I have been watching some fly fishing clips on u tube which showed
anglers double hauling on medium sized rivers.
I thought that the idea of the double haul was to get extra line speed to
achieve more distance.
Is it necessary to use this method for shortish casting, or is it just a style
of casting,that once you can do it, you just carry on using this method.
I have tried the double haul cast but I cant get the timing right.
They say that it takes a few years to learn.
How many anglers on this forum use the double haul cast? And like myself,
how many of you cant do it?
I am quite happy with the distances I can achieve with the normal cast, so
is it necessary to learn the double haul?
Is it the holy grail in fly fishing technique and until I can do it I cant call
myself a proper fly fisher?
I look forward to your comments. A Happy New Year. Peter

Hi Peter - happy new year.

I use the double hall more through force of habit than anything else. I find that my line hand just starts hauling when casting I do not do it perfectly by any means however, but am getting better with practice.

It does not take that long to learn; any good instructor will teach you and books like Casting with Lefty Kreh are also good.

The double haul is useful for getting extra line speed to overcome wind and when chucking bigger flies too, not just for more distance. Just remember to put about half the force into the cast with your rod hand than you think you might need (with a trout rod), and when hauling, reduce the power applied in your cast via the rod hand accordingly or you'll have tailing loops aplenty. Also try not to drift your rod hand forward after the back cast before the forward cast proper - I do it and it doesn't help.

Oh and it's not the holy grail - far from it - that's catching lots of fish! If you can do that without double hauling then why bother?! I just wanted to be able to do it. Good luck and there are plenty on here far more knowledgeable than me to help.

If you are catching fish and enjoying your fishing don't worry about it. Apart from distance though haul can be useful for windy conditions with the help with line speed. As for it taking a few years to learn ...rubbish. I self taught, timing was sloppy, a lesson soon sorted that out and now just a case of practice makes perfect ( a lot of practice!).

If you're like I was pre lesson you are probably trying to start/put the haul in too early. . Get a lesson, if its something you want to focus on I am sure a decent instructor can instill the correct timing in one session then its just down to time on the bank/playing field to perfect.

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Around the steel no tortur'd worm shall twine,
No blood of living insect stain my line;
Let me, less cruel, cast feather'd hook,
With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook,
Silent along the mazy margin stray,
And with fur-wrought fly delude the prey

Think of the double haul as a gear change it increases the energy transfered to the line. I haul automatically all the time when using a single handed rod. A double haul makes every aspect of single handed casting easier and more efficient. A haul has a number of benefits:

1. Accuracy improvement
2. Increases distance
3. Carries larger flies with more ease
4. Casting into wind
5. Shorter distances easier to achieve (less effort needed with the rod hand)

I also use a haul when roll casting and spey casting with a single handed rod

A lesson from an instructor and practice should do the trick.

Alberto

I think the double haul is a huge advantage. Just one backcast and a little tug will eliminate all the multi back and forth overhead casts. Its easy to learn, take a look at Sexyloops, there is stacks of info on there. If you dont mind looking like a ******** to the rest of your family, you can learn while watching TV. Use a pencil as the rod, and to the bottom of it attach a zinger. You can now go through all the motions of double hauling with the elastic of the zinger providing some resistance to get the timing right. [you use the pencil/dowel as the rod and the zinger casing in the line hand.] This helps to get the movements right but nothing is better than a one to one lessson.

could add that hauling makes the cast more pleasurable in many ways, lightens the effort of the rod hand, also speeds and tensions the line giving you a nice tight cast, ultimately more control especially with a longer line.

a poll would have let you see who does and doesnt.

I have just started fly fishing and am experimenting with the double haul, I find it quite easy with my #7 wf but the #4/5 with double taperred line takes a little more concentration.

I practice at the local playing field, i find taking my time and not rushing it is the way to go, you have alot more time than you think.

A proper fisher is the one who catches the fish

Deep man!

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[I]"I still don't know why I fish or why other men fish, except that we like it and it makes us think and feel."[/I] Roderick L Haig-Brown

[url]www.wildfly.net[/url]

[url]http://www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk/[/url]

WRONG... those are the words of someone who doesnt understand what fishing is all about.... dont get me wrong, the intention is to catch some fish, but for me and i am sure many of us it is about headspace, unwinding, emptying your mind, meditative contemplation, being close to nature... the moment

it is called fishing NOT catching...

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