Practice

[TimDog]

Been doing quite a bit of practice lateley, trying to improve my casting. I was wondering if when you go and practice if you just go out there and wing it, or do you have a structured practice routine that you stick to time after time. Curious to see what other people have come up with regarding their routines, thanks!

[steelspey]

I usually begin by doing the casts which the wind direction allows-either the single or double spey would usually be first. Should I encounter problems with the casts tried, I will then try to figure out what I may be doing wrong and start trying things to correct it. I then cross the river and turn around to practise the same casts from river left. If the casting starts to "break down" I may practise the snake roll or snap-t before going back to the single or double. If I'm really having trouble with a cast, I'll go back to the switch cast for awhile and then try the problem cast again but with a shortened up line(may keep the transition in my hand instead of just outside the tip-top). I'm fortunate in that I live in a town with a river that often can be waded across in some sections-this allows me the opportunity to practice both river right and river left casts during the same practise session. That's my usual routine. If I've been doing a lot of fishing or casting with the mid-belly line I may switch to a short belly line and practise with that for awhile, or, perhaps I'll put on the skagit head and work on my perry poke, wombat, snap-t or double spey with that line(adjusting my stroke to accomodate the different line.

[Tamarack]

Tim, great question. Spey is new for me, so I practice at least weekly.

I stick to a structured routine and practice for no more than an hour at a time because when fatigue sets in my technique suffers.

My current routine includes several different casts. I start with switch casts, move to single speys and wrap things up with a few perry pokes, double speys or snap-ts.

After sticking 3-5 consecutive casts of each, it's time to head home.

[TimDog]

yes I also fatigue after a couple hours, important to remember that you probably make more casts in 2 hrs of practice than in a full day of fishing. Interesting to note that you guys will work on several casts, I tend to only work on 1 or maybe two different casts each time. Each cast I practice starts with form drills using only the head portion of the line, 75ft in this case. Then once form is in good shape I gradually increase distance over 10 min intervals at each distance with 5 min breaks in between each interval, ending with a 5min interval throwing as far as possible. By this time I am usually fatigued, and its time to go home....I also wonder not only how you structure your practices, but for how long you will practice for. Short sessions about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs seem to work best for me.

[Tamarack]

Trying different casts keeps things interesting for me.

The switch warms me up for the single spey. When the single spey falls apart, working on component parts until 3-5 good casts can be made seems like a good approach.

Wrapping things up with a few sustained anchor casts makes me look forward to the next practice.

[BLACK FRANCIS]

i do a cast off one side, say a single spey, then turn myself 90 deg and throw a snake roll then turn and do a single. while practicing on still water this allows me to not have to retrieve the line to set another cast. you can also do the same thing with a double and snap-t or whatever opposite side casts you want to work on. i always try to practice actual fishing casts with change of direction. a few minutes of switch casting to get warmed up then start changing direction. i also always use a longer head than i fish with to make it easier to go back to the fishing head, like swinging two bats to warm up.

the other thing to keep in mind is focusing on what's wrong and what's good. rather than just throwing line around. note each cast and what it may need for improvement. anchor placement, loop shape and weather the line is landing straight.

[Rick J]

really agree with what Nick said - you need to think and watch every cast and not just do it by rote! I have friends who are just starting up and I have to constantly remind them to focus on what they are doing and turn and watch what they are doing. They tend to get in a rut and don't focus on the entire cast - are they starting with the rod tip at the water every time (generally not unless they are thinking about it).

Scott O'Donnell once told me that what I think I am doing is not what I am doing unless I watch what I am doing rather than just try to feel it!! It takes thousands of casts to develop the proper muscle memory

[Dana]

Originally Posted by BLACK FRANCIS

i do a cast off one side, say a single spey, then turn myself 90 deg and throw a snake roll then turn and do a single. while practicing on still water this allows me to not have to retrieve the line to set another cast. you can also do the same thing with a double and snap-t or whatever opposite side casts you want to work on. i always try to practice actual fishing casts with change of direction. a few minutes of switch casting to get warmed up then start changing direction. i also always use a longer head than i fish with to make it easier to go back to the fishing head, like swinging two bats to warm up.

the other thing to keep in mind is focusing on what's wrong and what's good. rather than just throwing line around. note each cast and what it may need for improvement. anchor placement, loop shape and weather the line is landing straight.

SPTV casting practice

[speyforsteel]

I generally practice my best and most used cast-the single spey-to improve/modify it-any big improvements can then be applied to the others
I then go through the snake,double and circle/snap T to keep up on them

When focusing practice for competition I do equal parts of the single and snake at first then work on the weakest of the two(they go back and forth at times) after that

[Klem]

Here are a couple of thoughts on a Practice rountine

Practice structure:
• Have a defined goal
• Have an defined outcome
• Have a measurement of the outcome

Start with a gentle warm-up i.e.
• “Flick-the-tip” with the lower hand only from the stop position
• Form a loop from the “Key” position by pulling down and rotating just before the stop [no need to cast the line just form an oval-loop]
• Now from the “stop” position, lower rod tip [so shaft is parallel to the water and 90 degrees from target] make side way “U” with the tip moving backwards, taking the rod shaft to the “Key” position, then gently fire.

Goals: Several specific areas to work i.e.
• The “Lift”, “Anchor Sets”, dominate or non-dominate casts, all the casts [I combine two casts i.e. three single spey in one direction then return with three Snakes back Oh yes I practice on Stillwater]

Practice Strategy:
• Intense, short goal practice time
• Take breaks
• ALWAYS practice the same goals with non-dominate hand up
• Plan short term goals with long term goals in mind
• Have fun
• Remember you will have peaks and valleys
• Be persistence and consistence
• End practice with your best cast

Observations:
• Most casters push the top hand to early and to hard from the “Key” position during the forward portion of the casting stroke. Work on getting the bottom hand involved.
• Practice at a slow tempo/pace
• Pause between casts or tasks
• Stand tall and proud
• Cradle rod until you “STOP” the rod, then and only then squeeze both hand very briefly to stop the rod

Klem,.....................::::::::::::>
MCI/THCI

[TimDog]

thanks you guys, Klem and Speyforsteel great advice

[Puffin]

I begin with a few downstream right-hand single Speys to get the feel of the particular rod/line combination, then I begin rotating gradually to my right and casting at slight angles (0:15 - 0:30 on a clock face) to specific pieces of water until I wind up ~90 degrees from down stream. I finish with a snake roll back down stream, then repeat the exercise 10 - 15 times, adjusting my effort, timing, and forward cast to obtain the "groove". I then repeat this process with left-hand up. I tend to stop every few minutes and dunk the rod in the water for a few seconds to wet the cork and take a break; I find that upon resuming my practice the next handful of casts are some of my best.

I do a handful of Snap-Ts with either hand up to try and improve my accuracy, then finish with 4 or 5 more of the previously described single Spey routines. I can tell when I start to fatigue; my anchor starts to change. At that point, I head in; if I stay out on the water I begin to over-analyze my casting, which can lead to frustration and trying too hard to fix something that I was doing well earlier in the session.

[xgolfman]

I routinely don't practice...

you should "practice" not throwing other peoples whole freaking running line and head to the backing knot...yes and that's with slickshooter on there..and then handing it back while the line floats into a log jam a mile downriver...

No matter how far you cast...this year i'm going to "practice" throwing rocks in from the other side and scaring the fish back into normal human range...

S--- o ---- is for queers...you should instead go up north with me this fall..g.d. it.....

practice this mofo...

[TimDog]

hahaha!!!!!!!!!

[Hardyreels]

I've been reading this thread, interesting mix of posts. I don't practice casting. I know this may smack of boldness but each time I go to a river I take the rod from it's tube, mount the reel, string things up and fish.