Chapter 1 – Introduction to the Fundamentals of Fly Fishing gives an angler a series of activities and drills which illustrate and emphasize what is equivalent to the blocking and tackling of football. As a Master Casting Instructor, I still do these drills every day I practice. Even the most advanced fly caster can use these activities to stay sharp on the basics and improve their performance. This introduction and fundamental series will cover the five ironclad principles of fly casting.
There are five ironclad principles that apply to fly casting:
- Smooth acceleration to an appropriate stop.
- The path that the rod tip takes determines what happens to the fly line.
- Any slack in the system causes a negative effect on the cast.
- For every loop shape intended there is an appropriate casting arc.
- At the end of every casting stroke, we need an appropriate pause.
This chapter not only discusses and illustrates, through activities, these principles, it also defines all of the terms that you might find in fly casting literature. Like football, understanding terms will help you appreciate and learn the fundamentals at a quicker pace.
Chapter 1 has been arranged in a specific sequence that progresses from more basic principles and skills to more the advanced. Always adding to the previously learned material, you will find that by progressing in order, you will make more sense of the challenges of learning to cast well.
Whether you have just recently picked up the fly rod or you’re an intermediate self-taught caster who has reached a plateau, you will find this chapter very helpful in getting “over the hump”, breaking bad habits, and perfect fly casting.
The language of the five essentials above is a bit different than the “gospel” version as adopted by the FFI, but the meaning is essentially the same.
How about a poster to put these up on the wall or the ceiling so they are the last thing we see before drifting off to sleep and become embedded?