Good Evening, When you cast a fly line I have seen people cast the rod two or three times and then leave it there and then retrive the line. On the first couple of casts does the fly, leader or tippet touch the surface of the water???
Im slightly confused!!!!

Michael

What you are describing sounds like false casting, either to stabilise the cast, let a little line out, dry a fly, change direction slightly, or just out of habit. Best kept to a minimum, and certainly no part of the fly line or leder/fly should touch the water whilst doing it.

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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

I think it is an over head cast and i think you do it to get distance on the fly? but during getting the distance does the fly touch the water???

the fly and line should not touch the water until you are actually casting, as it may spook the fish.hence its name of false casting as you are not completing the cast, and as codename has said it is often done to dry a fly as well as to gain distance.
as codename has also said best keep it to a minimum as it just wastes energy making false cast after false cast.

some do it out of habit , and i have personally found with the little experience i have i have been able to cut it down to just 2 - 3 false casts before getting the distance i want or very rarely i have been able to get the distance i want with only 1 false cast.

its all about slowing the cast right down and allowing the rod to do its job though this is personal experience as before i thought to get power and distance i had to move with it and force more speed energy into the casting arm , but it felt wrong so i started to slow right down and felt the line / rod and when you get a good cast you can feel it through the rod and down the line into your stripping hand.

Thanks I understand now!!! Also when I was practising my casting the other day when the line was behind me it was making a cracking noise. Do I need to be softer with my casting or is it somthing else.

Michael

those who have been at this game for a number of years will give you a better answer , but i will try and help for now.

if you are getting a cracking sound on the forward cast you are going to fast and causing it to whip possibly braking your wrist as your coming forward again. completely slow it down and think of the rod as nothing more but an extension to your arm as its the flex / bend in the rod that dose the work in getting the line out there ( also weight of the line ).
how far forward are you bringing your arm on the forward cast ? as you may be brining it to far.

its worse if your casting a gold bead fly as the bead can hit the blank and damage the blank.

Micheal, a cracking noise at the end of your backcast is normally caused by satrting the forward cast before the loop has fully unrolled in the back.

Frank

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Frank Williams APGAI

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Thanks for your help

Michael

Did you have anything attached to the end of the line when practising? if not, tie a small piece of wool to it. I seem to remember doing that many years ago.

No i didnt have anything attached to the end.