[Julian Nuss]

Hi,

I'm new to spey casting and I have to travel pretty far to get to a body of moving water. Is it possible to practice spey casting on a lawn? I was going to try to rig up a "fuzzy" line to simulate stick on the water. Has anyone else done anything like this? Thanks

 

[MJC]

Lawn Casting

Howdy Julian, Do a search on the forum using grass leader for a search term and you should find enough info on making a grass leader.
Take care, MJC

 

[fredaevans]

MJC, got you covered on the grass leaders.

Just make sure you make them the same length, or longer, than the leaders you'll be using on the water. 'Short' grass leaders just don't have enough 'stick' to allow you to load the rod properly.
fae

 

[Julian Nuss]

Thanks

Sorry that I didn't do a search before asking the question. I think that I have enough info to work with. I'll do some testing and hopefully I will be able to get to water at least once a month. Thanks for your help.

 

[Guest]

Far less proficient than I would like, I did overhear a comment made by Kush at the recent Marlow Bumpus clave that he attributes to Ed Ward and, that being, in effect, to keep your swing a little lower than normal to increase the loading effect. Or words to that effect, so help me god...

mmm

 

[fredaevans]

:>) Not to worry .... that's how you learn

to run the board. TONs of outstanding info on almost any subject you could possibly dream up having to do with fly fishing in general has been posted to the board.

And it's a good idea to bring up 'old stuff' as a 'new question' as the Board, like yourself, has a considerable number of new(er) posters.


fae

 

[kush]

Julian,

I am by no means a grass casting expert, I did it for the first time seriously at Marlow Bumpus' Spey Days this past April. While it is casting, it is different from casting on the water. As Mean Mr. Mustard alludes to, it is all about getting enough stick to load your rod for the cast.

While I did manage to launch a few satisfying casts in the competition, those who had the technique of properly loading the rod on the lawn did it better. This is what concerns me about practicing exclusively on grass. There are definitely aspects of the cast that are the same, but if you used the grass technique on the water you would probably have a hard time getting your line "unstuck" as you would be laying far too much of it down on the much "stickier" water.

Not that I think grass casting is useless - far from it it. I just suggest that you try to cast on water as well, even if it is a pond. Still water is not as pleasant to cast on as moving water, but the "stick" that water provides is what you will be working with when you are fishing. I prefer to practice on moving water, but realistically I do my practicing on still water - it is closer to home.

:devil: however, Ed - I will be practicing my grass casting technique for next April :hehe:

 

[SSPey]

you can add multiple blood knots (every 6 - 12") on the last few feet of leader, with tag ends a few inches long to provide stick.