It’s not always this calm.
Bruce Chard, FFF Master Casting Instructor, veteran Florida Keys guide and instructor of bonefishing schools at Andros South, offers some tips today for casting in heavy winds.
“Casting in a heavy wind always presents fly line management issues, accuracy challenges and distance limitations for even the best casters in the world. I will share with you a couple of my views on how to increase your odds of your fly landing where you want it, when dealing with a heavy wind. There’s a lot we could cover on this subject, but I will just throw out the top few things that I believe are the most important to remember.
1. Don’t shoot line when you present the fly.
Remember that it is very difficult to shoot line into a heavy wind when you present your cast to the fish, even for the best casters. The second that you let go of the fly line with your line hand on your forward cast to shoot into the wind and present the fly, the rod does the only thing it can do on its own and that is come back to the straight rod position. Immediately as this process has ended, the power to the fly line driving it into the wind is turned off. This then allows the wind to start affecting your fly line, and you have no control over the line any more. When the rod is not loaded and there is no power being applied to the fly line, the wind has free rein to effect the direction and distance of your fly line before it hits the water. I believe that if you just simply false cast the actual amount of line that you need to make your presentation, and DO NOT let go of the fly line with your line hand EVER, this process will then continue to apply power to the fly line that you are carrying outside the rod tip all the way to the end of the cast. This is what you need when dealing with a strong wind! This process will then allow the power in the cast to travel all the way to the fly, rolling over your fly into the wind with no slack. Take note that applying a lot of power and increasing your line speed big time during this cast will help out a lot.
2. A tight loop is absolutely mandatory!
A tight loop gives the wind less fly line surface area to effect. Tight loops are essential for any kind of distance and accuracy as well.
3. Keep your tight loop low and to the side.
The closer the line is traveling to the water during the cast, the less the wind has an effect on it. Remember though the lower the line is to the water during your false casts the more you should speed up your line speed to help to prevent ticking or line slap. Ticking is when the fly hits the water on your forward or back casts, adding unwanted slack into the system making it even more difficult to make the cast you need to make.
These are just a few things to start thinking about for now! Look for more casting tips in the future. This is just one of the many important topics that I cover in my annual Bonefish Schools hosted at Andros South.
Capt Bruce Chard”
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