The 5 Seconds Before You Cast: The Most Important Part of Fly Fishing
Updated: 3 days ago
There is a moment in fly fishing that is very easy to overlook. It lasts perhaps five seconds, sometimes less. It is the moment just before you move the rod. For many anglers, this is when the brain quietly says, Right, let's cast over there, the rod comes up, the line starts moving and the fly heads off in roughly the direction intended.
But those few seconds before the rod moves may actually be the most important part of the
whole process. Because good fly fishing isn't simply about being able to cast a fly a reasonable distance. It is about putting the right fly, in the right place, at the right time. And that decision is made before the cast begins.
Stop. Look. Then Cast.
One of the easiest mistakes to make when fly fishing is to become obsessed with casting. We see a fish rise, or spot a likely-looking piece of water, and immediately start waving the rod around. The problem is that the fish doesn't care how beautiful your loop is. It cares where the fly lands.
Before making that first movement of the rod, take a moment to look. Where is the fish? Is it moving? Which way is it travelling? How far away is it? And, perhaps most importantly, where do you actually want the fly to land?
That last question sounds obvious, but it is surprisingly easy to forget. We often think about casting to the fish when we should really be thinking about casting to a position that allows the fly to reach the fish naturally. Sometimes that means landing the fly several feet in front of it. Sometimes it means leading a cruising fish. Sometimes it means putting the fly upstream and allowing it to drift down. The fish is the target, but the fly's landing position is the objective.
Where Is Your Line?
Before you cast, have a quick look at your fly line. Where is it? Is it lying behind you? Is it floating across the surface in front of you? Is there slack in it? Are you standing on it?
YES, everyone stands on their fly line. Usually immediately before wondering why their beautifully executed cast went nowhere.
The position of the line determines what you can do next. If you have plenty of line lying out in front of you, you may need to lift it carefully before beginning your cast. If there is a great deal of slack, elininate with a quick roll cast. And if the line is already nicely positioned, there may be no reason to make a complicated false cast at all.
Sometimes the best cast is the one you don't make.
Look Behind You
This is particularly important when fishing from the bank. Before making a backcast, look behind you. There may be a tree, a bush, a fellow angler or a fence. There may even be another angler standing next to the tree, which is generally considered a particularly poor combination.
Your backcast needs space. If you don't have it, don't simply hope for the best. Change your position, alter the angle of your cast, use a roll cast or find another way of presenting the fly.
The fish doesn't know that there was a tree behind you. It only knows that something large and hairy has just landed in its dinner.
What Is the Wind Doing?
The wind is another thing worth considering before the rod moves. Which way is it blowing? Is it helping you? Is it against you? Is it coming from the side? A breeze can completely change the best way to approach a cast.
If the wind is blowing towards your casting arm, for example, the fly can be pushed dangerously close to you. A change in casting angle may make things considerably safer. And sometimes the wind is actually your friend. Rather than fighting it, think about how you can use it.
A good angler doesn't necessarily beat the wind. He works out what the wind is going to do and adjusts accordingly. Remember...SAFETY FIRST!
Where Does the Fly Need to Land?
This is perhaps the most important question of all. Don't simply look at the fish and point your rod at it. Think about the journey the fly needs to make.
If a trout is cruising from left to right, dropping the fly directly on its head is unlikely to produce the desired result. Instead, put the fly ahead of the fish and allow it to come to the fly. If there is a current, think about what the current will do to your leader and fly. If you're fishing a still water, think about wind lanes, drifting food and the direction in which fish are moving.
The cast is not the end of the process. It is simply the delivery system. Your real job is to make the fly behave as naturally as possible once it arrives.
The Five Seconds Before You Cast Can Change Everything
The beauty of the 5 seconds before you cast is that it doesn't require better equipment. You don't need a more expensive rod, another fly box or a longer leader. You simply need to stop for a few seconds and think.
Where is the fish? Where is my line? Where is the wind going? Do I have room behind me? And where exactly do I want the fly to land?
Five questions. Five seconds. Then cast.
You'll probably find that you make fewer casts, but the casts you do make will have a much better chance of catching a fish. And that's the secret.
Fly fishing isn't a competition to see how many times you can make a loop. It is about making the right decision and then going for it.
So next time you see a fish rise, resist the temptation to start casting right away. Take those five seconds. Look. Think. Choose your target. Then make the cast.
Because quite often, the most important part of your cast happens before the rod moves at all.
