Thread: Casting problem

I recently started fly fishing again after several years. I now have a problem with my basic cast in that the fly and leader, coming out of the roll, is striking the fly line during my forward cast and/or putting knots in the leader. It seems the only way I can control this is to bring the rod to a horizontal ( 9 o'clock) position during the forward movement. If I stop the rod at a 10 or 11 o'clock position the fly/leader strikes the fly line constantly. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

You might want to try to widen the loop and/or waiting just bit longer before you do the forward cast. You can widen the loop by using more wrist in the cast and pause the cast by feeling the weight of the line on the back cast and waiting just a fraction longer before forward casting. Hope that helps

Your problem is called the "tailing loop" and is very common. The best tip I ever got was to not apply power to the stroke until the rod tip passed 12:00. (Many people apply power too early in the stroke. This shocks the rod and causes the tailing loop.)

Google "tailing loop", and you'll find lots of info. A casting lesson and a good DVD will help, too.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by fvstringpicker

I recently started fly fishing again after several years.

I just noticed you are in Columbus. Callaway Gardens has some excellent fly casting instructors. A lesson from one of them would really help you out. One of their instructors is Kent Edmonds. Here's his website:

Fly Fishing West Georgia & Beyond

Thanks for the advise folks.