conwyrod
Advisory Board
Autumn on the Conwy
Posts: 4,659
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Post by conwyrod on Jan 3, 2008 22:35:57 GMT
You can feel the love in the room tonight. ;D
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Post by Willie Gunn on Jan 3, 2008 22:37:37 GMT
Sowhat would you both do if you were standing under a tree branch which prevented a single spey cast? Right bank, strong upstream wind, and a big fish jumping opposite you - spinning rods not allowed ;D. How long is the branch? I often lay the rod over placing the anchor further out, the right bank of Cairnty springs to mind. (Orton) But surely the gillie has trimmed the branch, see above just give the man a tip.
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Post by John Gray on Jan 3, 2008 22:38:26 GMT
Yes, Malcolm. I, like you, Oh John hugs and kisses all round. Nearly fell off my chair.... I'm off to pour a large glass of Glenlivet .... or maybe Speyburn....
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Post by John Gray on Jan 3, 2008 22:39:44 GMT
Sowhat would you both do if you were standing under a tree branch which prevented a single spey cast? Right bank, strong upstream wind, and a big fish jumping opposite you - spinning rods not allowed ;D. I'd be the perfect gentleman and leave it to the opposition!
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conwyrod
Advisory Board
Autumn on the Conwy
Posts: 4,659
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Post by conwyrod on Jan 3, 2008 22:48:02 GMT
Sowhat would you both do if you were standing under a tree branch which prevented a single spey cast? Right bank, strong upstream wind, and a big fish jumping opposite you - spinning rods not allowed ;D. How long is the branch? I often lay the rod over placing the anchor further out, the right bank of Cairnty springs to mind. (Orton) But surely the gillie has trimmed the branch, see above just give the man a tip. As JG will tell you, you don't trim nice overhanging branches on sea trout rivers like the Conwy. The branch is 2' above your head and 10' long.
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wilson
Active Member
Posts: 28
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Post by wilson on Jan 4, 2008 2:22:51 GMT
I'd say that I practice some distance casting (for me) so when I'm on the river and can back off and just concentrate on presentation. Again, for my skills distance is relative. If I'm sharp on the pond at 100', and my technique will hold up in the wind, then 65' with a #2 single and belt deep the river will also hold up and I can concentrate on what I'm there for.
For fishing situations I don't come across too many that require long casts. In fact this year on Gaspe it was presentation that trumped everything. It was almost like trout fishing in that we literally had to drop the fly on the nose, or just inside their nose, to get any movement at all. If you hucked it out past them and swam it by, the fish would never budge. I wasn't used to that level of accuracy with a two-handed rod, so this winter is spent spent on improving accuracy over power (next year they'll all be on the other side of the river, you watch).
In Gaspe most fish can be sighted at 45'-65' so blowing it across the river is pointless. There are a few "interesting" lies that are across the main flow in some slack water. If you can stretch out to 35 yards (while wading), and present the fly in the slack water and hold it there for a second or two there are some big fish in that kind of water early in the season. Shallow angles across a fast flow are also another long line presentation and have returned hookups.
The water on the Spey that I saw seemed perfectly reasonable to work at less than 25 yards, but the wind was especially tough. Might as well have been trying to belt one out across the entire lower river at times.
-Chris
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robbie
Active Member
Posts: 882
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Post by robbie on Jan 4, 2008 7:18:59 GMT
Not really a follow on from above posts, but an casting instructor friend of mine told me that he feels that there is Casting and there is Angling and only when the 2 come together is when he calls someone a good Salmon Fisher. He says it is relatively easy to teach someone to put a line out on the water, but far more difficult to teach them how to "Angle" Therefore should not our ultimate goal be that we are able to : Learn to read the water correctly, and cast a decent length line in a profficient manner when needed. ?
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tweedsider
Active Member
Quietness is best
Posts: 993
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Post by tweedsider on Jan 4, 2008 10:07:19 GMT
I heard an angling instructor at the last Tweed Fair tell the audience that you could teach a woman to fish better than you could a man as the former would concentrate on fishing and not outcasting everyone else on the river. Being an indifferent distance caster I would always go for presentation. What must be remembered is that the angler who is a good distance caster can present his fly better mid-distance than can a moderate distance caster.
Tweedsider
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hf
Active Member
Posts: 1,807
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Post by hf on Jan 4, 2008 10:40:30 GMT
I have certainly been caught up with the distance thing this past year. Not distance for distance sake but hopefully distance as a result of better casting(?) and with the intention of covering more water/fish. However I do question whether it has been at the expense of good presentation or even good application in other areas. (I don't know for sure but I suspect it may be the case and it is certainly something that has been on my mind over the winter.) I guess this years learning curve will need to concentrate more on presentation of the fly and other simple basics and then hopefully a good cast to go with it highlandfisher
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Speyducer
Advisory Board
Release to spawn another day
Posts: 4,123
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Post by Speyducer on Jan 4, 2008 10:43:36 GMT
I have always found that, for whatever length of head I am casting, whether 65-75' mid-Spey, 40-44' Scandi shooting head, or ~27' Skagit head, slowing the D-loop preparation stroke and then using a high rod tip positive stop, & aiming for about 6 to 8' above the far bank level, gives both a more consistently longer cast combined with a reasonable presentation. Using the power of the rod fully in the forward stroke, with the aiming higher and the higher positive stop, rather than speed of the forward stroke allows the line being unrolled above the water and then more gently dropping onto the water is the result.
Mike
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robert
Active Member
Posts: 27
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Post by robert on Mar 18, 2008 20:15:58 GMT
Being a trout fisher by nature but spending my time on a lower beat of the river Earn i use the overhead cast most of the time as i find i can put the fly under trees etc easier. Most spey casters that i have seen make quite a splash with the anchor. This may not bother them but i was always taught not to spoil the water for those comeing after you. While fishing the river Ness [town water] i was admiring a caster on the other bank whos fly was landing at my feet. Turning to the angler behind me i mentioned to him that i wished i could cast as good as that. His reply which i always keep in mind was that if i wanted to fish the other bank i would go round there. Bob
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