# really frustrated - i need some help



## stumpy164 (May 8, 2016)

I wanted to start flyfishing - I purchased a set up from orvis - rod/reel,all ready to fish

I've watched videos,read articles - but I do not know why I just cant cast a fly - i'm serious,it's really bad


is there anyone in the Daytona beach/Ormond beach area that could maybe give me a lesson ?

thanks


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Stumpy....here's a link to the FFF list of certified casting instructors. Just search Florida and find one near you.

http://fedflyfishers.org/Contact/Locate/CastingInstructors/tabid/301/Default.aspx


----------



## stumpy164 (May 8, 2016)

thank you


----------



## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

stumpy164 said:


> thank you


What area do you live?


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Backwater said:


> What area do you live?


Ted, not have your coffee yet? LOL Pretty sure his first post says Daytona Beach.....


----------



## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

ifsteve said:


> Ted, not have your coffee yet? LOL Pretty sure his first post says Daytona Beach.....



Nope! Haha.... Geez... 

Hey stumpy, contact Dennis O'Brian over at the Mid Coast Fly Club. You'll find him on the contact section of the website and ask him to put you in touch with a casting instructor within the club. Sometimes it takes someone holding the rod with you so you can feel what the casting stroke is suppose to feel like. They are in Ormond Beach, right down road from you. Tell him Ted Haas referred you. 

mid-coastflyfishers.org

Welp, speaking of this, I'm going fishing, with all this terrible weather we are having (blue bird day, 79 degrees, 5mph winds, tides about to turn and be perfect, etc....) and my honey's goin out with me!


----------



## Wvidal (May 8, 2016)

I know you said you watched all of the videos but this one helped my girl friend make sense of it all. 



. Good luck. It will come together.


----------



## stumpy164 (May 8, 2016)

thank you for the replies

that video was great !


----------



## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Lefty says speed up and stop


----------



## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Wvidal said:


> I know you said you watched all of the videos but this one helped my girl friend make sense of it all.
> 
> 
> 
> . Good luck. It will come together.


Ya gotta love those shorts! Ha!


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

I'm a big fan of the Joan Wulff videos...at least for the basics.

I started with this one...


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Videos are great but they miss one very important component of the equation. They are an excellent tool but they don't come even close to having an instructor who can watch you and correct your flaws. It is just so much better that way.

Before my trip to Argentina I needed to learn to spey cast. So I got a great video, watched lots of stuff on youtube but my three lessons were WAY more valuable. My instructor helped me correct my mechanics that I would never have gotten from just watching the videos. Once I got the basics down and understood the mechanics THEN the videos became more useful in helping me practice.


----------



## Capt. TJ Saunders (May 9, 2016)

I love the videos, and man did they help me when I started out. But I have to concur, there is nothing like having someone watch and make observations about what your doing. Your local shop should be able to find someone to help you. I visit my local guru once or twice a season to make sure I have not developed any bad habits, and to clean up anything I may be missing. Good luck and keep at it.
Tight Lines


----------



## Wvidal (May 8, 2016)

Backwater said:


> Ya gotta love those shorts! Ha![/QUOTE
> 
> I think the German subtitles make it for me.


----------



## MariettaMike (Jun 14, 2012)

I'll gonna go out on a limb and say that you're a bad dancer. You're timing sucks, and you can't help yourself from stepping on your dance partners toes.

You've got to learn timing, and trust that your dance partner (the fly line) will respond to your lead (cast). If you lead (cast) her and pull back too quick, you'll jerk her off balance, and if you lead her too slow she'll fall down.


----------



## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

+1 on Joan Wulff. Excellent tip.

Fly casting is like a golf swing, it takes time to develop it. Frustration just builds motivation. You have to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you run. Get a good casting instructor and practice, practice, practice.

I was self taught and thought I knew what I was doing until I went salt water fishing for the first time. So much energy without the results I wanted. First time I picked up a fast action 10 weight my cast fell completely apart. So I sucked it up and went and got a lesson. Joe Robinson had me cast and said "you can probably hit 50 feet all day long, but it falls apart when you go past that, doesn't it" - he knew immediately what was wrong. He put me on a half rod with yarn and two cones, concentrating on the basics. If you can't control a 10 foot piece of yarn and make tight loops, you won't be able to do it with 60'.

Not only did that make me a better caster, I can take a look at a cast and know what is wrong and what to correct. 60 feet is now one false cast away, not four. 80 feet isn't a problem and I can hit my backing with a little help from a tail wind. But you don't need a 100' cast. But that 60' in a 15 knot wind is the cast you need, along with being accurate. Accuracy over distance is way important.

Lefty's books are good, so is Master the Cast. But nothing beats a good casting instructor who can fine tune what you need.

Really great tip that helps on the first cast - many people "water load" the cast, meaning the pull against the water to add load to the rod. Pros and cons to this - one con being that sometimes the line rips off the water and spooks the fish. Here's the tip - use the water to load the line, but feed line from your line hand to let out line - you can easily let out 5 - 10 feet of line before making the false cast. Start by pointing the tip nearly in the water, start raising the tip like you are going to cast but let the line feed out, then start your cast at 10 o clock. Once you get this down, you can still shoot line on the back cast and forward cast. One false cast can hit 60' doing this.


----------



## CrappieFisherman (Mar 15, 2015)

So, it's been only a year since I first picked up the long rod, but I'd have to say what has helped me to cast better has been to fool around with a lighter, slower action rod. Granted, this has mainly been for the pursuit of smaller fish, but it has really helped me to develop the feel of how the line loads the rod. While I have used stiffer, faster action rods, I have found these to be much more difficult to cast as a beginner. As my cast has developed, I have begun to use a faster rod, but had I have started there, I'm not sure I'd have caught the fly fishing bug.


----------



## scissorhands (Apr 8, 2012)

If you watched the videos and know what a proper cast looks like, try and record yourself or have a friend do it. It might tell you what you are doing wrong. pay attention to rod tip path and 10-2.


----------



## mxbeebop (Mar 22, 2013)

A lesson early on is important, its difficult to unlearn bad muscle memory later down the road.

I'd recommend throwing some flies at fish and leaving your spin gear at home. Casting is only part of it, using a fly will involve different techniques on the water to maximizes its effectiveness. I got my first fish on dock lights I think its a good place to start.

Fly can be a very rewarding, Good Luck


----------



## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Stumpy,

I'll be seeing Dennis O-Brian this weekend. He's coming over to help out with a charity event put on by Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, the Crosthwait fishing tournament and the Bradenton Yacht Club, where we are taking disabled Veterans out fly fishing on boats this Saturday for a 1/2 day. I'll ask him if they have a volunteer instructor within their fly club at Ormand Beach (near where you live) that helps newbies like you just starting out. Nothing helps more than for a skilled instructor showing you how a proper casting stroke should look and feel, first hand.


----------

