Daily Cast Archive

20 years ago a well respected fly casting instructor told me, that casting 30meters (98feet) using a 5 or 6 wt. fly line would be very difficult. Looking back today I have to admit he was spot-on. Listening to him it became very hard to learn to hit 30PLUS meters.

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If you’ve read this site for a while, you probably know that the Snap Cast is popular around SL headquarters. Paul being a snappy fellow, probably likes this skill as much as anyone I know, so this one’s for him. The Snap Cast automatically elevates your casting coolness rating. As a stand-alone skill, the intent of a Snap Cast is to quickly bring the fly back to you by using a controlled, snapping movement of the rod. The application is to allow you to quickly inspect a fly and leader for damage and so forth, as well as quickly getting a fly out of a trouble spot.

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Last week Ashly and I had an adventure un to Thailand - just like six months ago, we carried the boat up on the truck roof and launched off a beach in order to visit some islands. We fished and Ashly was more successful than I in landing some type of green reef fish that I've never seen before. I only managed Garfish! We made new friends, ate spectacularly well, swam, snorkelled and had an outstanding time. Ashly now wants to learn diving so that will give us another excuse to make the trip in the future (not that we need any excuse to visit Thailand!). I've been back almost a week now, have camouflaged the boat for close-quarter Gourami fishing action. and spray-painted the reflective parts on the inside of the boat that had been affecting my vision. The outboard motor had a service prior to Thailand and so everything is running smoothly. I even found time to have my truck's winch repaired, as well as the air conditioning. So it's been a time of busy maintenance but now it's time to fish the jungle again.

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Steelhead fishing is known as a pursuit where there are often long hours between contacts with a fish. Anglers will often happily go days between landing a steelhead. I know some folks that fished two or three seasons or more before they landed their first steelhead on fly. Dedicated steelheaders speak of “paying dues” like it is a n absolute requirement of the pursuit. “Steelhead Karma” is not taken lightly as a concept.

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I fish my Sexyloops HT 690 and 890 mainly in the salt, and in the salt, I mainly use shooting heads. About 80% of the time, I'd say. I do mount a WF line now and then - mostly on the 690. Early morning chasing sea trout over shallow water and for zero wind situations (I still remember that weekend :-).

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Why? …. Good question, right? Why … I like sound of it. Why? Not "how" - "why". So let´s start at say —- zero. ..... You have an insect that the fish feeds upon. You fumble it on a hook and cast it to the fish. That maybe works for very limited amount of occasions, but casting this delicate object is havoc, obtaining the insect than and there proves rather difficult. ..... So what people did to solve these issues was to attach fur and feathers to what they had available as hooks. ...... Fly tying had started.

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Sorry for missing last week, currently apart from Friday I couldn't tell you the last time I left the office before 10pm. It's not been the most fun time. So much so that the opening for the trout season came and went without much more than a what if thought from myself but in the background I have been hatching a plan or two that got me thinking about new waters.

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Last week I had a student preparing for a fly casting instructor exam. He asked me about how to determine the ideal length of time for a fly casting lesson in general.

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While I often write about casting, sometimes the best fishing techniques aren’t casting-centric. Dapping is one of those techniques. What follows is a short look at dapping with everyday gear, something that I’ve done a fair amount of over the years. Dapping is a very old, direct approach that lends itself to straightforward equipment—such as a pole and a length of line. When using what one might call “standard” fly-fishing gear, dapping is typically done with the leader and perhaps a small amount of line pulled out of the rod tip. The intent is to be able to hold the rod out over the water, and “dap” the fly on the surface. Usually the dap portion involves just enough movement to make the fly look like it is fluttering or dancing (not full-on disco). Tuning the length of line out of the rod tip to best match your position in relation to the water and to the needed dapping movement is key. A lot of slack becomes hard to control, and a rod tip too close to the fly might be a visual problem. As a general rule, I go with a line length that allows me to do what I need to do in terms of fly movement/control, but I don’t go any shorter.

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Paul's in transit between Thailand and The Titaminc Condom's usual waters in the Belum rainforest. That means you'll have to wait at least one more week before getting Paul's wise words on streamer fishing, in reply to Thomas' front page on tying streamers. Paul will try and upload some pictures later today when he returns.

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Mahseer are part of the carp (Cyprinidae) family. They live in the Northern Hemisphere in Asia, India and Pakistan. They prefer pristine, jungle waters. Pollution is a major threat. There are several species of Mahseer. The Blue Mahseer is found in Thailand. It sounds surprising that there are any sport fish in Asia. Freshwater sport fish species include Mahseer, Giant Snakehead, Pacu , Sebarua, Gourami, and Peacock bass. There are trout in the highlands.

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Tiny … small things, tiny steps - getting them wrong is often the reason why “it” does not work out at the end. As in many matters life, this applies to fly-tying as well as to playing music and making guitars. WTF you might ask - well - I see that connection, because I am crazy enough to draw such conclusions. Excuse me if I am wrong, but hey … I try to play music myself (percussion mostly) and flyfish and am very lucky that I have good friends who actually can play music. We often have discussions - specifically drummers - about very small movements. Funny enough the mechanics of drumming isn´t too different from flycasting.

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Scotty is piled up with work at the moment so it's a quick emergency FP from me today. Ashly and I have driven up to Thailand on a VISA run for me. We've offloaded the boat onto a beach and motored over to Ko Ngai where we are camping and fishing.

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Last week I travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark meeting Michael and Henrik. We then went on a weekend trip to Sweden. Michael has worked many years in the film industry as a director while Henrik has worked as an editor for many years. Both have been working with companies like Lukasfilm and Legoland for example. Our goal was to make detailed plans on producing a fly fishing movie within the next 12 months.

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Here’s a little cut-and-paste of a few paragraphs from my upcoming casting book. Short, but I think that it makes its point without having to meander around the topic.

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I still have to write an FP on Streamer fishing as a follow-up to TZ's Streamer tying lesson. OK this is not it! It will happen I promise, hopefully next week while in Thailand I'll have some more time to put something together. Of course if the fishing is really good there then I'll write about that and postpone yet another week, but it's on the list I promise you! I've fished streamers often for wild trout in many parts of the world and so it should be a good one. However at the time of writing this (Friday night) I've just had my arse kicked by Gourami while fishing for them for three days under the hot relentless sun and while it's fresh in my mind I want to talk about them.

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Hello again everyone! Matt Klara here. It’s been a while since I last wrote a Sexyloops FP, but Paul has invited me back to fill in at least some of the time on Sundays. Long-time Loops readers might remember me from the Wednesday FP slot back in 2007 through 2011. For new readers, I hope you like what I have to say. I’m hoping that I can bring some new ideas to the FP and share some of my experiences and adventures from the past few years, as well as those which have yet to happen. Like always, I’m hoping that I can make folks think about fishing – maybe in a new and different way. So, in a way, what was old is new again.

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Although there are excellent, synthetic alternatives, I do like real seal's fur for some flies. Wets, for instance - traditional wets - just look better with real seal's fur, and the material does have some properties that are, if not impossible, then very hard to replicate in a synthetic material.

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Teaching - or better said sharing is a good way to learn. Really. One really has to think very simple when one wants to ensure that the other really understands what one tries to convey. This helps the own process very much. Teaching fly tying to me is more sharing the basics of fly fishing. What is this about trying to trick a fish into believing this strange concoction of fur & feathers on a hook could be a food item.

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It’s late on a Sunday night and I’ve been tweaking words and images in my latest book project. Specifically, words and images about fly cast pantomiming, a teaching technique made famous by the late Mel Krieger. Although he died in 2008, Mel Krieger’s voice still lives on in the world of fly casting. His influence on me was truly significant, and I remember feeling as if the end of an era had passed along with him that October day. Not long after Mel’s death, I was asked to write a remembrance of him for a Japanese magazine. What follows are those words. I hope that a few SL readers will recognize Mel in the same way that I’ll always see him.

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I'm supposed to write an FP on streamer fishing to complement TZ's page last Friday, and I will, but it will be next week now. And that's because something amazing happened last week while guiding. And what this means is that I have to tie flies tonight and go fishing for the next six days!

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This week my target is 20 Gourami in the boat.

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Streamer fishing … well, it´s almost frowned upon. I guess it is because it seems too easy. At least i do … shouldn´t the fish just take that thing?? even if I do not see the fish and let alone the fly?? Well, you can call me stupid … but no worries, I can try to tell you that this thinking has changed of course. Why would I otherwise admit it, right? ;-) I am no tackle freak … can´t be because I have too much other things with me. Warm cloth, coffeepot and other very important things for being out in the bush … chocolate for instance. I mostly use a 4 or 5wt. line when fishing. So if i "have" to fish streamers like in «no fish rising», «the water is deep and fast» «there must be a lurker in that deep hole» … i reach for the one of the two streamers I have in my box. So how does one construct a good streamer? There is at least twice as many theories as there are flies. I keep it simple. I like Zonkers made from mink or rabbit fur strips. Mink is better I think as the hair is denser and it does not pick up so much water and weight.

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This was something to consider about the practical realities of fly fishing instruction versus the keyboard warrior escapades of the internet forums. If you've spent any time at all on internet forums you've no doubt seen plenty of arguments, usually taking the form of someone trying to prove they're right whilst someone else strongly disagrees. Teaching analogies are of the things that tend to be easily lost to argument on the internet.

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Yesterday a student asked me what fish out of all the fish I lost I would want to hook again, if I would have this one wish for free. This was an easy to answer question, I thought!

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In any sport, there are those athletes who can utilize the "last five percent" of their abilities. I’m not talking about an exact number here, but rather the concept of what the last five percent represents. Practically speaking, it’s the difference between almost being able to cast a full fly line and getting into the backing every time. While you may never compete in a casting competition, the last five-percent can make for some tangible improvements on the water.

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