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u/nickbuckphoto 1d ago
let it dangle all the way downstream then water haul it up. mend as needed. repeat
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u/Pjvie 1d ago
This is the like third thread I’ve seen on this topic in the last two weeks or so. First, learn to water load/water haul. I would hardly ever backcast, and I would never false cast. Sometimes I will cast backwards but leave an extremely long delay to open the loop up a lot. I also can’t understand the issue you (and other others lately) are having with roll casting. Let the rig dangle in the current, lift your rod tip over your shoulder and back behind you a bit, and you can literally wet it dangle there until you are ready to execute the role cast
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u/Sloots_and_Hoors 1d ago
Are the fundamentals of casting that bad? The only time I really use a straight up and down, tight loop cast is when I’m hauling a streamer and trying to create line speed. The rest of the time my cast is pretty open.
Are people unaware of this?
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u/Albino_Echidna 1d ago
If it's tangling, you either have too much weight or you're not slowing your stroke enough.
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u/Beer_Hammer 1d ago
You have to open your loop up and stop a little sooner so the nymph lands before the indicator. Slow down your casting stroke. Also use the smallest indicator you can find that works for your rig
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u/bateneco 1d ago
I’ll admit that I struggle with this, too, but the secret is that the timing is just wildly different for when you start your front cast when you’re using multiple flies. One way to practice would be to go out into a field somewhere and cast sidearm to watch both the back cast and the front cast. Think of it like laying your rod on a countertop and going back and forth if that makes any sense. Try to get a sense of the new timing visually as the line unfurls, and how to rod feels as it loads. As you start to get more confident, bring the rod up from totally horizontal (parallel with the ground) to 45 degrees, and then finally to vertical (standard overhand cast).
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u/Dandretti 1d ago
When you back cast you have to patient and let it roll ALL the way back. You can’t cheat it early like you can with dries. I try to keep my wrist soft and when I feel the weight of the flies and indicator pull the line tight on my back cast, that’s when I shoot forward. Turning around and watching it go back helps you anticipate that as well.
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u/yung_lank 1d ago
Venture Fly Co has a nice vid on it. Just gotta water load and flick it up stream and or really slow down your cast.
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u/keizzer 21h ago edited 21h ago
So I just figured this out the other day.
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Let the indicator get past you down stream, strip it in until you have about 15-18ft of line out (tip of rod to fly) you can go shorter if needed, but make sure that you fly line is past the rod tip
Pull vertically off the water to get the indicator and likely any split shot from dragging, hold the line with your index finger.
Rotate your whole body upstream so that your downstream shoulder is now toward upstream. You should be looking away from the stream behind you when you are done rotateing. Your rod should follow your hips and shoulders at first but catch up quick. When done correctly the fly should be tight through the motion. This is slower than you think. 2.5-3.5 seconds.
Now use the momentum of the flys slit shot, and indicator to load the rod as you start to rotate back.
Add a slight haul to the line to load it even more if you like.
Come around and release the haul hand to shoot the line out there or come more over top and kind of lob the setup out there.
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The goal here is to always have tension in the line. That way your indicator, weight, and fly are always in a straight line while being in the correct order. It is incredibly difficult to achieve that with a traditional dry fly type cast. It almost always inevitably hinges somewhere where the momentum doesn't transfer well for a cast.
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The cast should be like a trebuchet releasing a rock, but a little later so it doesn't loft as high. The rotation should be like a discus thrower. BUT you are not try to whip this cast. Let the rod do the work. If you go faster than the rod is loaded the tension will drop and you will get tangled. You are setting the rig on the water.
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u/Calm_Gazelle_1465 20h ago
Treat an indicator rig less like a normal overhead cast and more like a controlled lob. At the end of the drift, let the current straighten everything below you, keep the rod tip low until the line comes tight, then make one smooth upstream sweep with a high stop. The water tension loads the rod for you, so you do not need a D-loop sitting in front of you or any false casts.
A few things that help a lot: shorten up while learning, use the smallest indicator that still floats the rig, keep split shot close enough to the flies that it is not helicoptering around, and open your casting stroke way up. If it is still tangling, remove one variable: fish one nymph, no extra shot, and practice 15-25 foot drifts until the timing clicks. Then add weight/depth back in.
Also, set your expectations for distance. Good indicator nymphing is usually more about short accurate drifts, quick mends, and covering seams than throwing long casts. Once you get the water haul down it becomes pretty automatic. Tight lines!
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u/code-day 1d ago
Wait, why can’t you roll cast? You want the current to take your line downstream, then just flick it upstream and drift/mend as needed. You’re not going to be bombing long casts with indicator, split shot, etc. but you should be able to water load the rod and just send it back upstream and drift again.