BOOK AND PERIODICAL REVIEWS
Copyright 1999 BP Ptrs.
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| Title Author Publication date Subjects: Performance level: novice * advanced tournament Casts taught Roll Pick up & lay down * False cast Shooting line Haul Shooting hd. Back hand Off shldr * Horizontal * Switch Advanced roll casts Spey Slack line Mends
Title Author Publication date Subjects: Performance level: novice * advanced tournament Casts taught Roll Pick up & lay down * False cast Shooting line Haul Shooting hd. Back hand Off shldr * Horizontal * Switch Advanced roll casts Spey Slack line Mends
Title Author Publication date Subjects: Performance level: novice * advanced tournament Casts taught: Roll Pick up & lay down * False cast * Shooting line * Haul Shooting hd. Back hand Off shldr * Horizontal * Switch Advanced roll casts Spey Slack line Mends
Title Author Publication date Subjects: Performance level: novice * advanced tournament Casts taught: Roll Pick up & lay down * False cast Shooting line * Haul Shooting hd. Back hand Off shldr Horizontal * Switch* Advanced roll casts Spey* Slack line Mends
Title Author Publication date Subjects: Performance level: novice * advanced* tournament Casts taught Roll* Pick up & lay down * False cast* Shooting line* Haul* Shooting hd. Back hand* Off shldr * Horizontal * Switch* Advanced roll casts* Spey Slack line Mends* |
FLY RODS and FLY TACKLE HENRY P. WELLS An American of the Northeast 1885 Chapter IX Casting the Fly. Henry P. Wells commences the casting chapter by suggesting that the beginning caster find another like himself and engage in mutual coaching with each observing the other with suggestions for correction. He does not discourage the hiring of an instructor but outlines a procedure for two novices to learn casting together. He advocates short sessions of no more than five minutes of casting at a time and suggests that casting on a lawn or a house roof can be as rewarding as on water. The preferred hand grip is a very modern thumb atop the rod He favors the elbow close to the body posture while admitting there are effective casters who use a great deal of arm motion. The illustrations demonstrate a 1 oclock backcast and a ten thirty forward cast but his most emphatic point surrounds the importance of the back cast. He states: "The coach will pay particular attention to the back cast, for if this is mastered all else follows. It is the secret of success. In practice, the end of the line, when behind him, should in no case fall below the level of the caster's head; everything below that should be regarded as a fault. There is nothing in fly fishing which so promptly grades an angler as a high back cast, when circumstances permit its use, while nothing will more prejudice reputation for skill than the habit, even when sitting in a boat, of allowing the flies to touch the water behind the caster. " He goes on to state that the high back cast comes from a short back stroke, going little beyond the perpendicular. He notes that a high back cast is easier with a stiffer rod and that a softer rod requires a shorter stroke to produce a high back cast. His next premise is that the coach ( the friend who practices with the caster) " ...must see to it that the caster by no means begins the forward impulse until the line has extended behind to the limit of its' length." His next words are : "Ignore the front cast altogether in the first lessons, considering it merely as a necessary preparation for the back cast, and as otherwise of no consequence whatever. Concentrate the attention on these two features of the backcast altogether (except, of course to insist that the body and unemployed hand are motionless and that the impulse proceeds from the wrist)." One thing we must remember about Mr. Wells and his times is that nearly everyone he knew fished wearing a coat with a shirt and tie. Fishing with a fly was to be accomplished without loss of decorum. The dress code severely limited the agility of the fishers, making the elbow to the body posture a most comfortable pose. People of a certain status went salmon and/or trout fishing every year for a few days or a week in the same spirit as attending a prominant race meeting - as a social ritual. These were also the ones writing the books from that era. Mr. Wells went on to require the student to master the back cast and the timing of the forecast at the moment the back cast was straight. When this had become instinctive he moved the student on to the forecast, requiring a hand thrust forward, accompanied by enough wrist movement to propel the fly to a point 3 or 4 feet over the targeted area whence the fly would fall gently to the water. He advocated raising the rod tip a couple of feet just as the line was unfolded almost its' entire length in order to cause the fly to light first. He explicitly remarks that very little power is needed to cause even "quite a long line - say fifty-five feet." to fall lightly and straight. At this point he returns to his original premise: "But remember that the back cast is the foundation, and that unless it is solid the superstructure will be rickety." He remarks that the motion of the rod should be almost noiseless unless the caster is going for distance or against the wind. When the student can cast fifty-five to sixty feet straight and light, with little conscious exertion, a high back cast and the proper pause he moves the student on to off shoulder and horizontal casting. He predicts that if the principles of the overhead cast are mastered the off shoulder and horizontal casts will be a "mere bagatelle". As a commentary on the times he notes that very few proficient anglers are consistently capable of a straight, light sixty foot cast.
FLY CASTING Sir Edward Gray London, 1899 This is a book about fishing, both wet and dry from the pen of a man who embraced fly fishing while attending an English public school (a private school) and rushing from the last class to his first cast on a nearby trout stream every day of the season. He concentrates on methods of fishing with not a word about methods of casting the eleven foot single handed and sixteen foot doublehanded rods of the contemporary British fly angler. However, he issued a description of the joys of casting that resonates with me and which I cannot avoid including in this progression of casting studies over the century since Lord Grey wrote this tribute to our sport. "As our skill increases we reach the third stage, that of caring for skill more for its own sake and less entirely for the results. There comes to be some satisfaction in doing things well, even when the results are not great, in continuing to throw a long line straight and lightly even when fish are rising badly, or in putting a dry fly perfectly to a trout in a difficult place though he refuses to take it. ...but for all that there is a certain delight in fishing water well, which for a time at any rate is independent of results. This is especially the case at the beginning of the day, when, for the first hour or so, to know or to think that we are deserving success comforts us." He goes on to further describe the fisher that he wanted to be and must have been. "To throw a fly well is one step, and it is essential, but not by itself enough. A habit of attention and observation is at least equally important, and this observation must have a wide range. It must take notice of the ways of the fish at all times, especially when feeding and when hooked; of different conditions of weather and water, and of the effect of these, till by degrees the angler will have at his disposal a little individual store, peculiarly his own, of suggestions, hints and probablities." (This habit of perpetual attention to and observation of the fish and the water is equally applicable to continued development of pleasurable casting skills and habits.People who take the trouble to enjoy their casting inevitably collect their own cache of casting tricks and tips that make the casting more satisfying.)
FLY CASTING For the Novice and the Expert Sheridan R. Jones 1923 This book was commissioned by a magazine publisher as part of a series of books on the out of doors and we suspect the author was a writer for the magazine. The fly casting discussion covered 27 pages with the rest being devoted to discussions of equipment, wet and dry fly fishing, outdoor clothing, where to fish etc..The same man wrote companion volumes on bait casting and "Fishing Facts". This 88 page soft cover booklet begins with a discourse on the relative merits of bamboo, steel, Bethabara, Greenheart and Lancewood with the author rating those materials in that order. The few illustrations all feature a lady in an ankle length skirt with a ten foot rod. The grip is thumb on top and the majority of the work is to be done by the forearm and wrist with the elbow being held close against the side of the body at all times until the fly is just about to reach the water. The author suggests that the basic pick up and lay down be done with the pick up over the left shoulder and the lay down over the right, for a right handed caster. He remarks that a bit of accuracy may be lost but it " ...is a beautiful cast to make and looks better, feels better and is better under actual fishing conditions than the straight back and straight forward cast employed by those who would stress accuracy above all else." He wants the pause to be long enough for the line to straighten and bend the rod a little before commencing the fore cast. Sheridan Jones teaches a short stroke technique with the rod stopping directly overhead with a high back cast. He recommends that the lay down be accompanied by two "kinks" - the first a lifting of the rod tip - reversal of the lay down motion, just before the line straightens out on the fore cast - followed by the other kink - a forward thrust and lowering of the rod tip to allow it the fly to settle gently to the water. He wants the first kink - the lifting of the rod tip from the 20 degrees above horizontal final position - to cause the fly to swing around below the leader - a tuck - and then lowers the tip and thrusts it forward - the second kink - to finish the soft landing of the fly. He teaches a horizontal cast for going under the bushes, cautioning that it can only be done with a short line and he further teaches an "underhand" cast which is a horizontal back cast melding into a vertical fore cast. This cast is recommended for the casting and trolling back of fly rod spinners. He describes a "flip" cast, in modern parlance a bow and arrow cast. His "wind" cast is an overhead back cast followed by a three quarter or so forward cast with a lot of arm movement. The switch cast and spey cast are not described in this work with the explanation that they are too complex to describe and the recommendation that these two roll casts should be learned by watching a demonstration. Mr. Jones feels that tournament casting is likewise too complex to be described in his book and should be learned by observation and practice. False casting is described as the last maneuver in his list as a means of extending line, drying the fly and holding the line in readiness while advancing in the water. He contends that false casting should be with a stroke within the confines of a foot on either side of vertical for the back and fore casts and the illustrations of a lady false casting confirm that.
FLY AND BAIT CASTING Reginald D. Hughes Instructor of fly and bait casting and winner of awards of fifty prizes in international casting tournaments.(Mr. Hughes cast the world record singlehanded switch cast with a distance of 35 yards from a position ten feet four inches in front of an obstacle.)Most of this book had appeard as a serial in the Fishing Gazette in the early part of this century. He describes practicing for a tournament at the 1908 Franco-British Exposition. 1924, London, England Mr. Hughes divides casting into two departments: Two motion casting (the line is thrown backwards with one motion and, following a pause, thrown forward with a second motion ) and continuous motion casting ( the switch cast and its cousins, the spey casts) He first of all compares casting motions to throwing a cricket ball with the left foot forward (for the right handed), what I call an open stance, and across the body, as a cricket ball is thrown. Mr. Hughes emphasizes that: "There must be no coming forward in the very slightest degree while the line is extending, and no tentative or creeping motion forward in anticipation of the forward cast.", which he describes as the most common fault and the most difficult to cure. He condenses his advice into the following rules. 1. Pay attention to correct time. 2. Avoid effort. 3. Always cast in a plane. 4. Confine the cast as nearly as may be within an angle of 90 degrees. 5. Do not in the slightest degree anticipate the forward cast. 6. Let our lift and back cast be one easy and continuous motion. 7. Avoid leaning forward, or stretching out the arms forward. 8. Let the rod remain back while the line is extending, instead of holding it back. 9. Avoid a tight grip. 10. Keep the thumb at the back of the rod in whatever plane the cast is made. 11. Allow the body to swing easily with the cast but do not force it to swing. 12. Allow the elbow to hang down, but avoid a tendency to hold it close to the side. Let it be free. 13. Remember that the rod should be practically noiseless. Any distinct "whoosh" is a sign of a faulty casting, (sic) and shows that the cast is made with the entire rod instead of with the top. Mr. Hughes equates a tight loop with a short "flip" at the start of the forward cast and points out that this "flip" must be quick but gradual. He does not describe a false cast at all but only a pick up and lay down with the rod horizontal - 9:00 - at the commencement of the 90 degree casting stroke with a flip at 12:00, a pause for the line to straighten out high and then a short flip forward to complete the forward cast. The illustrations include photos of the author and others casting in suits and ties and drawings of a lady casting two handed in a garden party type outfit. He goes on to the continuous motion cast, single handed, which is performed by bringing the line back and up and largely, but not entirely, clear of the water and, when the rod has reached the back position "...bring it around in a slight curve, absolutely without pause or flick and move into the cast forward, which is precisely similar to the forward cast in the two motion cast. The line will roll forward in the air for a dry fly presentation, though it can be made to roll out on the water. Mr. Wells cautions that it is unnecesary and "not gracefull" to lean forward or reach out the arms unduly for fishing although in striving for record distances one extends body and arms to their full stretch. For the two handed rod he advises casting directly forward with the right foot ahead for the two motion cast but the continuous motion cast is in an open foot position with the right foot back. .
Mr. Hughes concludes his treatise with a discussion of bait casting with fixed and revolving spool reels.(They had spinning reels in his time) He describes similar concepts of back cast and fore cast with the major distinction being the need to throw the bait ( worms, mussels, dogfish liver etc.) softly, without flick, to stay on the hook.
This charming little window into the world of British trout and salmon angling does not pretend to be a complete exposition of casting. It was somewhat confusing until I read the introduction explaining that it was composed mostly of magazine articles. The articles tended to be stand alone discussions and necessarily repeated prior materials. The author casually remarked that extensive forward hand and body movements were not graceful for fishing but might be indulged in for the purpose of achieving distance records,so it seems safe to assume that the ninety degree limitation placed on the single hand rod casting arc was perhaps for purposes of grace and even for the protection of the coat and tie. These fishers were not stumbling over rocks, brambles and river banks but were using plank walkways and carefully tended pathways on mostly private water, perhaps accompanied by lady fishers in sweeping skirts and blouses. It seems clear that the ladies fished.
Mr. Welles was a tournament caster and concluded his book with a plug for casting games as a path to really good times on the water. He lamented that few fishers would invest time in their casting as shown by their uncomfortable (ungraceful) casting in the field.
MODERN BAIT and FLY CASTING OZARK RIPLEY 1928 This book is mostly about bait casting for bass, pike, muskellunge and large trout but there is a chapter on fly casting. The only illustration is of the turle knot for tying on the hook The author cautions the student to hold the elbow close to the body at all times, even though "some great casters have a free movement that does not require the old Seth Green process of mastering the art at first by holding a book to the body while you are engating in your work" . (Seth Green was an mid nineteenth century fish culturist who introduced the German brown trout to North America and operated one of the earliest hatcheries on this continent.) He describes the basic cast with the rod traveling from the horizontal, (9:00) to the vertical, (12:00) with a stop that does not allow the rod to pass back of the shoulder. He advocates watching the back cast on occasion and waiting til the line is straight or nearly straight out behind before commencing the gradually accellerating foreward cast. He suggests that the caster make the fly land first by pulling back the rod when it reaches 45 degrees (10:30) on the forward, lay down cast, so that the fly will swing around and down to the water ahead of the leader and line. Ozark Ripley does pay attention to the laws of physics when he recommends extending the hand above the head to "make the forward cast with a strong forward thrust of the forearm, the left hand follows and releases the line just as you make the shoot." when distance is needed. He also describes the side (horizontal) cast, steeple cast and the use of a Belgian cast when there is little room behind.
MODERN FLY CASTING INTRODUCING THE FREE WRIST GRIP AND THE HIGH BACK CAST John Alden Knight 1942 John Alden Knight was a professional book and magazine author who wrote a widely syndicated newspaper column on the out of doors, loved to fish and did a lot of it. He taught a Columbia University course on angling from 1938 to 1940 and was an intimate of Charley Ritz whose works will be visited later on this page. This is a semi coffee table book, 79 pages, with numerous large photos and it is startling to notice that the author is picutured in the very first photo wearing a shirt and tie while standing in a river with a fly rod. The first major premise of Knight's book is what he calls the "free wrist grip". It is none other than the V grip, as it is recently described, whereby the V of the thumb and forefinger is centered over the rod handle. He commences by recommending against the thumb on the rod grip because it limits wrist movement at the end of the back cast. His photo of the thumb on top grip is at odds with what I have observed in that his photo shows the last joint of the thumb sharply bent with the tip of the thumb pressing the rod rather than the ball of the thumb as I know that grip. After explaining his preference for the V grip Mr. Knight goes to his next major premise- the high back cast - in these words: "That rule cannot be said too loudly, too often, or in too many languages. If, as this book progresses, I seem to repeat myself, please remember that it can't be said too often. Remember it always, every time you pick up a fly rod. If you do your casting troubles will be minor ones, easy to remedy. If you don't, you are scheduled for casting trouble just as long as you cast a fly." He goes on to illustrate the vice of the thumb on top grip by showing a caster with the back cast at 3:00 with the line showing evidence that there had been a tip snap at the 3:00 position. He then shows the virtues of the V grip (free wrist grip) with a 1:30 back cast and the line extending parallel to the water (still wearing a shirt and tie) His instructions for executing the basic cast are to start just below 10:00, with the V grip and with a gradually accellerating motion bring the rod to a flip of the rod tip at 1:00 and toss the line behind so that it will be 30 to 45 degrees above level as it goes on beyond the rod. His accompanying photo shows, from the size of the wedge loop that he indeed did snap the tip at about 1:00 or less and has finally stopped the rod about 2:30 wearing a different shirt and tie, this time without a sweater. Mr. Knight here echoes, in a different century, the 1885 advice of Henry P. Wells of New York, when Knight says: "While you are learning the high back cast don't pay any attention to the forward cast. That will come later. If the back cast has been done correctly it is difficult to make a poor forward cast. Just stick to the complete mastery of the high back cast until you get it. Then the rest will come easy. " He then says to start the forward cast at 1:00 and go into gradually
accellerating motion, ending with a final Knight advocates watching the back cast for help in developing timing and these river pictures showed both open and closed footwork as befits someone walking in a river. He then goes on to describe and illustrate the back hand cast - casting to the off side of the body in a 3/4 or horizontal rod position as a reasonable alternative to learning to cast left handed for those situations. (in a boat, behind a tree etc.) Knight discusses wet fly casting as a different animal from dry fly work. He does point out that the amount of "'throwing in ' or flip of the upper rod at the point of release" is significant because the flip (tip snap) throws a hump in the line and the more snap the more hump. He points out that a cast with too little flip lacks power and one with too much is crooked. He discusses the need to learn to throw a long line with enough snap to put in the speed but not so much as to make the line crooked. He was working in the bamboo era and technology has greatley lessened this problem with today's lighter and quicker damping rods. His photos show that he used a lot of hand thrust on the longer casts. At this point he first instroduces the "follow through" which is the act of following the line back with the rod after snapping the tip at 1:00 in order to obtain more distance. He doesn't explain why this maneuver works (the modern term is "drift") but he shows that the arm and hand are fully extended (at about 45 degrees, 1:30) in pursuit of the line as preparation for the loading phase of the foreward cast. Mr. Knight describes in conventional terms the horizontal cast, roll cast (with tip snap), false casting, positive and negative curve casts (he says a positive curve cast is better done on a 45 degree angle rather than horizontal because gravity helps the fly come around). He says the "grasshopper cast" is a conventional overhead long cast placed low enough to allow the last twentyfeet or so to roll out on the water, like a low roll cast. This is for the purpose of making the fly land before the leader. The author continues with various methods of casting and changing direction in restricted small streams. These are variations and adaptations of the roll cast and its' switch and spey refinements. He describes the conventional mend from the water. He describes a "reach" cast without using that word. The word "haul" or "single haul" does not appear in this book but nevertheless John Knight describes a single haul. At the very end he mentions that distance casting is highly technical tournament casting and not properly included in ordinary fly casting but he wants to give a few hints. He starts right in by advising the caster to shoot ten or fifteen feet of line into the last back cast, drift back to the extent of the arm, move the line hand up near the stripping guide and "Then start the forward motion of the line in the air by jerking the left hand smartly down as far as you can, at the same time starting the forward motion of the rod." That is a single haul. Knight's second book, published in 1963, explicitly describes the double haul. It would be interesting to be able to ask John Alden Knight how old he was when he learned the haul or to shoot line into the last back cast for more distance. He graduated from Cornell University in 1915 and was casting long before Marvin Hedge took the double haul to the St. Louis national casting championships in 1934. We will be reviewing his 1963 book, coauthored by his son Richard, with interest. CHARLES RITZ ON FLY CASTING : An article by Charles Ritz contained in THE WISE FISHERMAN'S ENCYCLOPEDIA. 1951 Charley Ritz, best know for his charming autobiography A FLY FISHER'S LIFE is the author of a sixteen page article on fly casting in this A.J. Mc Clane encyclopedia. This was written in the heyday of the cane rod by a man engaged in the production and sale of high end cane rods during the moments when he was not tending his holdings in the luxury hotel industry or fishing with celebrities. He starts by recommending his famous sand filled wine bottle exercises for anyone seeking a serious improvement in casting skill. He favors the thumb on top grip and a high back cast resulting from a twelve o'clock stop and tip snap. He recommends substantial shoulder and elbow movement for longer casts and describes moving the rod and hand in a linear motion for additional stroke length. The double haul is taught with a long haul and shooting line into the back cast. He starts the haul at the commencement of the stroke rather than waiting for the rod to load and shoots line into the back cast when he feels the tug of the line straightening out behind. The longer the haul the longer the cast is his advice and he emphasizes the importance of smooth applications of power and maintaining the line under tension on the back cast by judicious use of the line hand during the drift following the snap. He wants the forward cast to be vertical and the back cast tilted off to the side a little to avoid contact with the rod. Interestingly enough Charley Ritz doesn't teach the roll cast at the beginning as many do but adds it in along with a switch cast, backhand cast, side cast and parachute cast just before the double haul.
We will be reviewing through the literature from the old to the new, even into electronic stuff. Visit Counter
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