How To Learn to Double Haul

[mcnerney]

Here is a great video for you young fly fisherman that is struggling to learn the Double Haul.

In this episode of RIO's "How To" series, RIO brand manager Simon Gawesworth shows how easy it is to learn the double haul - a highly useful casting skill that will give you more distance, greater line control and more effect in a tough wind. The Double Haul is an essential skill to master for anyone who wants to fish in saltwater.

https://vimeo.com/196362837

 

[zug buggin]

I have been trying the double haul but when a "how to" starts out trying to sell me something its "NO THANKS' If we're gonna have a like button we need a Dislike button also

 

[fredaevans]

I have been trying the double haul but when a "how to" starts out trying to sell me something its "NO THANKS'

Oh Tut-Tut [poke].... they are a commercial operation that sells fly lines (and what-ever else).

 

[fishing hobo]

I have been trying the double haul but when a "how to" starts out trying to sell me something its "NO THANKS' If we're gonna have a like button we need a Dislike button also

You don't have to buy anything, no one is forcing you

 

[allen1958]

Excellent easy way to teach! Just send the video, let the recipient learn on their own.

Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk

 

[ia_trouter]

Good video He broke the steps down and explained them thoroughly. He never actually showed us a proper double haul though.

 

[duker]

Thanks Larry. That's also a pretty good video for us older fly fishermen who are still perfecting their double haul.

Scott

 

[shadowwalker]

The worst example lesson of the double haul Ive ever witnessed.

 

[scoutm]

I really struggled with learning to double haul until I found this video....


[ame="https://youtu.be/BKklTOVGnKg"]https://youtu.be/BKklTOVGnKg[/ame]

I practiced for a week without the rod in hand just trying to do some muscle memory training. After a week of practicing without the rod I added the rod and dang if I didn't have it.

 

[GrtLksMarlin]

Okay so, perhaps I'm just generally screwed up, and I have performed classic "double-hauls," yet I do something slightly different in my regular casting that I wonder if there is a term for beyond the "what in the hell is wrong with you" cast? Up front know this however, I jumped from light line fishing to heavy heaving (like 14wt.), and really enjoyed distance casting so much that even today I find it very difficult to simply cast in a relaxed fashion, arms low and single handed. So maybe I am just messed up.

Anyway, what I do is (and imagine a double-haul), on my back-cast I'll draw the line forward (though not to an extreme at first) approximately half-way I can reach. I then begin my forward-cast passing my line hand, then pulling my line hand back. So instead of making the extreme down/up motions with my line hand to full extension, it only plays out half-way at first. As I get more line out making a couple false casts until the final forward cast and shoot, I will gradually increase that line-hand motion, yet I rarely do it to the extremes these guys were showing.

Thoughts?

B.E.F.

 

[Hirdy]

Anyway, what I do is (and imagine a double-haul), on my back-cast I'll draw the line forward (though not to an extreme at first) approximately half-way I can reach. I then begin my forward-cast passing my line hand, then pulling my line hand back. So instead of making the extreme down/up motions with my line hand to full extension, it only plays out half-way at first. As I get more line out making a couple false casts until the final forward cast and shoot, I will gradually increase that line-hand motion, yet I rarely do it to the extremes these guys were showing.

Thoughts?

B.E.F.

It doesn't sound very efficient, but if you can make it work, I suppose nobody will argue with it.

Ideally, the hands come together before each back or front cast is made. The reason for doing that is to give yourself the maximum possible haul from the "closed" to ""fully separated" positions.

You've mentioned you "gradually increase the line hand motion". In my opinion, there should be nothing gradual about it. Two false casts should get you from lifting half the head to a full line cast, shooting on both back and front false casts.

If I may offer a video* of myself casting as an example, you'll see my hands coming together between casts. That's the default starting point, from which you can increase the size and speed of the haul at will.

cheers,
Graeme

* The video was made for a different purpose, so I haven't focussed on the haul in this video. Sorry about that.

 

[fishing hobo]

It doesn't sound very efficient, but if you can make it work, I suppose nobody will argue with it.

Ideally, the hands come together before each back or front cast is made. The reason for doing that is to give yourself the maximum possible haul from the "closed" to ""fully separated" positions.

You've mentioned you "gradually increase the line hand motion". In my opinion, there should be nothing gradual about it. Two false casts should get you from lifting half the head to a full line cast, shooting on both back and front false casts.

If I may offer a video* of myself casting as an example, you'll see my hands coming together between casts. That's the default starting point, from which you can increase the size and speed of the haul at will.

cheers,
Graeme

* The video was made for a different purpose, so I haven't focussed on the haul in this video. Sorry about that.

Hi there, nice casting. Just a question, a lot of people say haul at the stop but watching your video the haul starts a little earlier than and the stop with max. haul at the stop. I also find this easier than trying to literally haul at the stop. Any comments?

 

[Hirdy]

I'm afraid I've never heard "haul at the stop" before, but obviously, I disagree with such a comment.

However, if the statement was "time the haul to finish simultaneously with the stop", I'd agree to a large extent. (I would not agree fully because in an effective hauling action, the end of the haul becomes the stop, regardless of how the rod is rotating. This is seen in the "170 degree cast", which you may need to google.)

Finishing the haul before the rod has stopped is one of the causes of a tailing loop, so later is definitely better.

Cheers,
Graeme

 

[fishing hobo]

I'm afraid I've never heard "haul at the stop" before, but obviously, I disagree with such a comment.

However, if the statement was "time the haul to finish simultaneously with the stop", I'd agree to a large extent. (I would not agree fully because in an effective hauling action, the end of the haul becomes the stop, regardless of how the rod is rotating. This is seen in the "170 degree cast", which you may need to google.)

Finishing the haul before the rod has stopped is one of the causes of a tailing loop, so later is definitely better.

Cheers,
Graeme

I'm glad you disagree, I cannot for the life of me haul at the stop. I also asked an experienced casting instructor and he also said it starts earlier than the stop so what I was doing is in fact correct .

 

[lanyard]

If I may offer a video* of myself casting as an example

Cool vid...!

---------- Post added at 05:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------

It doesn't sound very efficient, but if you can make it work, I suppose nobody will argue with it.

Ideally, the hands come together before each back or front cast is made. The reason for doing that is to give yourself the maximum possible haul from the "closed" to ""fully separated" positions.

You've mentioned you "gradually increase the line hand motion". In my opinion, there should be nothing gradual about it. Two false casts should get you from lifting half the head to a full line cast, shooting on both back and front false casts.

If I may offer a video* of myself casting as an example, you'll see my hands coming together between casts. That's the default starting point, from which you can increase the size and speed of the haul at will.

cheers,
Graeme

* The video was made for a different purpose, so I haven't focussed on the haul in this video. Sorry about that.

I really struggled with learning to double haul until I found this video....


https://youtu.be/BKklTOVGnKg

I practiced for a week without the rod in hand just trying to do some muscle memory training. After a week of practicing without the rod I added the rod and dang if I didn't have it.

Gives me something to work with...

 

[ghostrider408]

The BEST video on double hauling I've found is by Joan Wulff where she tucks the rod under her right arm and shows how to just focus on hauling with the left hand while swinging her right arm with the rod tucked. No one else breaks it down like this and I learned more in that video than I did from any other video on on Youtube or internet article. I believe her video is on Vimeo or maybe Youtube. Just do a search on both "Joan Wulff double haul." There are two different videos. Play around with em til you find the right one. It truly is the best instructional out there Here is the address/link to the video https://vimeo.com/70578415

---------- Post added at 02:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------

You also want to keep the line tight (no slack) between your left hand (if right handed caster) and the first guide (stripping guide). If you keep the line tight you will feel the hauls and the rod load.

 

[fishing hobo]

The BEST video on double hauling I've found is by Joan Wulff where she tucks the rod under her right arm and shows how to just focus on hauling with the left hand while swinging her right arm with the rod tucked. No one else breaks it down like this and I learned more in that video than I did from any other video on on Youtube or internet article. I believe her video is on Vimeo or maybe Youtube. Just do a search on both "Joan Wulff double haul." There are two different videos. Play around with em til you find the right one. It truly is the best instructional out there Here is the address/link to the video https://vimeo.com/70578415

---------- Post added at 02:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:43 PM ----------

You also want to keep the line tight (no slack) between your left hand (if right handed caster) and the first guide (stripping guide). If you keep the line tight you will feel the hauls and the rod load.

I agree the visual cue of objects, in this case a stick, gives you helps the timing of the hauls and you can progressively lift the fly line off the horizontal until you are up vertical (or thereabouts) and you can still use the visual aid to time the hauling move. Every time timing goes awry, go back to this method until it is ingrained. A small coloured cone was very useful when an instructor showed me.

 

[silver creek]

I learned to double haul using Mel Krieger's Up/Down pantomime technique. I found it the easiest way to learn.

As to the timing of the double haul, I agree that it should be done later in the cast typically just before the stop most of the time. It is at this time when the double haul can add the maximum velocity to the cast.

However this ASSUMES that the caster has no other issues such as slack line in the cast. Any slack line in the cast must then be taken out by the rod stoke and this reduces the effective stroke length. A double haul serves to remove slack line from the cast and I think that in this case, an earlier haul would serve to remove slack and improve the effectiveness of the rod stroke. Since on the longest casts we cannot add additional stroke length, an earlier haul that removes the slack line would be beneficial. I have no definitive proof, but it makes sense to me. Of course improving the basic casting technique so there is minimal slack and then adding the double haul would be best.

There are other times when an earlier haul is better according to the FFF. So optimal haul timing can vary. Also the flex pattern of the fly rod affects the optimal speed of the haul. Experts even vary in their recommendations.

All of this is discussed in the FFF document below.

"Experts variously recommend hauls that are long and slow, long and quick, or short and quick. They may advocate starting the hauling movement late in the casting stroke, or earlier, with the start of the rod-hand movement. Putting these differences in perspective and simplifying the learning may help get you past this hurdle in your casting.... Typically, the line hand delayed hauling until the rod butt had been rotated forward to, or just past, vertical. The hauling hand moved the fastest during the final tipping, stopping, and initial unloading of the rod..... Just when I thought I had a handle on this,Tim Rajeff mentioned that he would expect the hauls to be different with a fast-sinking shooting head. I looked at some shooting-head casting footage and found that some of these experts were making earlier and longer hauls than with a weight-forward line. This told me that we need to be cautious about making specific recommendations about haul speed, length, or timing...... A haul may also be influenced by other factors, such as the particular fly rod being cast. Although a competent caster can adjust the timing of a haul to different rods, the quick unloading characteristic of a tip-flexing rod seems best timed to a quick haul, whereas a slower, full- flexing rod seems best matched to a more leisurely haul..... So variations in equipment and in the movements of the rod hand help account for differences in hauls. Yet why do some of us teach starting the haul as we start the rod hand, when the fastest part of the haul occurs later in the casting stroke?..... I believe that starting the hauling movement early simplifies the communication of a complicated movement - then, at some point, may fine-tune that coordination by slowing down or delaying the start of the haul....

http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Portals/0/Documents/Casting/MCI/The Double Haul.Al Kyte.pdf

So there is no "best time or best speed" for the haul." This makes a great deal of sense to me since there is no "best" length or best rotational speed for all rod strokes using all types of rod actions. It varies with the cast you want to make, the fly rod, and the distance you are casting.

I believe that the easiest way to teach the double haul is to coordinate it with the beginning of the rod stroke realizing full well that this is NOT the best timing. But performing the Up/Down of Mel Krieger at the start is the EASIEST way to integrate the haul into the cast. And I also believe that pantomiming the haul using a pencil or pen as the rod (even while sitting or reading at the computer) is the most effective way to build muscle memory so the up down becomes automatic.

Then the caster can work on the timing of the haul along with other subtleties to improve the hauling technique.

 

[Hirdy]

However this ASSUMES that the caster has no other issues such as slack line in the cast. Any slack line in the cast must then be taken out by the rod stoke and this reduces the effective stroke length. A double haul serves to remove slack line from the cast and I think that in this case, an earlier haul would serve to remove slack and improve the effectiveness of the rod stroke.

I think this might be an ill-advised use for the double haul. The DH should not be used as a crutch to make up for other casting flaws. Slack line in a cast indicates the caster has problems that should be rectified before attempting the DH.

Slack in the system always leads to an incorrect application of power, whether that manifests as creep or a DH that comes in way too early as the caster searches for tension in the line. The instructor should work towards eliminating the cause of the slack line, not cover it by adding another complication (such as an early DH).

Cheers,
Graeme

 

[ia_trouter]

I'm afraid I've never heard "haul at the stop" before, but obviously, I disagree with such a comment.

However, if the statement was "time the haul to finish simultaneously with the stop", I'd agree to a large extent. (I would not agree fully because in an effective hauling action, the end of the haul becomes the stop, regardless of how the rod is rotating. This is seen in the "170 degree cast", which you may need to google.)

Finishing the haul before the rod has stopped is one of the causes of a tailing loop, so later is definitely better.

Cheers,
Graeme

I just made my wife watch this video. She is a pretty fair amateur painter of outdoor scenes, and has been putting fly fishermen in a few of her pictures lately. But they alway look like a dude with a cane pole lol. She now understands what a stud fly cast with a tight loop looks like. It just occurred to me maybe this is my fault and she she has been watching me practice in the yard. I hope not. Thanks