# How long to leave the fly in?



## aerialjc (May 24, 2009)

Now that I have the casting down to a crude science. My arm is worn out but it is well worth it because this fly fishing is awesome. 

One more question... When I was casting the fly, I had no idea of how long to leave it in the water. Do I just keep casting it in one spot or do I pull it in slowly and then cast again? I guess it would depend on what type of fly you use. I'm trying to just use the glass minnows or clouser.? It seemed like all I was doing was casting all day and not fishing.


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

Cast to your maximum, then strip the fly almost all the way back to you. Don't come completely in, so you will have a little line to cast with. Then, repeat. This will allow you to cover water. Vary your strip to provide different action to the fly.


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## aerialjc (May 24, 2009)

Thanks for the advice. BTW...you have one sick boat!:clap One day...the wife might let me upgrade. Yeah right. :looser


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## Hunter (Sep 16, 2009)

yea you would want to very your stripping.that would help alot with the action of your fly.


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

wrong


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## aerialjc (May 24, 2009)

> *a (1/3/2010)*wrong


What?


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## Hunter (Sep 16, 2009)

so your saying that diffrent speeds are not going to change the action of a fly?:doh


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

His question was,

"how long do i leave the fly in the water?"

He should lay all of the "fat" portion of the weight forward fly line out in the yard, and tye a nail knot where he can feel it in his fingers at the start of each cast. That way he'll be able to recognize the correct weight of the line. Otherwise its a different cast each time. Its that weight recognition, that determines how much line to shoot on the next false cast. Keep the rod tip DOWN, any slack line outside the rod tip will reduce efficency, and keep his rod from loading correctly on the backcast. If the fat portion of the fly line is retrieved too far past the rodtip it will be near impossible to make a decent initial backcast.

You are correct in that varying the retrieve will be more attractive to the fish. But remember, different than gear fishing, all action to the fly is imparted with the retrieving hand.


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## CaptHarry (Oct 13, 2007)

Really depends on what line your fishing. Floating, just a pause after it lands and start stripping. Intermediate or sinking line, let it sit and sink for the amount of time it needs to get down to the depth you need, then start stripping. Think how you fish conventional tackle. Sometimes you let it sit before moving, some times you reel/jig differently,fast slow, etc...to get different actions. Same on the fly, just different stripping strokes instead of reeling. Just think about what you are doing and how that is making the fly move. I hope that helps. I fish my fly all the way to the rod, and leave just a few feet out when I stop. I've caught plenty o fish that followed all the way to the boat. Just a few false casts will get the head of the line back out, loaded, and ready to fire. 

a, I thought your reply was pretty ass hat, especially for someone who was also asking for help not long ago.http://pensacolafishingforum.com/fishingforum/Topic412352-53-1.aspx#bm412894I guess your trying to get your post count up.

Just sayin!

L8, Harry


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

You may not like how i presented it, but the info is correct....in contrast to yours.As beginner i would not reccomend using a sinking line to learn on. How many false casts are required to get the working part of the line out when you strip the fly to the tip?I can see you shaking that "thang" already! The guy is getting tired of casting and wants to fish.Ican cast the entire flyline with one backcast using this method, which, was taught to me by chico, lefty, Steve Rajeffand a few other master casting instructors,nearly 20 years ago. Obviously im not as eloquent as you. Sorry! And you surely have a right to express your opinion.


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## CaptHarry (Oct 13, 2007)

Your second reply was fine, your firstpost of just "Wrong" was the douchey one.After looking back through some of your other posts, I can see that your way is the only way with any advice given, and that we should all assimilate to your way of thinking. ...oh, andname dropping doesn't impess me.

I didn't recommendany lines,just simply didn't know what kind of line he was throwing and making my response fit as much as I could, or .........I don't know maybe for when he starts using one of those lines.While you may not agree, my info is correct for how I fish (as well as many others), but really justtrying to lethim knowwhat Ihave done to catch fish. Your way is not wrong, I would pick up the full head for a single backcast as well if I was sight fishing, knew where fish were holding,knew the fly was past the strike zone, etc.... But, if I am just blind casting and working some water, I'd strip it all the way in to cover that last bit of water. Lots of specs love to hit it right at the boat. 

For any of you guys starting out (and anyone else), give me a shout and you are welcome to fish with me anytime. I'm no expert, Idon't havethe typical fly fishingelitest attitude, but I can pass along the knowledge that others have given me in the same way they did, by fishing/catching......and maybe over a beer or two. I'll also learn from you, everyonehas something that the other doesn't know.

L8, Harry


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## FlyLipps (Oct 3, 2007)

I guess I have a slightly different take on what the original question was, I am thinking he is asking more of a retrieve question than a casting question, but I could surely be wrong. But if it is a retrieve question there are many variations of retrieve, some slow some fast. A very common and popular retrieve for the clouser is simply; short strip, short strip, pause, long strip, long pause, then repeat, short strip, short strip...etc. However some fish. such as spanish mackeral and bonito, like baits that seem to be fleeing away in rapid darts. This will require a much quicker strip and sometimes even a two handed strip, with the rod tucked securely under your arm. And while it may seem that all you do is cast, I doubt very seriously that you are making any where near as many casts as you would with a spinning rod. It is just that in the beginning we tend to make more false casts than is necessary, therefore it feels like all you do is cast. Most fly fishing shows are geared toward sight casting, it makes for better TV! But I am one of the few fly fisherman who actually enjoy blind casting. Blind casting with a fly rod requires a lot more stamina than using a spinning rod, but if you really enjoy casting, as I do, a well executed cast is its own reward.



On another note I have to agree with Capt. Harry, there really wasn't a need for the "wrong" reply. That, in itself, was neither instructive or necessary. I am always amazed at how many fly fishing experts post on this site and how few of them ever give any real reports of catching any fish on the fly. I have seen and read reports from the likes of True King, Capt. Harry, Capt Bob Quarles, Flynurse, maps, Russian, and a few others. Their reports are informative and back up what they have to say. On the other hand, there always seem to be a large number of "experts" that never post a report of catching any fish or even one of "not catching any fish". Instead they just give advice on the expert way to cast, retrieve, or tie a fly. For those that do post reports and I have not mentioned your name I apologize, these were simply the ones that came to mind.


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## Pathfinder (Oct 9, 2007)

CaptHarry I like your PRESENTATION better tha a's.


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## Pathfinder (Oct 9, 2007)

Well stated and presented FlyLipps!


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## aerialjc (May 24, 2009)

Yes Flylipps,It was a retrieval question. It would just cast after cast because it was too damn fun. I know I wasn't going to catch anything (maybe). I just really had no idea how long to leave it in the water or how to bring it back. After all the help, I know have a better understanding of what to do. I still really like just casting because its so damn cool. Unfortunatly, my arm gets worn out. Maybe one day I'll actually stop messing around and try to catch a fish. Thanks again everyone for the advice.


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## FlyLipps (Oct 3, 2007)

I have read in many fly casting books and articles that if your arm is tired or sore after a day of fishing then you are doing something wrong. I really took this to heart my first year or so of casting. But while I don't seem to be as tired or sore as I used to, a whole day of casting will sure enough take it out of you. It wasn't till later that I realized that this axiom may be true for throwing a 4 wt 24-40 feet on a small trout stream, it surely wasn't true for blind casting an 8 weight 70-90 feet for 8-10 straight hours. When I call it quits at the end of the day I am TIRED! But "it is a good tired", or at least it is a "tired" I long for during these hard, cold days of winter. There is no doubt that in the beginning you put more effort into using the wrong muscles, trying to force your cast. And it is a problem that I still deal with all the time. But whether it is that you get stronger or your cast becomes more efficient, it does get better. Good luck and enjoy your casting.


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## runningguy (Jun 21, 2009)

Cast the fly out the best you can. Strip slow, fast, short long. It doesn't matter if you are having fun and fishing. Enjoy the sport for what it is. Hell, I have caught fish with the fly just sittin in the water while I have a cold one. Just go fishing and try it all. Good luck


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