Bad timing.

Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:23 pm

Looking for some advice please, MJB, regards casting. When fishing with my 7wt trout rod, 7 weight (forward) fly line and size 10 trout flies I can cast a reasonable distance. Change of fly to a size 2 weighted clouser and my casting becomes a real chore with distance greatly reduced. Shortening the leader to 6 feet helps but not greatly. I've tried altering the speed and stroke during casting without success but I am sure the problem is to do with timing. Stepping up to 8 or 9wt outfits brings no improvement. My next thought is to use an 8wt line with a 7wt rod as an experiment. Any ideas?
Cheers
Colin

Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 8:13 pm

Think it is probably an aerodynamic thing rather than bad timing. A big fly has a lot more wind resistance than a small trout fly and you notice the difference even with 10/12 weight salmon outfits.
Using an 8 line on a 7 rated rod is ok for loading quickly for short casts but with a big fly and a longer line the rod will become overloaded and very hard work.
As to the solution ...............MJB where are you ?

Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 8:31 pm

I'm here, although casting isn't my strong point!

As Sniggle has said, you'll struggle to cast a big, heavy fly like a size 2 clouser on a #7. If your 7 weight is a fast action, you could overline with an 8 which will have the effect of slowing everything down (i.e. you need a slower stroke to load the rod), but if you have access to an 8 or 9 I'd use that instead for fishing bigger flies. Open your loops a little and slow down your stroke and you should find them easier to cast. Even then a clouser with 3/16 eyes will kick like buggery on my 8 overlined with a 9. Alternatively you could just not use clousers. I did all my bassing without clousers last year as an experiment and noticed no discernable difference in my catch rate.

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 7:01 pm

Thank you both for your advice. Plenty of food for thought. I am sure that you are correct about weight of fly being the root of the problem. I carried out an experiment this morning to determine the effects of increased line weight on casting distance and I'm just about to post the results. Draw your own conclusions!
Cheers
Colin

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:35 pm

Just spent an hour typing post about line weight test only for it to disappear when I submitted it crying

. Try again tomorrow!!!

Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 9:14 pm

sure it will make good reading when you submit it .look forward to it ,it may provide me with some help on my casting.first dont suceed,try,try again . tight lines