Double-Handed Fly-casting in Simple Terms. Part 3.
(as featured in the Irish Angler magazine 2008)

Under Construction

Let’s have a Change of Direction.
(clip art of arrows pointing in all different directions) Picture of a nice D loop (article 3 048)

Well, did you practice?  This is a question that I don’t normally ask people when they come back for another lesson. I know how hard people have to work, and it reminds me too much of my Tuba lessons during my school days when I would cringe on a Wednesday evening, pretend that I had practiced when it was obvious that I hadn’t even touched the instrument since the previous week. It all became apparent when we went into concert, then I wished that I had practiced, even a little bit or I was hoping that the ground would open up and swallow me whole.  So now that we are in one of the best months on our Irish rivers for salmon fishing, I wonder how many anglers feel the same pressure when they are finding it difficult to perform.

In Part 2 we covered the Basic Roll Cast and the Jumped up Roll Cast (Jump Roll, Forward Spey, and Switch Cast).  In this Part 3 we will be covering the Single Spey and the Double Spey.  For those of you out there who are thinking that this all sounds a bit too difficult then please continue reading, and for those who have tried and not succeeded as you would have hoped to, then maybe you will find your fault through this article. For those who already know this stuff and can do it perfectly then stop reading and go fishing, we have a long winter ahead of us, when you will only wish you could be on the river bank!

Let’s recap on the important parts of the Jump Roll. 

We talked about the four stages of this cast which were the Lift, Sweep, Anchor and Forward Cast.  We discussed that the sweep section (placing the anchor point were you want it) was the hard part.  It is normal to want to accelerate through the Sweep section, and if you do you will find your anchor point (if it anchors at all) too far upstream from were you want it.  This is what I call the mini Overhead Cast and your fly sometimes gets stuck in the bushes behind (were you don’t want it!).  

People often get frustrated with this during lessons as they know what they should be doing in their mind but their arms just won’t let them do it. Muscle memory in their arms from the Overhead cast often takes a little bit of time to change. Be patient with yourself, it will come faster when you relax into it. And by the way, casting instructors realise that this is not a low IQ thing, but rather a muscle memory thing.  

Then you have the problem of the other extreme.  When you try to tone this acceleration down you end up with a half roll cast, half jump roll were the line starts wrapping around the rod and slurps its way forwards.(article 3 104)  There is no getting away from the practice bit here – like doing the scales in my Tuba lessons!  It is worth it when you can place your anchor points were you want it, and not were it wants to go to.

When you have got to this stage, it is now time to change direction; this is when we call it the Single Spey. 
Yes……..that’s all a Single Spey cast is, a change of direction Jump Roll!

Before I explain how to change direction with this cast there are a few need to knows.

1.  Safety first.
     Single Spey cast when the wind is blowing up the river with your upstream arm at the top of the rod.
      Double Spey Cast when the wind is blowing down the river with your downstream arm at the top of the rod.

For years I thought that if I was on one side of the river then I should be using the Single Spey Cast, and if I was on the other side then it should be the Double Spey Cast, but I could never work out which side was for which cast.  That is because it doesn’t matter which side of the river you are standing on, the only thing that you need to know is which direction is the wind is blowing in.  The Spey Casts were designed for using when you have trees or bushes behind, but they were also designed with safety in mind. You never want your D Loop to be blowing into your body otherwise you may end up hooking yourself and not that beautiful bar of silver that you had hoped for. (Article 3 088 – this is what happens if you try to use the wrong cast for the wind direction)

2.  The Double Spey Cast is easier -for most people- to learn.
     The Single Spey Cast is harder to learn than the Double Spey Cast. 
      (Doesn’t sound like it - I know, and a lot of people give up Spey Casting after trying to master the Single Spey Cast
      when they think that the Double Spey Cast is going to be doubly as difficult. 

3.  The D Loop size must vary depending on what you have behind you.
      If you have a lot of vegetation behind and you cannot wade out (river too deep or you might scare the fish) then you require a small D Loop. 
      If you can wade out and the fish are further away from you then you require a larger D Loop. 
      The size and the dynamic qualities of your D Loop determine the effort required during the forward cast. 
      Small D loop equals more energy on the forward cast.

(Article 3 054 – if you have a lot of vegetation behind you)

Change of direction Single Spey Cast

This is a live line roll cast that enables you to change direction, by picking up your fly line and placing your railway track (repeat railway track diagram from article 2?) above your target.

Start as always with your feet facing your target.  Turn your waist downstream, lift until you see a lot of line has cleared the river.  Now rotate your waist, and line up your D Loop with your target – I should be a waist size 10! - Anchor and forward cast. 

Double Spey Cast

Remember 3 D’s – Downstream wind, Downstream Arm, Double Spey.
As a beginner watching someone do this cast for the first time I can remember thinking ‘what on earth is he doing waving this way first, then that way and then forward casting – what a waste of time?’

(Waving upstream first with arms crossed – article 3 004)

When people understand what the first move is for, the Double Spey ‘light’ switches on.  Imagine - the line is downstream in the ‘dangle’ position.  You cannot simply roll cast it across the river (or at least you can try as I did but it won’t look good) because your D loop is facing downstream and your target is across the river.  Your railway tracks would be too wide apart and your forward cast will lose energy.  Therefore the first move of the cast is to get some spare line to make a D loop with that is opposite your target. That is the purpose of ‘waving’ the rod upstream first.  It is not just to look good, it is necessary for an efficient cast. Once you understand this then the rest of the cast should be quite familiar to you. A lot of it you have preformed already in your Single Spey.

The moves are:     Recover line, White mouse, Sweep, Forward Cast.

To recover the line, lift and sweep the line upstream.  This is like an up and over move to bring the end of the fly line up to within a rods length downstream of your body.  This is one of the most important safety points in this cast.  If at the end of this move the fly passes you, then abandon this cast, as you will probably hit yourself on the way forward.  Next sweep the rod in a low position back downstream and up the banana into your normal forward cast position.  As you sweep downstream you should have enough energy to create a white mouse (line spray)  (article 3 022 – picture of white mouse) as your fly line rips off the water.  If you have a white rat you will end up in the bush again!  When your rod tip gets to opposite your target you should start making your banana, then forward cast when the white mouse stops running!

Common Faults 

- The fly passes you at the end of the Recover line section of the Double Spey Cast.   (article 3 013 is wrong, article 3 019 is correct)

- The Bloody L and the Piling Anchor. 
  These faults tend to annoy the caster as he gets more confident. 
  If you lift too fast and then dip the rod too much these will happen. 
  Think smooth and controlled lift followed by a shallow saucer dip, not a soup bowl! 
  Try to think that it is only the end of the fly line and leader that you wish to be anchored on the surface of the water
  and try to keep the belly of the line (the fat bit) held above the water.

 (Bloody L – article 3 123)  (Piling anchor – article 3 136)

Now it is off to the river I go to try to catch a nice fish before the end of the season. 
Please don’t hang up your rods over the winter, get out there and practice and you will be ready for my next series on fishing techniques in the spring.
If any of you would like to join me in the winter for a bit of practice and instruction then don’t hesitate to book a lesson, at least we won’t have the interruption of trying to catch a fish! 

Happy practicing and fishing.