hi everybody,my name is paul and i am from lancashire,
been reading this forum for a while now,and may i just congratulate you all on the pleasent and valuable info that you posters put on here,

but i hope i am not to early to ask a question that i am puzzled with,

i have bought a basic setup to get me going,9ft 6/7# weight rod with a 6#wf line,and all i have done since i bought it is to practise casting after watching several movie clips and info i have grabbeb of here,

i practice on a local river and park but i dont put a fly on until i get used to it
i am able to to get a rough distance of around fifteen paces which is plenty for where i want to fish,but i cast with my right hand,and i must have pulled a muscle or something so i had ago with my left arm,and i was shocked not only did it feel natural the timing was a lot better i could feel every movement of the rod and my casting is 10 times better than that of my right arm,and i can actually shoot a little line with the left, no chance with the right,
i cant even write my name with my left arm

i have tried to repeat the action in my right arm but it just wont do it,and i seem to get aches all the time,my left arm gets no aches no wrist ache or anything,i know my wrist is moving on my right arm but i cant stop it

would you just concntrate on the left arm or try to solve the problem

i have booked a lesson with an instructer next week but there is five days till then and i would like to practise and try and sort the problem before hand

i know distance isnt everything but on average while practising what sort of distance is obtainable for a beginner the line i throw now linds nice and straight and i can land my yarn on a mole hill in the field at around 20 paces so i dont think i am doin to bad at the moment,


cant wait to go and catch my first fish on the fly but i know that time wil come soon enough,

sorry for the long first post,but any advice will be appreciated

paul

I too started with a similar set up and found a 7#wf easier to cast.I went for a high viz orange Grey's Platinum.

Going to see an instructor is the best thing you can do as he/she will sort you out pretty quickley.Its great when you catch your first fish and i would recommend Pendle View near Clitheroe as a great place to catch your first fish.

__________________
Theres more to fishing than just fish.

cheers phil,i am goin that way on monday but i am goin on the ribble at mitton with the stickfloat,might call in and have a look,do you have any prices for the venue please

paul

Welcome to the Forum. I hope an Instructor can sort out your R-L conundrum.

Jim

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

so do i, thanx for the welcome jim

Hi Paul,here is the pendle website,it has all the info you need http://www.pendleview.co.uk/

Oh and welcome to the forum


Del

__________________
"In lime we have Natures purifier,its benefits is well known in Agriculture.It is time its value was better understood in Pisciculture too "

Frank Sawyer 1964

http://rivererewashrestorationproject.blogspot.com/

Welcome - If you can fish as well as cast with your left - there's no harm in doing it that way around. The other way of practicing to get your right hand to work is to not allow yourself to use ANY power with your right hand. Just pull off 10 yards of line and pick up and lay down. Then do it with half the power and using timing only. Then do it again with only half the power. Do it with a supple grip (don't choke the life out of the handle) but do not allow your wrist to "break" backwards. If you can't prevent this, tuck the rod but into your sleeve or use a "finger point" grip (i.e. with your index finger pointing up the spine of the handle and touching the base of the rod blank). There's tons of exercises and advice on www.sexyloops.com. Best advice would, of course, be to get yourself a series of lessons with an AAPGAI instructor.

P.S. If you are fishing dry fly on the Ribble - don't cast any further than about 6-10 yards. If you are fishing nymphs or a duo (weighted nymph suspended beneath a bushy dry fly) then only have about 2-3 feet of flyline out and fish no more than a rod length away from yourself.

Let the forum know how you get on.

Paul

Paul

Are you sure you're not also our 30 year old honey from london... WLTM a man with "experience", GSOH and an APGAI certificate

Just jesting...to tell the truth I wouldn't bother trying to cast with both arms until you are comefortable with one. I am not really a river fisherman but I never use my left - prefer to cast across the body or roll cast. All sounds technical but is easy enough once you have mastered the basic timing.

One thing I would say is make sure the rod is doing the work...I had spey lessons recently using my 15ft salmon rod. He had me casting using just my finger tips....great to focus on this early as it will save a lot of pain and stiffness later on.

Oh yeah, fish upstream as your default and treat downstream/across as a specialised tactic that is only used occasionally (e.g. in early spring olive hatches).

Welcome to the Forum, Paul.

Hope you're not tempting fate with your Forum name
A good pair of shades are a "must have".

Best of luck and tightlines.