Tournament Casting.—II. 
I Fly-Casting, 
We are now ready to step up on the platform 
and cast. Now is the time to remember things 
and, whatever you do, don t hurry. 1 ake your 
time and see that everything is in proper shape 
before you start in. T he usual period of time 
allowed each contestant varies from five to ten 
minutes and your best work will probably be 
done in the first few minutes of casting. Never¬ 
theless, take your time and don’t forget that 
fluster and hurry will get you more or less 
“rattled” and subtract a lot of your nervous 
strength. First arrange your line by coiling it 
loosely at the right side of the platform, then, 
if you keep your line on a reel, place the reel 
well in. the rear or, better still, off the platform 
entirely. (The reel is never used on the rod.) 
Now, recoil your line from the right to the left 
side of the platform, throwing it in large, loose 
coils to reduce the possibility of kinks and 
“rat’s-nests” to a minimum—by this method your 
line runs out freely, as it runs from the top of 
the coil. Look about to see if there be any 
splinters, loose trash, etc., to catch the line and 
impede the shoot—this is why the reel was re¬ 
moved from the platform. 
Set up your rod, being careful to seat all 
ferrules tightly. Run the line through the 
guides and attach the leader and fly, which have 
both been thoroughly soaked. After the judges 
have inspected your fly and pronounced it cor¬ 
rect, take your position in the center of the 
platform, with the right foot forward, and the 
loosely coiled line lying to your left and a little 
behind you. (If left-handed, reverse the posi¬ 
tion.) The judges do not take your time until 
you give the word, “Ready,” so wait until you 
have your line well extended. Grasp your rod 
firmly, with the thumb on top and pointing 
straight up the ro'd, holding the slack line in 
the left hand. Now begin to extend the line 
slowly, at each cast allowing the slack line to 
run through the fingers as long as it will 
“pull,” but do not release the slack line until the 
“live” line has fairly started forward. This 
letting the line run at the finish of ’the cast 
is what is called the shoot, and while it is diffi¬ 
cult to master, it is absolutely essential for long 
distance casting. 
At the end of each cast, pull in enough slack- 
line with the left hand to straighten the line in 
the water and set it in motion toward you. At 
the same instant swing your body forward, so 
that your weight is on the right foot, extend 
the rod to the full extent of your reach, keep¬ 
ing the rod parallel with the water, and re¬ 
cover the line smartly. Do not allow your line 
to settle much in the water or you will have 
great difficulty in recovering it—after the line 
has struck the water fairly you cannot recover 
too quickly. Too much stress cannot be laid 
upon the importance of the recovery, for upon 
it rests the success of your forward cast—you 
cannot make a good forward cast unless your 
back cast is straight and taut. The best casters 
use every effort to secure a high back cast; 
that is, at the end of the back cast the line will 
all be straight out in the air and the fly high 
up, so that on the forward cast the fly will not 
flick the water or foul any obstruction. In 
order to attain a perfect back line the caster 
must study all the moves carefully and learn 
to do several things practically at the same 
time. Remember that at the beginning of the 
recovery the line should be in motion toward 
you, so that somewhat of the dead weight is 
saved in the lift from the water. While the 
rod should be extended well forward, it must 
not be so far as to destroy the poise of the 
body, which should be perfectly balanced upon 
the right foot. The rod should be so held that 
it forms a straight line with the arm, the elbow 
held close to the side, the thumb on top and 
parallel with the rod and the wrist bent down¬ 
ward. 
As soon as the line has been set in motion 
toward you, by the pull of the left hand, the 
recovery begins with a simultaneous lift with 
the rod by the muscles of the legs, back and 
forearm only. The wrist is still held in the 
downward position and the upper arm and 
shoulder muscles yet have their work to do. 
When the rod reaches an angle of about 50 
degrees from the water the upper arm and 
shoulder take up the work, and when the rod 
has almost reached a vertical position, the 
movement is completed by a sharp upward and 
backward snap of the wrist. This last touch 
of the wrist is what makes the perfect back 
cast, but care must be taken that the rod is not 
allowed to go more than about 15 degrees be¬ 
yond the vertical. This is very important, for 
if the rod is allowed to go further back you 
will be absolutely certain to get a “bag” of 
slack in your line. This will effectually kill 
your cast, for it is perfectly obvious that all 
slack must be taken up before any power can 
be applied for the forward cast. The shoulder 
should be allowed to go well back with the rod, 
so you will have all the forward sweep possible, 
but do not let the rod tip sag behind. Practice 
this steadily with a medium length of line until 
you get the hang of it, watching each cast be¬ 
hind by turning the head, and keep it up until 
you obtain a straight, taut, high back cast. 
The Forward Cast. 
To obtain the best results the power must be 
applied, not only in the right way, but at the 
right time. In order to do this one must judge 
and time the back cast, so that the forward 
cast shall begin just as the fly is fully extended 
behind. Those casters who are musicians, or 
who have a good “ear,” usually acquire this 
knack quite easily, as they are able to time the 
back cast quite perfectly by musical rhythm. 
Failing in this the best plan is to hold the 
rod vertical, after the motion of the back cast 
is finished, until you feel the first pull on the 
tip of the rod. Your weight is now on the left 
foot, the body inclined a little backward, the 
arm raised, so that the elbow is level with or 
a trifle higher than the shoulder, the forearm 
is vertical and the wrist bent backward. Now 
remember that the best forward cast is ob¬ 
tained by the “rolling loop” and in order to do 
this the line cannot be cast slowly, but must be 
driven quickly and with great force. This 
causes the “belly” or center of the line to be 
driven forward in advance of the rest and in 
the shape of a long loop, the fly being on top. 
This loop unrolls upon itself as it flies through 
the air, and the momentum of the heavy belly 
will draw after it from 5 to 20 feet of the light 
back line in the shoot, the whole line settling 
down gracefully to the full limit of the cast 
and never checking and jerking the fly back as 
is so often the case with the slow, straight 
cast. To make this cast, at the very instant that 
the fly is fully extended behind in the back 
cast, let the rod go back just a little (keeping 
it nearly vertical) to take up any slack caused 
by the kick of the taut line against the rod. 
Instantly start the rod forward by a simul¬ 
taneous movement of the body, shoulder and 
upper arm, accelerating the movement until the 
rod reaches a position a little forward from 
the vertical, when the forearm and wrist come 
into play. In the second movement—wrist and 
forearm—put all the power you possess and 
bring your rod down with a veritable crash, 
finishing the movement with the sharpest wrist 
snap you are capable of. Meanwhile you should 
have imparted to the butt a forward or pushing 
motion—this is the great secret of the drive and 
where and why so many fail to perfect the 
rolling loop. The explanation is quite simple 
—it gives you more time during the forward 
movement in which to apply power to the rod. 
In both casting and recovering keep the rod and 
arm in as straight a line as possible—never let 
it sway to either side. Work your line out as 
far as you can recover it cleanly—this will be 
practically the limit of your straight cast—and 
then prepare for the final shoot. If, as you 
start your forward cast for this last effort, you 
do not (eel a good, hard pull from the line 
behind, do not shoot the line, but pull in a little 
slack with the left hand and try again. Keep 
this up until, as you start your rod forward, 
you feel you have a good “live” line behind; 
that is, a good pull from the back line. Then, 
just as your loop shoots forward (as you finish 
the wrist-snap), let go of the slack line held in 
the left hand, hold the rod low and the line will 
pay out true. Do not move your feet about 
on the platform while casting—you are apt to 
tread on your line and spoil a good, cast, to say 
nothing of ruining an expensive line. 
If, in recovering a long line you attempt too 
much or make an awkward effort and the line 
comes back all wabbly and slack, do not attempt 
to thrash it out, but pull in some line with the 
left-hand and start over. Those who have 
mastered the switch-cast will find it a great 
aid at such times. The judges will allow you 
time to make repairs, etc., due to accident, such 
as whipping off your fly, catching your line in 
an obstruction, etc., and when you find yourself 
in this fix—don’t hurry, take your time and 
don’t get flustered. If your cast falls foul of 
some obstruction don’t yank at it; call time and 
let some one remove it. By yanking at it you 
may lose a valuable leader or tear off the front 
taper of your pet line. If you hear your line 
snap and crack behind you on the back cast, 
call time and pull in; you will find your fly 
is whipped off. 
If you find your arm is rapidly tiring in the 
middle of an event, you might as well quit—you 
can do nothing with tired muscles and may lame 
yourself for the next event. Few people have 
any idea of the really tremendous exertion 
necessary to lift 85 or 90 feet of line from the 
water and cast it forward again—until they try 
it!—for it all looks so delightfully simple and 
easy; but when one realizes that you put. into 
each shoot every ounce of strength you possess, 
it has a different aspect. 
Casting with Light Rods. 
The method of handling the four and five- 
ounce rods differs but little in a general way. 
Of course, you do not require or use so much 
force, and more work is done by the forearm 
and wrist, the wrist-snap being the real crux 
in all forms of casting with the fly-rod. As 
the lines are lighter, you cannot shoot as far 
or as well, but it is employed to advantage. 
Also, the leaders are shorter and lighter, as 
they have less weight of line to balance in the 
taper. 
You will find it an advantage to wrap your 
rod handle with some material affording a good, 
firm grasp—I prefer plain cotton twine—and if 
your handle be thin, build it out so you can 
get a good hold without cramping the hand. 
Watch your rod carefully and touch up im¬ 
mediately any chipped or scratched places in 
the varnish. Take particular pains in the care 
of your line. Wipe it off each time after using, 
and" do not wind it up on a reel having a small 
spool. Get one of the big wooden reels at any 
