In this edition of fly fishing for beginners, we are going to look at yet another facet of casting—the roll cast.
The fly fishing roll cast is an incredibly useful tool, especially on wild water where the trees and shrubs grow right up to the water’s edge. Imagine if you were in a river like that, with trees right behind you, and you were to attempt a basic fly cast. What do you think would happen?
Of course your fly would end up catching a “tree fish,” you would probably end up cursing a lot, and in the end, you would have to replace your fly. All in, that’s bad news.
That’s why we have the roll cast—for situations in which you are unable to launch a back cast. You would perform a roll cast with you back up against a brick wall if you had to (incidentally, that is an excellent way to practice and train the movement).
How To Perform The Roll Cast
A roll cast is performed by allowing your fly to drift by, raising and rolling your rod tip, and then casting forward. The line will roll over itself, yet will never go behind you, and still get into your target casting area.
Ok, I get it, that was way too simplistic! Let’s get a more in depth look at the roll cast. For the scenario I am going to explain, I want you to imaging that you are standing in the river on one bank, and you are facing the other bank. The river is moving in front of you, with downstream to your left, and upstream to your right. Let’s break down the cast into steps:
Roll Cast Step 1
First, allow your fly to drift down stream, maintaining good stick height, and a good drag free drift.
Roll Cast Step 2
When your fly reaches the end of your drift, lift your rod tip so that you have the fly nearly out of the water. It should look as if it it were skipping along the surface.
Roll Cast Step 3
Now, swing your rod tip upstream and in front of you. Think about taking it from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock in front of you. While you are doing this, you should be holding the line between your thumb and index finger. As you sweep toward the 2 o’clock position, follow the rod with your line hand, and be ready to give it a haul.
Roll Cast Step 4
Accelerate your rod tip forward, and haul the line at the same time. The rod tip should stop at eye level, just as with the basic cast. Finally, allow your rod tip to settle.
There you go, you just did a roll cast. I totally understand if a written description can be a little tough to follow, so I have searched out a very good demonstration video for you.
How To Roll Cast Video
This is probably my favorite video on roll casting, and is by the good folks at Orvis.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnRzkW0F9ek]
With a little practice, you will be able to cast like this easily and smoothly. Just stick with it, and practice, practice, practice!
See ya on the water…