Small Stream Preparation

Posted By Kent Klewein on December 11, 2008

I wanted to take a moment to point out how important it is to get prepared prior to taking a guided fishing trip. Many newcomers to the sport of fly fishing often take this factor too lightly. Taking the time to practice certain casts prior to your trip can turn a slow day of fishing into a highly successful one. Below are a few casts you should practice before heading to the river.

Cast # 1 – Roll Cast

Many of our trips are on small streams, and very often we find ourselves in situations where we don’t have room for a backcast to present the fly. Familiarizing yourself with the Roll Cast will allow you to get the fly to the spot your guide is pointing out.

Presenting the fly with Roll Cast - Photo By: Louis Cahill

One of the biggest problems I find clients having while trying to roll cast is dealing with moving water. They often find the fly drifting into them just prior to their roll cast. This can lead to an angler hooking themselves, but in most cases just a tangled rig. To eliminate this, I have my clients first lay a backcast upstream, and then give them the go ahead to start the roll cast. Doing this provides the angler with extra time to make the roll cast and also increases the overall target zone of the cast to maximize their drift.

Cast # 2 – Presenting the fly with your Backcast

Presenting the fly on Backcast - Photo by: Louis Cahill

Most of us are right handers and that means we prefer to present the fly to the fish with our forward cast. Unfortunately, you’ll often find yourself unable to present the fly on your forward cast due to obstructions. In this situation, the first thing I tell my clients to due is pivot their body around to their left, where they are facing downstream. Next I ask them to act like they are casting to a target down stream. Instead of stopping the fly rod on their forward cast and presenting the fly I just have them stop the fly rod during their backcast.

One very important rule to follow is drawing a straight line from the target on your backcast back to where your forward cast will be traveling. For example if your fly keeps landing right of your intended target you can correct the problem by casting farther to your left during your forward cast. Doing this will aid you in casting at the appropriate angle. Picture a straight line from your forward cast to your target.

Practicing these two casts before your trip will greatly increase your success rate on small streams. You’ll be amazed how often you use them and how many more fish you’ll catch.

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