Posted by Jim E (24.116.99.140) on September 11, 2003 at 14:10:41:
Scaring Fish (a continuation of The Approach)
Something commonly seen is fly fisherman that cast out their line on the water and then immediately pick it up off of the water to cast again. This is called “water hauling” and can really put down the fish. Everyone water hauls. But you should only do it after you have completed your drift or stripped in your fly for your next cast.
Beginners quickly find that the water haul, back cast and lay out method gives them better distance with a pretty good turnover every time. They repeat the method each false cast until they have cast their line far enough to be a “suitable” cast. This whole method I call “walking the line out” because they lay the line out at about 10-15 ft., then pick it up and then lay it out to 20-25 ft., then again to 30-35 ft. etc. All of this commotion greatly disturbs the waters surface, alerting and possibly sending the fish all scurrying for cover.
I realize they’ve got to do what works for them but until they can keep their line aerialized during false casts their catching will be limited. I believe also that many use the water haul as a crutch. Using it holds back their casting skills, keeping them from advancing and learning what a “loaded” rod feels like.
Another commonly seen scenario is fly fisherman that don’t water haul but insist on their leader and fly rolling out perfectly every time. If the leader does not they will pick up the line and cast it again to the exact same spot. Doing this leads to the same problem that the water haulers have, scaring the fish. The times that the cast doesn’t roll out like you would like it to, don’t fret, unless you cast right on top of the fish it doesn’t hurt anything. Just pull in your fly line until everything straightens out. This is ALOT better than recasting !!!
Once, a few years ago, my father and I were on the river fishing together. Fishing a large, slow/med. flowing pool, I had patterned the fish. Feeling bad that my father wasn’t catching any up stream I invited him down and gave him a fly just like mine. To cast the distance required he had to “walk the line out”. I cringed but hoped for the best. Well, he didn’t catch anything there either. The fish had been quite eager and if only he could have keep his line off of the water until the final cast he would have prevailed. (Now in his defense, he casts amazingly well considering that he has an artificial shoulder !!!)
Remember that the fish don’t care what kind of rod we use or what line we use or how good or bad our casting is (as long as we’re not slapping the water all around them). All they’re concerned about is that our offering looks natural, acts natural and is good enough to eat. Therefore, we should be concerned about the same things, all the while not spooking them before we have a chance at presenting them our fly.
Thanks for reading. As always, if you have any tips that you like to share just email them to me. Also, feel free to comment.
Jim Enns <*))))))))><