Beginner Fly Fishing - Casting Practice

If you are a new fly angler, you might want to read the Fly Casing 101 post first. Here, I'll try to keep it new and focused on how to help identify your mistakes, fix them, and how to more effectively practice your casting (or get you to start practicing!). As I mentioned in that post, the video that I find the most insightful and useful is the "Casts that Catch Fish" series. Some of the later casts are quite a bit more advanced, but the first half of the video - Bill Gammel's essentials - are presented as clearly and concisely as I have seen. As I write this, you can download the video for $15 - a bargain, I would say.

It is not the only good series out there - often for free - that is useful. I share a FlyFishDan video below that is good and useful. There are many other good casting videos out there. And one of the "secrets" to being a better casting is thinking about casting more often.

Other Sources of Information on the Basic Cast and Troubleshooting the Cast

• The Curious Fly Caster (website)

• Fly Fishers International - Fly Casting (organization website)

• Jason Borger's Nature of Fly Casing (book)

• Ed Jaworski - Troubleshooting the Cast (book)

• How to Cast A Fly Rod: THE Complete Guide (video)

Basic Fly Casting Principles

Every video and instructor handles these a bit different but in essence, they are all the same - variations on the same theme. Fly casting is a matter of physics; you are using a relatively long rod to cast a relatively weightless fly with a relatively heavy line. The long rod does the work and the heavy line makes that happen. The video below sets up three basics and highlight that the rod should do most of the work.

Those three basics are:

1. Get the rod to bend (load),

2. stop the rod,

3. make the rod tip travel in a straight path.

The way to do that - as he says repeatedly - is to accelerate to a stop! This is what makes the rod do the work.

I am a proponent of the "thumb on top" grip after having been more of an "index finger on top" caster. The thumb on top gives you more control and power. For many casts to trout, either works fine, but I have come to prefer the thumb on top. It should not be a "death grip", if your hand is getting tired or your fingers getting numb, you are squeezing too hard.

The main components of a good fly cast are:

• Slack removal: Before starting the cast, eliminate any slack in the line. Slack wastes energy and makes the cast less efficient, so starting with a taut line is crucial. (Slack is evil!)

• Stroke size: The casting stroke should be appropriate for the length of line you are casting. Short casts require a shorter stroke, while longer casts need a longer stroke to keep the rod tip traveling in a straight line.

• Power application: Apply power smoothly and primarily at the end of each stroke, not throughout. Overpowering or applying force too early leads to tailing loops and loss of control.

• Pause: Allow the line to straighten fully behind you (the backcast) before beginning the forward cast. This pause lets the rod load (bend) properly and ensures efficient energy transfer.

• Straight-line path of the rod tip: The rod tip should travel in as straight a line as possible during the casting stroke to create tight, efficient loops. This is fundamental for accuracy and distance.

• Firm, deliberate stops: Make crisp, hard stops at the end of both the backcast and forward cast (often described as stopping at the "10 and 2" positions on a clock face). These stops are what form the loop and direct energy into the line.

• Timing and feel: Good casting is about timing rather than muscle. The rod does most of the work, and the caster’s job is to coordinate the sequence of movements so the rod loads and unloads efficiently.

  
  

A good fly cast is not about brute strength, but about timing, control, and efficient energy transfer from the rod to the line. Practicing these fundamentals—especially loop control, slack management, and crisp stops—will improve both accuracy and distance, making you a more effective angler.

I sound like I know a hell of a lot about fly casting? Nah, I took that from Perplexity, but my answer would probably be very similar but would have required much more effort on my part. The point in doing that - other than saving time - is that if I ask the same question - "What are the main components of a good fly cast?" - into another AI, I will get about the same answer. There are only so many correct ways to make a fly cast - it is physics, and you can't beat physics.

Practice Makes Perfect

We have all heard the old adage, practice makes perfect. It doesn't. Practice can also further instill bad habits. Perfect practice makes perfect. That is, keep the basic principles in mind and work to cast using those principles. As you get better at casting, start recognizing how you are violating those principles. Learn how to troubleshoot your own casting - after a while, it becomes a matter of feel.

He sees the biggest casting errors as:

1. Wristing - moving your wrist in a wide arch.

2. Creep - Beginning your forward cast weakly before your backcast straightens out.

3. Applying force inappropriately - rather than smoothly. Many do this on their last forward cast - I know I am guilty of this at times.

For a longer and more detailed analysis of casting errors:

Then we also need to realize there is no such thing as perfect when it comes to fly casting. Even the best casters in the world make less than perfect casts fairly regularly. There is no perfect way to cast a fly rod - but there are some pretty bad ways to do it. But good casters can figure out what they are doing wrong and how to keep from doing what is causing their cast problems.

More generative AI insights about casting and the role of practice.

Practice is essential for developing good fly casting skills because it allows you to:

• Build muscle memory for the correct casting motions, making your movements smoother and more consistent over time34.

• Improve accuracy and distance by repeatedly aiming at targets, which helps you learn to control both where your fly lands and how your line behaves48.

• Refine technique by breaking down the cast into its components (back cast, pause, forward cast, stop) and focusing on each part individually, which is easier to do away from the distractions of fishing62.

• Develop confidence so that when you’re on the water, your casting feels natural and you can focus on presentation and fishing rather than mechanics4.

• Identify and correct mistakes in a low-pressure setting, such as a park or backyard, where you can experiment with grip, timing, and power application without worrying about spooking fish or losing flies23.

• Simulate fishing conditions by practicing with the same leader and setup you’ll use on the water, which ensures your practice translates directly to real-world performance4.

  
  

Effective practice sessions are typically short, frequent, and focused on specific goals—such as targeting accuracy, loop control, or quick presentations. Using targets like hula hoops or cones, and practicing with yarn or a hookless fly, can make your sessions both productive and safe248. Practicing off the water also helps you stay focused on technique rather than the excitement of fishing2.

In summary, consistent, focused practice is the foundation of effective fly casting, enabling anglers to cast with precision, efficiency, and confidence when it matters most.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0pqgFIl50Y

2. https://www.reddit.com/r/flyfishing/comments/12zdnth/practice_casting/

3. https://drifthook.com/blogs/discover/practice-fly-casting-without-a-fly-hone-your-skills

4. https://www.yellowdogflyfishing.com/blogs/back-stage-pass/practice-fly-casting

5. https://thecuriousflycaster.com/fly-casting-practice/

6. https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/pro-tips-how-to-practice-at-home-for-fishing

7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDJJ6W23gHw

8. https://www.flyfisherman.com/editorial/fly-casting-loop-control/463750

9. https://www.mooncastanglers.com/casting-techniques

10. https://www.tu.org/magazine/fishing/trout-talk/three-of-my-favorite-fly-casting-tips/

I'm taking over again...

Practice casting like you would practice anything else you want to get better at. Want to be better at the guitar, tying flies, shooting a basketball, or any other skill? You need to practice and put in the work. None of us were great casters when we started - we still may not be great, but we got better, because we fished and we practiced. Each one of us can become a better caster with a little targeted practice.

Your practice should be:

1. Short in duration. Keep it to 10 to 20 minutes at a time. As you get tired, you start making more mistakes and people tend to lose focus.

2. Frequent. Or at least as often as you can. I will leave a rod strung up so I can walk out the door - ceiling fans off - and cast for a bit.

3. Keep it focused. Have a purpose, a goal for each time you practice. In a recent casting clinic, instructors worked on an exercise where the rod was horizontal, so students could see if their casts were in a straight line. Or work on your accuracy, roll cast, arm angles, a single component of the cast, or whatever else that will improve your casting.

4. Accuracy before distance. Work on your accuracy before distance. Too many of us rip off line and start casting - don't! Start short and work on accuracy.

5. Watch your loops. The cast is all about the loop. Watch them and how they unfurl. Maybe record yourself if you are not practicing with others who can help you see your issues.

6. Feel your cast. Get used to what a good cast feels like - and as importantly, think about what a not so good cast feels like. Fly casting becomes muscle memory.

7. Cast with others. There are two good reasons for doing this, they can critique your cast, and you can view and critique their casts. Go to a casting clinic, cast around the campsite, or find other ways to learn from better - and worse - casters.

8. Fun! Keep it light and lively.

I have an Echo practice rod, and I'll be honest, while rather fun, I'm not sure if it is a very good approximation of a real fly cast. The line is too heavy and that changes the way the rod casts. But in the winter, it is a good way to work on your casting for a few minutes. The great strength of the practice rod is that it is always strung up and I can pick it up for a minute or two and give casting a bit of attention. Just the other day, before thinking about writing this post, I picked up my practice rod to purposefully think about arm angles and casting from different planes.

A recent Coulee Region Trout Unlimited casting clinic run by Steve Miller, a FFI Certified Casting Instructor.

You can even practice without a rod. In particular, it is a way to work on those stops, coordinating your hands on the double haul, and being sure that your wrist is not "breaking".

Working on Improving

We all have room from improvement - even the best of casters have parts of their casts or a particular cast they can improve upon. For me, it is a roll cast - so I have been working on it. Being a better caster will help you catch more fish and make your time on the water more enjoyable.

A small Driftless Area stream where casting accuracy is a requirement.

I know the common refrain among Driftless fly anglers is that casting doesn't matter because you don't have to - Hell, you can't - cast very far here. First, like golf, it is not all about distance. You can always improve your short game. Second, once you get your cast to a point where you are able to make accurate casts, it is time to start working on the details and those casts that catch fish. We all have things we can work on.

Steve Miller (L) and Joseph Meyer (R) - certified casting instructors - demonstrating the path of the hand and the tip of the rod for a CRTU casting clinic.

While you can work on your cast by yourself, there is help out there. I have used generative AI in this post because it is excellent at finding information about topics like fly casting. If you can identify an issue - like creating an audible "snap" when you begin your forward cast - AI can help. You can also video yourself casting and watch those loops as if you were casting with someone else. Attend a casting clinic - Trout Unlimited chapters and other groups hold them on occasion. There are a number of guides and casting instructors that host clinics or 1-on-1 sessions for pretty reasonable rates. This is probably the best way to get better, faster. Casting instructors are trained to teach casting and to diagnose casting issues.

Be purposeful! Think about what you are doing - think about those basic principles when practicing. Am I making those stops? Accelerating to a stop? Is my rod tip moving in a straight path? And watch those loops. This will help you improve your cast - and we can all improve our casts.