Welcome to The Bonefish Flat

There's a stiff wind in your face as you squint in the sun trying to see what the guide sees. "Bonefish at 12 o'clock about 90 feet, do you see it, mon?" You don't and keep squinting, your hat pulled low to keep the sun out of your eyes. "Bonefish at 11 o'clock 70 feet out. Come on man, do you see it?" As the guide is calmly shifting the skiff into position, this time you spot the fish, "I got, it," you reply.

"OK, Mon, Bonefish 50 feet at 10 o'clock. Cast when you're ready."

Cast when you're ready. And with that you drop your fly, roll out a cast, false cast once, and then...

Welcome to the bonefish flat.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Great Casters Don't Think Straight, They Track Straight

THE most important thing you can do to get ready for any fishing trip is to get your casting in order. This weekend is supposed to finally have some good weather, so I'm going to be practicing my flats cast. One of my main casting flaws, of which I'm sure there are many, is tracking.

Tracking refers to the direction your fly rod tip travels in relation to where you are trying to cast the fly. Ideally, you are moving the rod in a straight line path (SLP) in order, in part, to keep your loop tight and to deliver the fly on target.

If you play golf, being "off" on your tracking is like hitting a hook or a slice.



I'm going to work on this by practicing my cast using the pantomime method indoors. I'll do this indoors by mimicking my cast and line my rod hand (your right hand if you're right handed) with a straight line on the ceiling.

One of the best ways to do this is to use the corner where the ceiling meets the wall. Stand with your side facing the wall and practice casting but make sure you're hand "tracks" with this seems. It's good because on the flats, you'll usually want to cast a bit off shoulder as you'll be dealing with wind.

If you have questions, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.


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