Lesson Report - Fly casting with DerekD

[Little_Flatty]

Hi Raiders,

A month ago I had a troublesome problem. I got some money as a birthday present from my parents and mother-in-law and I had no idea what to do with it!

Sure, I could buy another 2500 reel (of which I already have a fleet), or another 2-4kg rod (of which I already had a forest). More lures? Frankly, I didn't want any more lures - I'm quite happy with how my collection is looking and there's still some fun to be had with the lures I already have. Guided trip? Nah, can't afford the time, let alone the extra cost. The reality was that all of the options I could think of would fail to spark joy in a Marie-Kondo sense. The reality was that I've reached an age in life where the things that make me the most happy fall into a people or experience bucket.

So I sat on the $150 that I was given for a few weeks. Then one day the answer came to me; I'd start fly fishing! I have a few people in my personal network who fly fish, and along with you Raiders, I figured I had a good support network that would get me started. Some advice from @Hoods, @noelm, @Green Hornet, @campr and @DerekD set me on my way, and an 8wt Redington Crosswater outfit was purchased. As the Redington doubled my budget, it was decided I had to wait till Fathers' day for my first cast.

Fathers day came and went (albeit with a little taunting from Derek tempting me out for a sneaky cast!), but unfortunately between family, work and study commitments I struggled to find the time to get out. However, this afternoon this changed.

This wasn't exactly my first fly fishing rodeo. At the tender age of 16, I got some valuable lessons from Ray Wearne (formerly of Anglers World North Rocks) when the shop was quiet. He got me to the point where I could send a fly out a respectable distance. I even had my own outfit - a Gillies 7wt starter kit - but not having a car at that point meant I never really used it, just a couple of halfhearted swoffs on the flats at Narrabeen lake. Then a bit of time later my parents downsized and I'm not really sure what happened to the outfit. About ten years ago, one of my mates had a bucks party and one of the challenges was to cast a fly in a sports field. It became apparent that my fly-casting skills had atrophied into non-existence, so to start again would have been too much.

Anyhow, I was kindly allowed out to play by the wife and kids today. Derek met me in Balmain and started the lesson straight away. We started by studying the assembly of the rod and discussed the merits of braided loops vs nail knots. Then we headed down to a grassy field and Derek started demonstrating for me with his practice outfit. He advised me not to ever practice with my good line on the grass as this would cause needless wear and tear on the line. After a few more demos, Derek handed his rod to me.

I tried a few casts for starters. Derek was suitably impressed with my beginner casting, but to be honest, I was cheating 🤣. In addition to my fly outfit, I had also purchased a practice rod and had been studying some technique videos from a fly casting masterclass courtesy of another website/community. But there was plenty to work on and Derek gave me a few pointers about trying to achieve a 'snap' in my casting motion and making the rod work more for me.

As I casted, one of the things Derek kept telling me was 'that was a cast'. This took me some hours to understand, but that feedback always came after I landed the line/leader in a squiggly mess! Some casts, I was able to land gracefully, others ended up in tangles. Anyhow, after an hour or so I was able to get some improvement and then Derek started teaching me how to haul. But I still couldn't understand what he meant when he said 'that was a cast'!

Hauling was a revelation. To start with, hauling on the back cast was easy, but I struggled with the haul on the forward cast. I just couldn't get all the moving parts to come together in one fluid motion! Derek identified that I was struggling to get my left (line) hand to follow my right (rod) hand and we worked on some exercises to improve this. After some time, the movements began to take shape and my distance began to improve.

At that point, my casting arm was about to fall off, so it was decided that we would get some lunch at the local Maccas. Addicted to most frozen things, I had my favourite frozen Coke no sugar whilst Derek recapped the basics of the double haul cast. Derek asked me if I would get in trouble if we visited a tackle shop on the way to lesson number two. I reassured him that seeing as I'd already spent several hundred dollars on rods, reels, lines and flies, a few extra dollars here and there wouldn't make a difference 🤣.

So off we head to the shop where I purchased some braided loops and a couple of spare leaders for later. Derek found some (apparently rare) weighted weed flies and after a bit of a chat with the staff, we headed to the next spot in the hope of snaring a luderick or two.

Spot number two was different to almost any fly fishing scenario I'd seen on videos and in real life, but not dissimilar to other spots I've fished with bait and lures. Standing a few metres above the water on your typical harbour retaining wall, landing a fly neatly on the water proved a significant challenge. Add to that the fact that there was a stiff headwind that picked your fly up and sent it back towards you at the end of your cast. This was no trout stream or whiting flats!

Derek explained to me that I needed to rotate the trajectory of my cast downwards, so that my forward casts went downwards and my back casts went upwards. I tried that and I was able to nail that for about one in four casts. I still got the 'that was a cast' feedback from Derek. At that point, I stopped and asked him what that actually meant. In short, it turned out what he meant was that I was trying to cast as if I was trying to cast a spin rod - following through without seeking the 'flick' of a rod tip required to send a fly line out.

Consciously focusing on this gave me some improvement and Derek then did some work on my hauling, which improved my casting even further. My arms started to get sore again, so Derek showed me a few things about stripping the line in and how to manage your line when fishing weed flies for luderick, along with the nuances of his home made strike indicators. Unfortunately the luderick weren't out to play today (and we didn't have any berley), but learning to cast alone was enough for me.

We did think about heading to another spot after this but to be honest, I was really tired, and Derek needed to be somewhere else. So we called it a day, and the roll cast (which will be critically important to me in many spots I fish) was left as self-study homework prior to my next lesson. Spending all this time in the sun had me very thirsty and another frozen coke was ordered on the way home - and this time I allowed myself the fully leaded version! 

I came home and installed the braided loop on the end of my fly line whilst watching TV. Washed down the flies and it was time for another cold drink.

A lot more practice and fishing is ahead of me, but I'm glad to have got started on my new challenge. I'm lucky that I can get down to the water easily and have a couple of suitable spots to practice casting a fly. So a lot more practice will be done.

A big thankyou to @DerekD who as always was generous with his time and knowledge. Keep your eyes peeled for a couple of his articles on fly fishing basics and purchasing your first luring outfit!

Mike

[noelm]

I had a quick cast myself today, the tide was just right, and after some messing around (including "whipping" a fly off on the back cast) I got a couple of nice ocean Blackfish. It is good fun, keep at it, it's very rewarding when you actually catch something.

[big Neil]

Your post mirrors my own experience with Derek. I can still hear "that's a cast" as I struggled with the timing of the haul. As you will find out (eventually) the buzz from watching the strike indicator disappear below the surface, and the fight from a decent Luderick, is exhilarating. It left me trying to figure which method (traditional or fly) I actually prefer. Suffice to say, I am grateful for the opportunity to use both methods. The fight from a feisty Blackfish, on appropriate gear, is exciting to say the least. 

Good luck with your venture into the world of Blackfishing with fly rod and weed fly Mike.

bn

[noelm]

I am very much an amateur when it comes to fly fishing, even though I have been doing it for quite a while, but I do enjoy it, I think it's because you are doing "something" even when not catching anything, even  casting is an experience. I am extremely lucky, there's pretty good flyfishing right in front of my house, and there's a real expert fishes there regularly and he gives me tips, but for me, it's hard to change bad habits because I didn't get any pointers early on! I only use bread flies, because they work when used with bread burley, my catch is Blackfish, Mullet (a big sea Mullet gives you some work) Bream, Trevally and Whiting, not all at once, or all the time of course! I fish from a rocky shore on to sand right at the entrance of a small Estuary (Elliott Lake, or Little Lake, it has both names) very popular with families to swim and picnic, but it doesn't bother the fish much. My current gear is pretty cheap, I have an old DAM reel, with equally as old line and a department store Rex Hunt rod, my good rod disappeared some time ago, no idea who borrowed it! But that said, it still catches fish, even with me using it.

[Squidless]

Great write up and looking forward to your progress.

I'm continually amazed at the community here with so many people willing to spend their time to teach, share their knowledge and learn.

[Little_Flatty]

2 hours ago, big Neil said:

Your post mirrors my own experience with Derek. I can still hear "that's a cast" as I struggled with the timing of the haul.

🤣 Neil I'm glad I'm not the only one! I'm looking forward to getting a luderick on the fly some time.

@noelm one of the things I do want to do is get a few fish on bread flies. I enjoy catching fish on bread, so I figure I'd enjoy catching fish on bread flies. Totally agree that the casting itself is good fun.

5 minutes ago, Squidless said:

I'm continually amazed at the community here with so many people willing to spend their time to teach, share their knowledge and learn.

@Squidless that's what the Raider community is all about! After a while, what goes around comes around too, with novice Raiders getting more experienced and paying it forward, or even being able to help already-experienced Raiders with something new! @DerekD is serially famous for his efforts tutoring anglers novice and experienced alike.

[DerekD]

Hi @Little_Flatty

It was a pleasure catching up with you yesterday. I enjoyed reading the report almost as much as spending several hours fishing/casting with you. Hope we can get out soon and concentrate on actually getting you a blackfish.

There is a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt which says "a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor". If you could get the line out under yesterday's conditions you are well on your way to becoming a proficient fly caster.

I'm sure that barrage of "that was a cast" will be ringing in your ears for a while yet. Glad you are making the distinction between the flick of the fly rod to start the loop rolling and the tendency to fling the line forward like with a spinning outfit.

For those that haven't tried fly fishing, part of the difficulty is that there are many separate movements of the body required to get optimum distance out of the outfit. Individually they are not difficult but then combining them becomes an issue. Not supposed to break the wrist when moving the rod. Easy enough. Flicking with rod tip. Ok. Non rod hand pumping down then back up to haul the line for increased line speed. Wait... getting difficult now. Getting non rod hand to follow rod hand. Starting to get a little more complicated. A bit like driving a manual car for the first time.

Regards,

Derek 

Edited September 11, 2022 by DerekD

[Green Hornet]

Great Write up @Little_Flattyand two thumbs up to @DerekDfor showing you the finer details.

Way back when I started I was lucky enough to live near and be mentored by the SWF legend Max Garth. Just like "that's a cast", so many of Max's phrases are imbedded in my head.

I agree 100% with @noelmthat laying down that near perfect cast is half the fun, along with designing and tying your own flies.

It sounds like you're progressing well and good luck with things in the future.

[noelm]

For us beginners, nothing beats cast after cast for no result, only to find you whip cracked your fly off ten casts ago.......

[Bennyg78]

Wow, great report and read @Little_Flatty

Fly casting sounds like next level of co-ordination and work.

I am looking forward to hearing how your fly casting goes, @DerekD must have had a full on weekend as he had taken myself and @AlbertW kayak fishing the day before.

[Rebel]

Well done everyone.

Sounds like a super experience.

Cheers.

[big Neil]

6 hours ago, DerekD said:

Hi @Little_Flatty

It was a pleasure catching up with you yesterday. I enjoyed reading the report almost as much as spending several hours fishing/casting with you. Hope we can get out soon and concentrate on actually getting you a blackfish.

There is a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt which says "a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor". If you could get the line out under yesterday's conditions you are well on your way to becoming a proficient fly caster.

I'm sure that barrage of "that was a cast" will be ringing in your ears for a while yet. Glad you are making the distinction between the flick of the fly rod to start the loop rolling and the tendency to fling the line forward like with a spinning outfit.

For those that haven't tried fly fishing, part of the difficulty is that there are many separate movements of the body required to get optimum distance out of the outfit. Individually they are not difficult but then combining them becomes an issue. Not supposed to break the wrist when moving the rod. Easy enough. Flicking with rod tip. Ok. Non rod hand pumping down then back up to haul the line for increased line speed. Wait... getting difficult now. Getting non rod hand to follow rod hand. Starting to get a little more complicated. A bit like driving a manual car for the first time.

Regards,

Derek 

Much more difficult than driving a manual car Derek...unless it's in Sydney. LOL

bn

[Volitan]

10 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Great Write up @Little_Flattyand two thumbs up to @DerekDfor showing you the finer details.

Way back when I started I was lucky enough to live near and be mentored by the SWF legend Max Garth. Just like "that's a cast", so many of Max's phrases are imbedded in my head.

I agree 100% with @noelmthat laying down that near perfect cast is half the fun, along with designing and tying your own flies.

It sounds like you're progressing well and good luck with things in the future.

Are you talking about the WA Max Garth, of Garth Rock fame?

[Green Hornet]

12 hours ago, Volitan said:

Are you talking about the WA Max Garth, of Garth Rock fame?

That’s him. He was an electronics whizz and worked on radar systems for the military services. I met Max when he was working at HMAS Albatross, just south west of Nowra.

[Volitan]

1 hour ago, Green Hornet said:

That’s him. He was an electronics whizz and worked on radar systems for the military services. I met Max when he was working at HMAS Albatross, just south west of Nowra.

Ok. That explains a lot. I once saw a photo of him with a fly-caught kingfish in Jervis Bay and was puzzled - I didn’t know he had lived in NSW.

[Little_Flatty]

So...the best part of one year on and thus far the mission has been a bit of a failure!

I had a few sessions in spots and conditions where I knew I could be onto a fish if I had my plastics rod, but I donutted every time. Since then I have also had a couple of sessions with @DerekD to find a few luderick, but alas, even the sure-fire spots were dead on those days! I had a bit of an epiphany recently that my fly fishing journey parallels a lot of novice fishos' lure fishing experiences; you doubt if these things will even work and how come everyone else always catches fish on them? Actually come to think of it, I'm a bit jealous of @R E G I C Y C L E who broke his fly-fishing duck on his first attempt! I get it - he knows his bass and trout - but I know my flathead and I still haven't got one.

So the fly rod went away and the lure rods were the name of the game for most of 2023, and only came back out recently when I was doing a massive tackle sort out. The fly gear was there and I thought, hmm...I might have a go at that again.

I've discovered that a local pontoon is the perfect fly casting practice platform and I've been going down there of late when I have a free moment. It's good because if I orient my cast right, my loops are over the water and not bothering anybody. There's also a chance of a good bream if they are around, but I've realised I need to work much harder on my casting skills than I would have to on spin/baitcast gear. My goal now is to be a sufficiently proficient caster by December so that I can fly fish on a regular basis in the warmer months.

This morning I was out again, having a cast. On the water before 6am and started casting. Before I knew it, it was almost seven! I realised that I had stopped caring about catching fish and was totally in the flow trying to throw tight loops! The casting itself really can be quite mesmerising and fun. This is one thing that I have always said to beginner anglers; there are a lot of things about fishing that are fun, other than just catching fish. If you find those things, you can come back after a donut session and still be quite satisfied. It becomes about the journey and not the destination.

This morning I came back particularly chuffed, because I haven't had any knots in my leader for several sessions now 🤣 Low expectations = happy angler 😎

[Green Hornet]

I think all us fur chuckers have been there before Mike and 100% agree on the high you get from sometimes throwing that near perfect cast.

When the fishing’s tough you can always cheat a little by tying on a bass minnow and ultralight jig head. It’s a particularly effective way of targeting flatties over the flats when the prawns are around and out fishes spin gear most of the time. It’s also good on bream in the snags.

[R E G I C Y C L E]

Haha trust me, it was a case of beginners luck! My journey since then definitely hasn't been so fruitful.

One of my goals for the coming trout season is to finally give the fly gear a proper go 👍

[Little_Flatty]

7 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

I think all us fur chuckers have been there before Mike and 100% agree on the high you get from sometimes throwing that near perfect cast.

When the fishing’s tough you can always cheat a little by tying on a bass minnow and ultralight jig head. It’s a particularly effective way of targeting flatties over the flats when the prawns are around and out fishes spin gear most of the time. It’s also good on bream in the snags.

Can always rely on you for interesting ideas, Pete!

1 hour ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Haha trust me, it was a case of beginners luck! My journey since then definitely hasn't been so fruitful.

One of my goals for the coming trout season is to finally give the fly gear a proper go 👍

You did well! Just now we have a winter + a bass closed season…Looking forward to some trout reports when the season opens!