Distance fly casting is the skill of carrying as much line as you can under control and then shooting it, on both the forward and the back cast, so the loop and leader unroll far past where you could ever hold the line statically. You do not need to throw 130 feet to catch fish, since most are caught between 30 and 60 feet, but learning to cast that far builds the control that makes every shorter cast easier. In this How 2 Tuesday I break down the tricks I used to cast a five weight 131 feet.
Watch now: press play on the video above and follow along.
No. Most saltwater fish are caught between 30 and 60 feet, occasionally out to 70 or 80, so you do not need to throw the entire fly line to catch a lot of fish. I practice extreme distance casting because it builds control, timing, and loop shape that make my 40 and 50 foot casts far more comfortable and accurate. It is like an archer who practices at 100 yards to gain confidence at 40. If you can throw 100 feet consistently, the everyday casting distances become easy.
Tom won the Best of the West casting competition at the ISE shows by throwing a standard nine foot five weight rod, an off the shelf reel, and a 90 foot Cortland fly line a measured 131 feet. To get there he unrolled the ten foot leader past the 90 feet of line and shot backing out of the rod tip behind it. Casting backing is unnecessary and not recommended in a real fishing situation, but separating the backing and fly line so they fly out together is the trick to extreme distance.
A five weight forces good technique. You can muscle line out with a ten or twelve weight and get away with mistakes, but a five weight will collapse if you carry too much line in the air or rush the timing. It will not throw the line backward or forward unless your loop shape and shooting are clean. Practicing distance with a five weight makes sure you are actually learning to shoot line rather than overpowering the rod, and those skills transfer to any weight rod you pick up.
Shooting line. Once you can double haul, the key is holding a controlled amount of line in the air, building a sharp bullet shaped loop, and letting line run through your fingers as the loop clears the rod tip so it pulls the running line out behind it. As you progress you shoot line on the back cast too, releasing line as the loop unrolls behind you so your final forward cast carries far more line than you could hold statically. That back cast shoot is the heart of real distance casting.
Distance only counts if the end of the leader unrolls. In a competition that is literally where they measure. In fishing, a 100 foot cast where the leader piles up at 75 feet is a terrible cast that catches nothing, while a 50 foot cast with the leader unrolling straight puts you in great shape. The difference between Tom's record 131 foot cast and his other casts in the 120s was that the leader unrolled fully at the end. Always watch where your leader lands when you practice.
Yes. The more line you can carry in the air under control, the fewer false casts you make and the more velocity, accuracy, and reach you get on the 30 to 60 foot shots where most fish are caught. The best casters roll cast to 30 feet, shoot 10 on the back cast to 40, shoot 10 forward to 50, shoot 20 on the back cast, and fire a final cast to 80, with line going out on both sides. That efficiency works whether you are trout fishing a stream or chasing tarpon on the flats.
I want to be clear up front that you do not have to cast the whole fly line to be a great angler. Almost every fish I catch comes between 30 and 60 feet, occasionally 70 or 80. The reason I still practice extreme distance is the same reason an archer shoots at 100 yards when he will never take an animal that far: it builds confidence and control at the distances that matter. I get into how that mindset shaped my casting in the episode, so watch the video above.
Getting a long cast out of a fly rod is almost identical to getting one out of a spinning rod. Too light a lure and the rod never loads. Too heavy a lure on a limber rod and it collapses into a mess. Match the right rod to the right load and it bends like a drawn bow and launches at 45 degrees. With a fly rod the weight is just spread across 30 or 40 feet of line instead of a three inch lure. I explain why that picture unlocks everything in the video, so press play above.
You can carry 40 feet, maybe 50, and shoot it for a decent cast. Somewhere around 60 or 70 feet of line in the air, physics wins and you simply cannot hold it through a back cast and a forward cast with a clean loop. That is the wall almost every caster hits, and it is exactly where the real technique begins. I show how I get past that wall in the video above.
The trick I lean on hardest is shooting line on the final back cast. I hold whatever amount feels like almost too much, make a big haul, go back, and let about 20 feet run through my fingers as the loop unrolls behind me. Then I clamp down and come through hard. Now I am throwing 70 feet I never had to hold statically, and if I time it right it flies a long way. I demonstrate the hand timing in the episode, so watch above.
Here is how I build distance, one layer at a time. I walk through each piece with examples in the episode.
Watch me demonstrate each of these in the video above.
The takeaway is simple even if the skill is not: distance casting is a tool, not a requirement. Build it and your everyday casts get sharper, faster, and more accurate.
If you want extra reach, practice holding more line, shoot it on your final cast, watch your leader unroll, and keep your line clean. Get out in the grass and put in the reps. Watch the video above and follow along.
distance fly casting · double haul · shooting line · five weight fly rod · loop shape · the leader unrolling · backing · Best of the West casting competition · ISE shows · Cortland fly line · tarpon on the flats · trout · sailfish · How 2 Tuesday
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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