casting large flies

slack · Post by **slack** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:47 am

I think their is a video with someone who specializes in casting very large flies.Does any one have that link. As I look at musky and salt water flies that are 6 to 9 inches long, I have difficulty casting them. I have a 10wgt Hellios, very short heavy leaders, bass/pike fly line. I am a hauler and oval caster, can cast the full line,but put one of those bombs on that leader and I am for crap. It seems like line speed an loop shape really deteriorate. I have never seen anyone cast those big flies,but my casts are no longer sexy. Any suggestions. Thanks for the advice. Slack

Djordje · Post by **Djordje** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:12 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00GhN9W3kKs&feature=related You will find some short video on my youtube channel. In these video I fish (cast) with #9 rod, #10SH Rio MaxII Intermediate and pike streamers about 25cm. Every cast is Oval/Belgian Cast. I made few opposite video to compare shooting lines...

slack · Post by **slack** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 5:25 pm

Thanks Djordje Nice Videos Slack

Morsie · Post by **Morsie** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 11:39 pm

Are you talking about "large" as in heavy or "large" as in wind resistant, or a combination of both?

Morsie

Subtropicalspey · Post by **Subtropicalspey** » Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:22 pm

I have been experimenting with casting techniques for very large muskie flies that are wind resistant. I have found these flies impossible to pick up off the water with a roll cast pick up. The only way to get them out of the water and ready for a cast is to strip in most of the fly line and use a shotgun pick up to lift them out of the water. When I change the design of the fly to include lead wire wrapped around the shank I am then able to roll cast them, but the overhead cast is still awkward and very unsexy.

At least from the point of view of fishing for muskies from a driftboat, it is helpful to use water hauls to cast these flies. Let's say you have 12 feet of line outside the rod tip and you are drifting down the middle of the river in a drift boat. If you intend to make a delivery cast on the right side of the boat, slap your fly down onto the water on the left side of the boat and use the water tension to load a back cast. In your back cast shoot some line. Then come forward with a wide loop cast to the right side of the boat. Aim your cast slightly upward for safety and use slow line speed.

It also helps to use a powerful rod. I use the new Sage Peacock with a 390 grain window and a Rio short line with a 30 foot head.

slack · Post by **slack** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 4:18 am

Morsie I am talking about both. Any Ideas slack

slack · Post by **slack** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 4:44 am

Subtropicalspey Water haul I use them, good idea. Are you using a 12 wgt? Since your a spey caster, what about a 20' Skagit Head for an over head cast, I would buy one if I thought it could solve my problem. I am fishing static water from a boat.I am looking to make a 60 plus foot cast, am I not being realistic With big flies. Again thanks for your input. slack

slack · Post by **slack** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 4:45 am

Subtropicalspey Water haul I use them, good idea. Are you using a 12 wgt? Since your a spey caster, what about a 20' Skagit Head for an over head cast, I would buy one if I thought it could solve my problem. I am fishing static water from a boat.I am looking to make a 60 plus foot cast, am I not being realistic With big flies. Again thanks for your input. slack

Subtropicalspey · Post by **Subtropicalspey** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:51 am

The Sage Peacock is a little tricky for choosing the right line. It could be considered a 12 weight by its grain window and it comes with its own floating line for which its hard to find specifications. I wanted to fish muskie with an intermediate sinking line so I bought a Rio Outbound Short 10-weight intermediate and this casts the heavy muskie flies pretty well. The Outbound Short has a 30 foot head. I think that a Skagit line would be awkward but I haven't experimented with that.

With the rod, line and flies that I am casting it is possible for me to cast 50 - 60 feet. However the rivers I will be fishing only require 50 feet.

Malcolm · Post by **Malcolm** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 12:53 pm

Have you used double handed rods? I changed to double handed a couple of years ago for big pike flies and it is a great deal easier. This last season I was given a Skagit line and so far this is the best outfit I have tried. The downside with double handers is that it's harder to put pressure on through the long rodwhen they dive towrds the weeds - which is a problem in my local water.

My previous single handed outfit was a 10ft Sparton Imperator with both 12 (sinking) and 14wt (floating) Tarpon lines which was fine but quite tiring towards the end of a day. The biggest single problem was getting the line back out after retrieving almost to my feet. Without a substantial weight of line to get the fly on it's way the line won't shoot as the resistance of the fly stopped any line speed.

The best solution to this I came up with was to throw a series of spirals out while the the fly remained in the water - then into a single spey to get the cast started. Very ugly!

The longer rod allows me to sweep round the last few feet but and the super heavy line means that I can get started a little easier. So far I've never managed to make it look very pretty either with single of double handed rods!

I understand that a lot of the Baltic Pike fishers are now using heavy switch rods for outsized flies, something I have yet to try so can't comment.

Morsie · Post by **Morsie** » Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:53 pm

Slack, Using 'enough rod' is a really good starting point, use water hauls and learn to slip line on the pick-up, its sort of counter intuitive but if you start low enough you have plenty of stroke to slip some out on the pick-up, this really helps reduce the need for any false casting - I also slip line into the backcast and into the forward cast. You need to find your comfortable length of line on the water for the conditions and for a particular fly for your last pick-up. So a couple of water hauls to get your length right then use a low back cast and a high forward cast (oval cast) and in particular watch your pause as wind resistant flies really slow your timing down and the tendency is to come forward too soon, ie we use the pause timing we are used too rather than the pause timing required for these flies if that makes sense. I haven't tried a Skajit line, I tend to use the Rio redfish but most of this fishing for me has been in the tropics.

The other thing to do is to find something like a 12 intermediate line and chop the whole front taper off so you're going right from the belly of the line into the leader.

Morsie

slack · Post by **slack** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:12 am

Morsie All good ideas I know up lining helps, at least me to handle heavier flies. What I don't want to do is buy a new Sakjit or new fly line and not have it solve my problem. Again thanks Slack

Morsie · Post by **Morsie** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 3:16 am

I just don't have enough experience with those to make a suggestion I would be happy with.

Morsie

Mike Rubino · Post by **Mike Rubino** » Tue Jan 03, 2012 10:49 am

I remember reading a long time ago that an 11 weight line could throw a 5 inch plug. I never tried it but I believe it. If you look at the weight charts of lines an 11 weight line is substantially heavier than a 10 wt. line. I use big flies around here in the fall fishing for stripers and bluefish . I use a 10 wt. rod with an 11 wt line . The jump up in line should work.

slack · Post by **slack** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:20 am

Mike I have a friend with a 11 wgt, I am going to borrow his line and work my way up a few lines. Are you using a head or just a WF. Thanks Slack

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