IN fishing, there aren’t too many facets of the pastime that are as challenging to master as fly fishing – or in particular, fly casting.
Having been a fly fisher for some years I reckoned I could cast a line ok – at least well enough to catch fish, anyway. Which really is what it’s all about, for mine. Having said that, being able to fly cast consistently well is something I’d hoped to achieve one day.
Attending this year’s RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival gave me the chance to at least potentially improve my casting thanks to a lucky draw win of a gift voucher to the Sydney based Advanced Fly Fishing School.
Last Saturday morning at a park atop the banks of the Nepean River I watched as three novice fly casters were put through their paces by enthusiastic instructor, Juan Del Carmen. The trio were soon to be off on a trout fishing trip to New Zealand and wanted to brush up on their casting. As Juan later explained, much of his time as a fly casting instructor is taken up teaching novices how to throw a fly before they travel to exotic locations such as Alaska, Christmas Island and the aforementioned NZ.
I was joined on the day by Fisho writer Sami Omari for a casting and video analysis session with Juan. Sami had taken up the fly rod a couple of years ago and had taught himself to cast well enough to score regular success on the likes of salmon, bonito and kingfish on Sydney Harbour. As Sami explained to Juan, being self taught he wanted to learn some of the basics and improve his casting skills.
I was in the same boat. Having only ever attended a free fly casting lesson many years ago in Canberra, I was pretty confident I had since developed plenty of bad habits and had loads of room for improvement!
Sami Omari in action on the casting paddock.
Juan told us he originated from Pamplona, Spain, the city famous for its annual “Running of the Bulls”. He says he’s been in this world famous event himself plenty of times, which might explain his exceptional reflexes and hand eye coordination, evident when he picks up a fly rod.
Juan’s been a fly casting instructor for 25 years and has worked with giant tackle companies such as Orvis and Hardy, and is a Loop ambassador for Australia/New Zealand. He’s also worked in fly fishing lodges in Patagonia and Europe and has represented Spain and England as a technical advisor in four Fly Fishing World Championships. With that background he was more than capable of teaching Sami and I a thing or two about chucking a fly…
Juan Del Carmen effortlessly performing a double haul cast.
We started off with the basics, discussing the mechanics of how a fly cast works and looking at the differences of wide or tight casting loops and putting it all together with one-handed casting into hoops. This proved a fun and challenging exercise.
Once Juan was satisfied with our close quarter casting skills we progressed onto using a different French style “V” hand grip, instead of the common thumb on top grip, which seemed quite weird at first, but very effective. Juan also filmed us casting, via his laptop, for the post-class technique analysis – we’ll be seeing the results of this at a later date.
Filming a casting session for technique analysis.
Juan then went on to demonstrate an effortless double haul cast – which can be seen in slow-motion via video below – which is commonly used for distance casting in saltwater or large lakes and rivers.
After a short break from the soaring western Sydney heat and a well earned refreshment, we wandered down to the Nepean River for a spot of rivercraft. With waders donned mid river Juan showed us how to roll cast efficiently and treated us to an impressive spey casting demonstration. Having never tried the spey cast before, its benefits in tight water where a back cast is impossible were obvious. Definitely something to explore further!
Juan demonstrating roll and spey casting on the Nepean River.
All too soon our lesson came to an end. Our allotted two hour session had quickly turned into closer to four and it had all been great fun. I’m now looking forward to getting out on the water and using some of the valuable tips Juan had shared, notably the reminder to let the rod do most of the work.
If you’re new to fly fishing or a seasoned campaigner wanting to brush up on your casting, a session with Juan Del Carmen is highly recommended. You can contact him via email at: juan@advancedflyfishingschool.com.au or phone 1300 650 008, website: www.advancedflyfishingschool.com.au
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlB-g8kt3bw&list=UUpcIYBYWpKxQEWXBeujKHOQ
