First off I'll say hi to everyone as I'm new here!
I'm from Surrey and I'm 23 just got back into fishing after a few years off it without my old man.
I recently purchased an airflo rod (yeah I know, I gather there not regarded as very good!) The rod is rated as a #6-7 weight line so I bought a wf7 scientific anglers line. This seems to be too light and I'm having problems casting a good distance. This isn't my main problem though.... When I retrieve the fly it seems to sit upside down in the water I.e the hook faces upwards. I managed to catch one fish at robinswood in frensham on Sunday but that was it! I would greatly appreciate any advice on how to present the fly properly. I am fishing stillwaters from the bank.

Thanks in advance,
Charlie.

Hi charlie and welcome. The problem could well be the fly itself, materials used and any weight added. What fly was you using?

hi Charlie,what sort of fly did you have on and what size,some flies are not very aerodynamic as for not getting much line out might you need a casting lesson? i know that after the close season it takes a couple of outings to get back into the swing of casting properly and i have been doing it close on 40 years.

Hello charlie, what length is your rod? if 9ft or over a w/f 7 should be ok, maybe 1 lesson would be worth it to get the casting technique correct, i would not worry too much about the fly for now as you did catch. casting, and water craft, ie windlanes, weather, depth, etc, fly patterns? dry, nymph, lure, you will gain from all this as you fish more. any lots of help from the forum members so good luck

I started with an airflo rod, it wasnt fantastic but it was OK, and actually now I'm better at casting, although its not a great rod to cast, its quite a nice rod to fish with as its got a softer action than my other rods.

As you improve your casting you will find it easier to load the rod, so persevere. Some casting tuition may help. One thing that really helped me to load the rod when I was starting out was to really concentrate on hitting the stops, once I did that I found the rod loaded much more effectively.

As for the fly, try another one, its probably to do with how its been tied

I wouldn't worry about it, the trout doesn't know the fly is upside down
If you try bare hooks you will find that almost all types of single hook (and every double hook I've ever seen) will swim upside down. Hence many nymph type flies swim hook point up, weighted nymphs are even more prone to it.


Andy

Thanks for the replies guys : )

I could do with some casting lessons for sure as I'm basically self taught. I'm using a 9'6 rod and I really think my line is too light even though the rod rating is #6-7 I can get it out a good 20-30 yards but it just feels like it's lacking power or rod load.
Is it common for rods to be 'under weighted' with the recommendations?


The fly I really noticed the upside down problem was a damsel nymph with eyes as weights. (sorry, as you can tell I'm still learning!!) but I noticed it with other flies too. I buy my flies from trout flies.co.uk and there about 30p each so that could be my problem!! I noticed they sell the exact same flies in albury angling centre for about £1.10 and they have a misleading fulling mill sticker on the display box : /

I was watching some guys on Sunday and there casting was awesome, I was a tad jealous!

Also thanks to the guy who gave me a float to fish buzzers- what a legend! Real nice chap.

Not a problem at all Charlie. i actually tie flies to swim upside down like yours. If you put weight in the fly, there's always the chance it'll turn turtle. mine hkave dumb bell eyes that invert the fly but give a fantastic action. havev't had any problem with hookups either.

Sorry to say this.but 95% of anglers can't cast anything like 20yrds let alone 30yrds and if you were casting that far then you need never wory about loading the rod.
And if the anglers who you were watching were casting further than that then they should be casting champions.

Jim

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

Jim, as always a modicum of sense I think sometimes people get confused between feet and yards when casting

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Eddie
"We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."
Voltaire