On enjoyment, fishing and bad casting.

[Thomas]

Hello everybody,

I was out practicing my casting today for the first time in a couple of months. I have been doing some fishing this autumn but not that much. Since I have not been practising much, and not been fishing that much either, my casting were not very good. Awful actually. For me good casting is beautiful casting. I dont care for a cast that goes a mile if it looks lite shit. I know that others dont see it that way but for me this is the way it is. Good casting is elegant - period. I have therefore spent a lot of time on the grass tuning my stroke and trying to perfect my loops. And when I´m at the top of my game my loops and my loop-control is not that bad at all. Anyway, this fixation with beautiful casting have become a problem. If I go out fishing and my casting is shite, I´m having a hard time enjoying myself, the fish, the outdoors and so on. I´m just irritated at myself and my ugly casting. It actually spoils the fun! This is just so completely unnecessary! So now I have a new goal in my flyfishinglife - to get away from this unhealthy fixation and enjoy fishing when my casting rocks as well as when it sucks! How about you all? Can you enjoy fishing when your casting sucks or are you all as pathetic as me?

/Thomas

[bartdezwaan]

Hi Thomas,
I would not call it pathetic. But if it is, I am at least as pathetic as you are
I enjoy the casting as much as the fishing. The feeling and rhythm of good casting is a sheer joy to me.
The day would be a frustrating one if the line would be all over the place.

Cheers, Bart

[Boisker]

A mix of both to be honest... if I am casting badly I don’t enjoy the day, but that relates more to accuracy... not putting the fly in the right position first time to a rising fish annoys the hell out of me, if I have had a day where I just don’t think I’ve been on it I’ll go home dissatisfied.
But, it’s not related to all aspects of my cast... my loop doesn’t have to be tight all the time, depends what cast I’m making and what style I am fishing... if I am chucking heavy nymphs I’ll open up my cast, or I may through a more open loop to throw slack into the system... and if I am really in the zone I would only ever look behind me to check for vegetation and to put a back cast into gaps in branches... the rest of the time my back cast loop is what it is, my concentration is purely on where the fly lands.
So,
Yes... if I am not casting well that’s infuriating
But no... it doesn’t really depend on loops... my last fishing day I must have bow and arrow cast 30% of the time

Not sure whether that’s in agreement or not with the original post

But I would agree it’s certainly not pathetic either way.... if I was on an open river, I’d want sweet loops.... I just rarely fish open river

[Paul Arden]

For me here in Malaysia it’s all about putting shots in. If the shots go in even without the fish in the boat then I’m happy. If I’m not putting the shots in then I have a problem. Since currently it’s quite good - which means 4-5 shots per day - it should be obvious that fishing alone without casting practise is never enough. If I’m not putting the shots in then I have not been practising enough.

It’s been a weird year, but I’m making 4 out of 5 shots first time at the moment, on a saucer. 9 out of 10 would be better but I’m actually quite happy with my game last week.

As far as distance goes, the longest casts have the sharpest pointiest loops with straight top legs. They are completely mesmerising to watch. If they are not clean loops then you are not throwing your maximum distance. That’s something I work separately on.

Cheers, Paul

[Morsie]

Fish caught as the consequence of a great cast are deeply satisfying, especially when there's some trickery required to get the presentation right. I learned from Gawsey that fish caught as the consequence of a poor cast simply don't count, may as well be foul hooked.

[John Waters]

The enjoyment of fly fishing for me is the take, or the anticipation of the take. If that results from a good cast, fine, but the enjoyment is the same with a poor cast. That is why I fish. The more good casts I can achieve in a day increases my chance of actioning a take, but good cast or bad cast, the take is the thrill for me. The cast is not the key for me. However, I have the opposite objective and priority whilst tournament casting, where a bad cast is very, very costly. There I focus on loop speed, shape and trajectory when the line is in the air, and on the percentage of line and leader turnover and if the fly landed in the target or the targeted court zone, when the line has been delivered.
I have been fly fishing and casting since the 60's and still have the same excitement levels as I ever had with both. It just happens a tad slower now.

John

[easterncaster]

Thomas, Dear Thomas, Brother Thomas...

When done well, fly casting is one of those actions that feels as special as it looks. As Morsie commented, fishing well includes casting well. The feeling of completeness, of balancing the elements to make a greater whole is sublime.

Cheers,
Craig

[Thomas]

Fish caught as the consequence of a great cast are deeply satisfying, especially when there's some trickery required to get the presentation right. I learned from Gawsey that fish caught as the consequence of a poor cast simply don't count, may as well be foul hooked.

I know! But I would like to be able to enjoy myself when my casting is bad as well. If I cant enjoy myself being outdoors in nature fishing just because my casting is bad then something is wrong - I would be a happier man if I could enjoy those moments as well. I will not enjoy them as much as when my casting is as it should be of course, but you get the idea.

/Thomas

[Thomas]

Thomas, Dear Thomas, Brother Thomas...

When done well, fly casting is one of those actions that feels as special as it looks. As Morsie commented, fishing well includes casting well. The feeling of completeness, of balancing the elements to make a greater whole is sublime.

Cheers,
Craig

I know that very well! (As I said to Morsie). But I would be a happier and better man If my enjoyment of fishing were not so dependent on my casting. There are more to fishing than casting - or at least there should be.