[P2] Two-Handed Casting for Stillwater

The Agony and The Ecstasy would be a good title for a Spey Casting movie, as an aspiring Spey Caster must overcome the mechanical challenges of making a cast and the configuration challenges of matching the line to the rod's capability, all in the context of some fishing scenario.  Some of these issues were discussed in a pair of blogs posted here and here.  It can be frustrating putting that first Spey system together and sometimes even the shops get it wrong.  It can also be frustrating to put a cast together because of all the parts and their interdependence.  But when it all comes together and you launch that cast straight, true, and fast to the target the ecstasy is unbelievable, making the agony of learning it worthwhile.

I'll also note that a coach can be of great assistance to help you get started.   Clubs, local fly shops, Spey Claves are all possibilities for finding help to get going.

A 22" Toad picked off with my 3-wt Meiser Trout Spey

There are innumerable resources (books and videos among them) to help an angler learn the art of Spey casting.  The people making them know much more than I do about Spey casting and if I made another one (ignoring the fact I'm not capable) it would not add to the discussion in a significant way. Rather than that, I'll identify resources that helped me and explain what lessons I took from them in my journey to become a better Spey caster.  

For experienced single-handed casters, learning to apply power with the bottom hand rather than the top hand is one of the greatest challenges.  This short video of my buddy illustrates the problem of pushing with the top hand -- when I took the video, my buddy thought his bottom hand was applying this power.

   

Needs More Bottom Hand Power

On stillwater, especially for beginners to two-handed casting, the Skagit Cast is a good starting place, which is what will be covered in this post.

The four parts of the Skagit Cast are the lift, anchor set, sweep, and fire, which are performed smoothly one after another.  If some of these terms are strange, one of my blogs explains the terminology of Spey casting.

• Lift:  Breaks the tension of the line on the water and raises sink tips and heavy flies, as needed, to prepare for the anchor set.
• Anchor Set:  The anchor must be set a rod length from the caster at an angle from 30 to 60 degrees depending upon the target line of the cast.  
• Sweep:  This motion loads the rod and makes a large D-loop to load the road for the cast.
• Fire:  This motion is a small pull with the bottom hand to load the road and launch the fly.  All Spey casts get to the same firing position.  

As we are talking about a trout Spey, we will let Joe Rotter provide a demonstration for us.  His web content (videos and blogs) provide useful information.  Joe doesn't talk about the lift but it is clear in his video.  His key piece of advice is slow down, which is a critical success factor for Spey casting.  Slowing down may be more important than applying power with the bottom hand for being a successful two-handed caster.

Dec Hogan explains the lift motion and tells us why it is important.  Moving water will make this different than the lift is on still water as the water current moving away provides an assist for the lift, which will not be the case in still water.  In a future blog, this will be discussed in more detail.

Simon Gawesworth demonstrates a Snap-T anchor set.  There is much to say about this and in this short blog, we won't be able to cover it.  In another section about consistency, we will come back to it. For now, notice the anchor is set about a one-rod length away from the caster and an angle of about 45 degrees to the intended target line.  For stillwater, I've modified this anchor set.  In moving water the cast changes the direction of the fly from Simon's left shoulder to in front of him.  In stillwater we often cast right back in the same direction.  This difference changes the anchor set motion, which will be covered in another blog.

Bob Gillespie provides some of the best advice you will ever see when he discusses the climbing curve on the sweep.  In a future blog, I will discuss consistency in more detail but for now, it is important to always start with the rod tip on the water and then gradually lift the tip (e.g. climbing curve) until the tip is in the firing position.
The sweep is executed in one plane and the fire in another plane as Ed Ward explains in the first minute of his video, which is a handy way to look at it.  The entirety of this video is a good explanation of the Skagit cast versus other forms of casting.

Simon Gawesworth (again) explains the firing position starting at about 830 in this video.  Critical in the firing position is to get the bottom hand away from your body so it has room to pull the butt of the rod for the cast.  If it is too close to the body then the caster is forced to push the rod away, and the result will be a high effort for a weak cast.

Useful References:
Jon Hazlett from Ashland Fly Shop (Youtube Videos)
Joe Rotter from Red's Fly Shop (Youtube Videos)
Tom Larimer (Youtube Videos)
Spey Casting by Simon Gawesworth does a great job of describing the dynamic activity of Spey Casting in book format.  Particularly valuable are his tips for troubleshooting problems with your casting.  

Two-Handed Spey Casting Techniques by Al Buhr another useful book reference for a Spey caster's library.  It is pricey but can be found used at a more reasonable price.