Stop!… For Good Cast
When I was reading through The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing, this tip seemed like it is shouting out to me.
Often a little voice in my head says “What’s so important about stopping the rod anyway?” This is what’s up.
Always remember that the stop is the key component, the one that makes all casting motion work.
A good cast is built by gradually accelerating the rod forward, and stopping it precisely, then changing directions and gradually accelerating the rod backwards, and stopping it again to change course.
If you don’t stop the rod crisply on the forward and backward strokes – if you just slush your way forward and back (wait a minute. Have you been watching me?) with no precise rhyme or reason – you can not load the rod.
Your cast will droop, sag, flutter and die.
The stop is as important a concern as any motion or power in your cast.
Moral of this story. Stop with authority, forward and back, and you will cast farther straighter and more accurately.
Amen!