Int’l Sportsmen's Expo Library

Below you’ll find a sampling of the information regularly presented at each fly fishing show within your local International Sportsmen’s Expo show.

"3 Tips to Improve Your Fly-Fishing"

By Jack Dennis

It always amazes me how many people who want to get better at fly-fishing concentrate on learning new fishing techniques. The real key to getting better at fly-fishing starts with the cast.

NO BROKEN WRIST. The rod must flex to deliver energy to the line, which is what “casts” the fly. If the wrist breaks or doesn’t stop at the right spot in the casting stroke, the rod won’t flex properly. So, stop your arm at the 12 o'clock casting position, and don’t break your wrist. As a training aid, try adding a thick rubber band behind the reel seat. Then slip the band around your wrist. Make a cast. If you feel the rod butt pull on the rubber band and cut into your wrist, your wrist is breaking (rotating).

SHOOT THE FLY LINE. This is the first step of learning how to cast for distance and do a haul or pull on the line. Shooting the line means minimizing your number of false casts and the amount of line you hold up on your forward stroke. Visualize this: at the same time the maximum amount of power is added to the cast, the line is released. When done properly, the fly line will shoot anywhere from 10 to 20 feet farther than a normal cast.

CASTING IN WIND. Many anglers go home when the wind gets the best of them. To master the wind, you need to change your casting motion. The wind cast stroke changes direction from straight back to virtually straight up into the air, stopping at 12 o'clock. The forward stroke is accomplished by pulling down on the rod until the butt ends up next to your waist. The fly line is “thrown” into the air rather than straight back. The wind catches the fly line and straightens it out. The final motion is almost like driving the tip of the rod into the water, but it is done by pulling down rather than forcing the tip into the wind, which usually leads to excessive wrist rotation.

This is just the beginning of the fly fishing expertise and knowledge found in the fly fishing area of ISE’s upcoming shows! Jack Dennis will teach fly-casting, demonstrate fly-tying and fly action in water, and lead theater shows on where to fly fish at every 2007 International Sportsmen’s Expo show. See more about one of fly-fishing’s hardest working nice guys at: www.jackdennis.com