What's the ideal line placement before a Skagit cast?

[madison320]

Suppose you were trying to make the longest Skagit cast possible, with a short, light SH rod, say 7' 6" 3-4wt (although I'm not sure if rod type matters). Now assume you can place the line on the water wherever you want (take the type of cast out of the equation). Where would you place the line on the water before the cast?

Assuming a right hander, my best guess is that you'd want the streamer about 2 feet in front of you and 2 feet to your left and then the line extended out towards the direction of the cast. That way you can rip the line out of the water straight back and then straight out. But I'm not sure. Maybe a curve is better?

The reason I'm asking is that if I understood better where the optimal placement of the line is, then I can work on which is the best method of placing it there (single spey, snap-t, perry poke, etc.)

Another similar question is, "are there competitions for farthest roll casting" and if so what type of roll casts do they use?

 

[fredaevans]

Kind of a 'yes and no.'

Really depends upon how much line you're going to cast. Interesting you should ask as I just got back from the river .... health has kept me from fishing since the first of last December. Phooie!!

Too late (other than dumb luck) to find a fish, but felt GOOD to have a rod in my hand. Rogue's in perfect shape even if a bit on the high side; that surprised me. Without looking up on the web I suspect that 'Lost Creek Lake' that feeds the Rogue is filling up fast. Time to start dumping water?

Several explorer casts, back in the 'grove.' Line: 40- 45 foot line out, same above me. Quick flick cast to get the D loop material out in front of me. With longer line the set up cast I love is the 'Perry Poke.'

BOOM! Actually I was rather surprised

 

[flav]

Try this, face directly across the river, point your rod at a 45 degree angle either upstream or down depending on which side of your body you're casting off of, and touch the surface of the water. That spot is about where you want the junction of the end of your head/beginning of your sink tip to land. It's not always exactly where you want to set your anchor, but it's a good place to start and works for pretty much every spey cast.

Which side of your body you're casting off depends on if you have an upstream or downstream wind, but the spot you're setting your anchor is about the same distance from you either way. Of course you can make ajustments, setting your anchor closer or farther away, but with a rod and head that short the margin of error becomes smaller.

And, yes, you do want things in a straight line. Think of the path your rod tip travels on your forward casting stroke and the part of your line that's on or in the water (your anchor) as the two sides of a railroad track. If they're parallel as you make your forward stroke your cast will go straight, but if they're not parallel all kinds of bad things can happen.

 

[madison320]

Try this, face directly across the river, point your rod at a 45 degree angle either upstream or down depending on which side of your body you're casting off of, and touch the surface of the water. That spot is about where you want the junction of the end of your head/beginning of your sink tip to land. It's not always exactly where you want to set your anchor, but it's a good place to start and works for pretty much every spey cast.

Ok, that makes sense. I'm a righty, so that's maybe 5 feet to the right, 5 feet in front of me for a short rod, right?

The last couple weeks I've been casting on still water (rivers are blown out). I've been having the best luck with a snap T, starting with the line directly in front of me. I get pretty good placement of the anchor but the line tends to be bunched up. I had second best luck with a perry poke but it's been really windy and it makes the first move hard, where you lift the line up and drop it.

 

[flav]

Ok, that makes sense. I'm a righty, so that's maybe 5 feet to the right, 5 feet in front of me for a short rod, right?

Yup, or about the same distance from you on your left if you're casting off your left side. Practicing on stillwater is fine, but it helps if you can get in the water or find a point or dock to stand at the end of. That way you can practice setting your anchor and casting off either side of your body just like you would on the river depending on which way the wind is blowing.

 

[huronfly]

I find the closer I can land my anchor to me to, more -sort of- centrifugal force can be generated to your d-loop from the sweep. Focus on out and around and it seems to cast itself.

 

[madison320]

Yup, or about the same distance from you on your left if you're casting off your left side. Practicing on stillwater is fine, but it helps if you can get in the water or find a point or dock to stand at the end of. That way you can practice setting your anchor and casting off either side of your body just like you would on the river depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Yup, I almost always cast in the water.

I tried something yesterday just to see what would happen and it actually worked pretty well. I made a snap t so that my anchor was in the right spot and then I just started sweeping my rod back and forth so that a d loop was forming on each side of the anchor. And then when I was ready I just made my cast after one of the "rear" d loops was formed.

 

[flav]

That's the cool thing about single hand spey/skagit/dynamic roll casting, whatever you want to call it, there's a lot of different ways to do things. You can experiment and try all kinds of crazy stuff to set your anchor and it's all good if everything's all lined up on your forward casting stroke.

I was on a smaller river yesterday with a lot of obstructions, large boulders and overhanging trees. I used all kinds of improvised spey casts to get my little dry fly to where I thought fish would be lying without hanging up in the trees. If I'd had been overhead casting I never could have reached a lot of those lies that easily, and I had a lot of fun doing it.

 

[kwb]

There is no right answer to this question...

It all depends on the speed of the flow, the angle you are casting at, etc...

You just need to practice to the point you can adjust your stroke to accommodate everything and feel what is right and wrong....