Casting off the wrong shoulder. - Training techniques?

[Saulyboy]

I'm right handed and would like to think of myself as a proficient speycaster off the right shoulder. I've also become a dab hand at cack-handed casting over the left shoulder. This was all fine and well until earlier this year I managed, after some 20yrs fly fishing, to stick a double in my cheek following a gust of wind downstream.
My cack-handed fishing came about as I always too lazy too really properly learn to fish off the left shoulder. The fly in face episode this year however has spurred me to do something about this.
So really what I want to know is there any sort of training techniques to train the left arm to cast with the spey rod, or is it a case of going through the motions until I get some sort of decent muscle memory in place for timing of the left arm?

Cheers.

[Paul Arden]

Hi Saul, I'm only starting to play with DHD, but I would recommend learning them together! Too late! Use one side of the body to teach the other.

Cheers Paul

[crunch]

I did use a butt section of DH travel rod to learn the moves of single spey and snake roll at home. You can use also a piece of broom handle if your rod section is too long. Then on water I mostly had to concentrate to "tune" the timing of casting.

[Saulyboy]

Thanks for the response guys. I'll try the dry technique indoors over the winter, just hope my left hand side cooperates. I'll also try the trout rod left handed which will hopefully give my left hand more of a sense of timing.

[Paul Arden]

I find it easier to cast left handed with DHD than single handed. With left hand up, for me it's the right hand that's driving the stroke.

Cheers, Paul

[Chris Dore]

Simply throw one off the right, one off the left and keep alternating as such. Both hands are in play, and the timing and movements are easily matched to the prior on shoulder cast.

How i teach off shoulder dhd anyways.

[akcaster]

One of the more difficult things to learn in spey casting is the D/V loop sweep and the forward stroke. When I moved to my left hand, I worked the switch cast alot to grove the sweep and the forward cast. As Chris and Paul mentioned, make a switch cast with your right on top and next cast move to the left hand on top. Alternating is a good approach. The good new in learning non dominant hand casting is that the off hand does not want to push the forward cast.

Keep at it... it is going to take some time to get somewhat comfortable with the off hand.

One more thought, don't expect the casts dominant hand and off hand casts to be the same. They will differ slightly in the motion and power application. You will learn to self optimize the casts so that they are both proficient.

Go Lefty!

Mark

[Paul Arden]

Most of us are conditioned to favour one hand/side of body, which then makes it very hard to use the other hand/side for a single purpose. When I was learning to cast the SH rod with the opposite hand I found it extremely difficult. Something I found very useful was to throw stones with the left hand (using the right hand side to teach the left).

Cheers, Paul

[anjill]

Hi Saul,

This might help.

Regards,
Tony.

[Saulyboy]

Great stuff guys. The alternating shoulder method makes sense; left hand side learning from the right.
The majority of my salmon fishing involves casting into the horizon on big rivers, so a crap left handed cast means I'm never fishing with the confidence that I'm covering the water. A good cast off the right, followed by a crap off the left would allow me to practice and indeed fish.

[springer]

Hi Saul,

This might help.

Regards,
Tony.

It doesnt seem to have done that guy much good, it just looks to me to be poorly controlled flailing of a salmon rod.

I would suggest you start with LH basic roll casts and overheads, this will get you a sense of feeling and get you beyond the uncomfortable stage.

As Paul has suggested LH up puts your dominant right hand in the best position to influence moving the rod in any direction.

[anjill]

it just looks to me to be poorly controlled flailing of a salmon rod.

And so it may be but professional courtesy would preclude my saying so.

That you see fit to criticise his execution of it doesn't necessarily mean that the idea is without merit.

[Djordje]

Srart with Roll Cast and Overhead (PULD and false cast)

- 1,2 or 3 with dominant hand above and immediately change hand position, but all time thinking what is happened and try to fill it with both hands.

- take care about length of line outside rod tip, mark your line

- do not forget working with your body! start your cast moving body than with hands

- imagine MIRROR on your casting side and try to look your self in this, could be useful

- do not forget make some exercise at your home just with down part of rod, or something other but the same ,2,3 with dominate hand at the top than change position of hand

- think at every moment what you doing YOU TEACH YOUR OTHER HAND! because of that it is important to know what are you doing.

Cheers Djordje

[springer]

That you see fit to criticise his execution of it doesn't necessarily mean that the idea is without merit.

I think if the idea had as much merit as you think his execution would be better. Its a hurried uncontrolled mess with little thought being applied to application and purpose IMHO.

Im all for praising good teaching methods when I see them and there are plenty guys on here with them, in this case I just dont think so.