THIS ONE SIMPLE TRICK WILL IMPROVE YOUR SUCCESS ON THE WATER!
THIS ONE SIMPLE TRICK WILL IMPROVE YOUR SUCCESS ON THE WATER!
You may not believe it to look at me now, but at one time I was quite the exercise junky. Being fit and strong for the sole purpose of being fit and strong was my motivation. This may have something to do with feelings of inadequacy due to being the runt born into a race of giants (my Irish twin is 6 foot 4, a svelte 330lbs, former collegiate offensive lineman, who can out run me in a sprint), but that’s something for me and a therapist to work through.
I say all that to say this. This past winter I decided to take up yet another hobby. I had taken up mountain biking a few years ago, and regularly found myself getting passed by my buddies on the climbs and the descents. This, despite the fact that I thought I was in pretty good shape. And so, this past winter I decided to return to an old love, the gym. Oddly enough all of this was spurred by a desire to get to more remote places to fish and hunt; faster. One obsession begets another, begets another and N+1.
There is no need to go into detail here about the realizations a 43 year old man makes when returning to a physical activity he once excelled at when he was 18 (after years of poor diet, bad sleep, and more than a few bad habits). I’ll just say that you never know what you got until its gone, and that includes testosterone levels. So with the wisdom and limitations of age I decided to jump into something new once again, and become obsessive about it; which is where I find myself now.
Wake up, eat a planned breakfast, head to the gym, eat a planned lunch, go to bed at an appropriate time, get plenty of rest; repeat. Abstain totally from alcohol, and tobacco and eat just enough carbs to fuel a work out. Cram protein into my face and bulk, cut calories and slim down because now my joints hurt from the extra mass. Blah, blah, blah blah. Read everything on the internet about getting stronger past the age of 40. See tons of photos of ripped dudes in their 50s to accompany those articles, get targeted advertising on my phone about Testosterone Replacement Therapy. Blah, Blah, Blah. Listen to exercise based podcasts on the drive to the gym, while in the gym, and use them to keep me company while tying flies. Everyone seems to have an answer.
Do these three simple things to increase muscle mass.
The one thing not to eat if you want to get stronger.
The secret key to gaining muscle and loosing weight.
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah.
Then it hit me. Why am I not using this kind of strategy for fly fishing? Not a single one of us, whether we fish 300 days a year, 3 days a year, or once every three years doesn’t ask ourselves what we could have done better or different. What if I could come up with something like….
THIS ONE SIMPLE TRICK WILL IMPROVE YOUR SUCCESS ON THE WATER!
Bad news and good news.
The bad news is there are no quick fixes. It’s time on the water just like it’s time in the gym if you want to see results.
The good news. Your ability to catch fish is not limited by your dwindling hormone levels and aging body. Sure, being more fit will allow you to fish “longer, stronger, and with more drive,” but in the crux of the moment, when that shot is right in front of you; it ain’t strength or power that’s going to get it done. If you’ve ever asked yourself; “What could I have done differently,” after blowing a shot. If you’ve ever heard a guide sigh, swear, or feign patience after such a scenario. If you don’t get out as much as you’d like (no one does), and you feel some kind of strange obligation to perform well for the guy that you’re paying for (Why do you care? And yes I do the same thing when I book a guide.) Then what is the best thing you can do to prepare yourself to seal the deal, and capitalize on that opportunity?
Cast.
That’s it.
There are tons of details and intricacies that need to happen once the fly is on the water, and the fish is still unaware of your presence, but until that first task is completed well, the rest is moot. Casting is something we can all practice without being on stream. Imagine that you have 20 minutes of the day that is yours, all yours. No boss, no employees, no spouse, no kids, nobody, just you. That 20 minutes is your time, time to relax. Time to focus on something other than all your other daily cares and worries. Time to get into a rhythm. Time to improve on not just your ability to cast, but also your blood pressure, your stress levels, your general well being and happiness.
This is not time to prove something. No one is watching. It’s time to feel something, and that something is weight of the line flexing the tip of that rod on the back cast. In the hopes that someone will follow this free advice I want to lay out a few simple things to remember when taking this time for yourself.
It’s 20 minutes. Not thirty, not sixty, not ten. 20.
Mo-men-tum
(noun)
Physics
the quality of motion of a moving body, measured as a product of its mass and velocity.
Ac-cel-er-a-tion
(noun)
Physics
the rate of change of velocity per unit of time.
M x A =F (Mass multiplied by Acceleration equals Force)
With conventional gear the mass is a fixed amount (the lure or weight at the end of the line) if you want to throw further you must increase acceleration.
With a fly rod the mass is DYNAMIC. Meaning that the more line you have out the more mass you are moving. Ergo…you do NOT need a change in acceleration. It’s the same stroke. If you want more acceleration you must learn to haul and double haul, and that comes later.
Accelerate smoothly and steadily, do not stomp on the gas.
Your arm should move up and down, not back and forth. Your elbow should end by your hip and not out in front of you. This drives the tip of the rod toward the target. If your elbow is in front of you at the end of the cast, it is because you have used a throwing motion, you have driven the reel toward the target and not the rod tip. You will see your line pile up and the cast will “die.”
The forward cast is based on the back cast. Do that one first.
Roll casting is much, much, much more important than false casting when fishing for trout.
A trout is about 10 to 30 feet away from you. Not 60, 70, or 80. If it is further than 10 to 30 feet, walk closer…or buy a boat.
You use the same arm motion for a roll cast as you do for a false cast. Up and down.
You should NEVER push the rod. You should pull the rod.
The casting motion is a natural motion. It’s the same motion your arm moves in when you run, though exaggerated.
The fly rod is a lever. A third class lever. The fulcrum is your shoulder, not your wrist, or your elbow (unless you are really good caster who knows when to use a wrist or elbow to cast, and if that’s the case you’re just reading this to poke holes in it and not for any benefits; its your time bro waste it if you like).
You can throw a spear much farther with an atlatl than you can with out one.
The energy generated should dissipate at the end of the cast. It should not drive hard toward the target (excluding streamer fishing to a degree).
If you do not know some of the vocabulary used here Google is your friend. YouTube however, is not.
It’s 20 minutes. Not thirty, not sixty, not ten. 20.
There you go. One “simple trick” to improve your success on the water.