clinic, but I remember him saying that you need a belly of line, some of it slightly behind you, as you raise up the rod. As you push the rod down, you accelerate as you go, so up until the end, you're increasing your speed. This helps to load the rod - keep in mind, the rod in this case is, essentially, a spring, and if you don't compress that "spring" by loading it, it won't propel the line out. Oh yeah, when you finish the cast, it should be an abrupt halt, to let the rod straighten out, pulling the line along, and your rod should be +/- horizontal, pointed at where you want to go.

That's what I learned, and it works great.

 

[bigspencer]

+1 to cochise's.....
The power definitely has to come from the lower half of the rod. Think you may be using a little too much wrist. Try keeping the wrist movement to a minimum and you'll have better luck. Also..if you ever get the chance to switch to a lighter reel that will help in the balancing. #3 is a light outfit...

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