Haven't picked the rod up a month and with a few days fishing coming up decided best to not start the day on the water covered in rust so took myself, the rods, the reels, a bit of tippet and the foam from a scrubbing pad and headed to the local cricket pitch.

Set up shop without much issue and found the bright plastic end off a firework to use as a target. Started with the roll cast to get used to the forward flick, workout what power is required to turn over the line and then progressed through the motions of single haul, double haul, snap-t, single spay with haul and a few fancy Indiana casts to play around with anchor points and effects on line tension. This was all fairly straight forward and found I could get within a couple of inches of the target without too much bother. Then the fun began.

I was playing around using the wind at different angles to adjust my cast as you would do if you turned up to your favourite haunt and found the wind in a non-favourable direction i.e. if right handed then a non-favourable wind would be coming right to left thus blowing the fly in your face. I was thinking Ronnie O'Sullivan being able to play a fine game with either hand thus eliminating the need for a rest if the ball position was unfavourable. I have been taught to either cast across my left shoulder or just adjust my wrist angle to illiminate the problem but having fished for some time like that it restricts your options a little and throws you all out sync if you try and achieve a bit of distance. Thinking about this I placed the rod in my left hand and started with the roll cast. Now I always practice roll casts with both left and right as i find I can gain better distance with my right but better accuracy with my left.
After 20mins of ironing a few "bad forms" I got it going nicely and began then thinking "well can I do a left hand over head?" Yes I can and quite nicely. I found I could even put in a little wrist turn like the demonstraters do for the people viewing from the side of their demos to make it look like they are throwing the sweetest of loops whilst those stood in forn or behind wonder why the running cast lines are unravelling side by side. Pretty good I thought myself so I began stripping line of the reel, holding it against the handle and releasing on my forward cast to shoot line. I then used my right hand to pull the line back through.
I was doing really well with this and was proud I could shoot a few extra feet with my left handed casting.
I got cocky then and started to think about a haul. This was my down fall. How hard can it be if I do it all of the time when casting right handed.

Have you ever tried casting "wrong handedly"? Give it a whirl and then try and put in a simple haul on the back cast. It's like a different world. It feels like you've put together back to front and by Joe do you have some laughs when your brain is telling your strong hand to do something and it just doesn't understand - "I can hold a pen for you, I can hold a racket of any kind to show your skill and you favour me over t'other one all of the time but I have no idea what you are asking me to do. I am the holding hand not the skivvy!"

One word of warning: DO NOT USE A HOOK ON YOUR LINE WHEN ATTEMPTING THIS CAST

After about an hour of trying, swapping hands to see exactly what the responsibilities were during casting normally only to go back and lose all co-ordination straight away I can now cast about 25ft in total of which about 10ft of that is shooting.

I say now but if I was to try tomorrow after a sleep I would be back to a crumpled mess and foam in the ear etc.

casting with the other hand is like communicating with the devil

I agree.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

It reminded me of a joke. I'm going to be unladylike and tell it.

Try masturbating with you left hand. It's like having sex with an awkward stranger..

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http://flyfisherlady.blogspot.com/

Ooooooooooooooooh I'm surprised at you...........birdsnest

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Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

i concur

Four posts in and we are in the gutter already, what is the world coming to?

If you sit on it for 15mins that spices things up So I have been told anyway.

Oh dear.... FFF, surely you would be better with this kind of joke...

"The assistant curator of the musuem came to the head curator with a couple of problems. "Sir, the mummy is damp and getting mouldy. And the white mouse in the maze exhibit has developed dry skin."
The head curator thought for a minute, then advised, "Put your mummy where your mouse is."


Hilarious.