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On the Saltwater quick cast I have not seen anyone discuss the fly in the rod hand method of casting.
This was taught to me by Al Crise as the way to hold the fly to make this cast. Reason being to eliminate the possibility of being hooked when the boat would rock. Also freeing up the line hand to provide better line control and line management while staging and moving line to make the cast.
I have found that I can make the cast by casting the fly out in front of me toward the target area and then make one good back cast 180 degrees away from my intended target and then send the fly to the 60'+ distance as needed with good accuracy.
Gordy your Saltwater class at Yellowstone demonstrated staging the line back into the lower section of the Skiff is the best option, keeping it out of the wind, however it may require a good line Steward to watch over the line if that can be arranged.
I have heard that on most trips especially when hunting permit, it is best shared with a good fishing partner, who can take turns to make the trip successful by managing your partners line during the trip. I am only providing this input on feed back from experienced anglers of the permit. I hope to someday experience this process and meet the challenges as expressed by those first hand.
Keeping the line in a position best suited to shooting, and stripping out once a fish is on is critical. Between the legs if a lower skiff section is not available is another alternative and making sure the line is not caught on any item as you have referenced and duct tape those parts that might hold true on line control and management. This being the most critical aspect while fishing for these game fish.
In the flat's, you will be walking with the line out the rod tip. Good control is needed at all times to present the fly as need to the game. I for one would test the conditions as I approached the flat. Knowing what and I can and can not accomplish based on the conditions would be my deciding factors when approaching a flat. Quick cast could be an ingredient. Some Spey casting could be an approach to the fish depending on the conditions. The important thing is to have the tool box needed to approach the conditions.
Thanks Gordy and all the members for the great input regarding the subject.
All the best
Gary Davison
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[GH] Gary,
Right. No one did come in with the method of holding the fly in the rod hand. Ol Al told me he had learned that as an alternative from Lefty. That is clearly depicted in Lefty Kreh's book to which I made reference. Lefty gives credit to Mike O'Brien who is a guide on the Susquehanna River (A great fishery for striped bass) On that subject, he wrote, "Experiment to find what works best for you." *
The method of stripping line down into the cockpit of the skiff makes it much less likely that the angler will need a "line handler" or steward. I'll almost alays do that if I'm fishing alone with no one else aboard to assist. That refers to the running line that I'm going to shoot out...NOT the line coils draped from my finger(s) as part of the speed cast set-up.
Joan Wulff, sometimes allows that longest loop to trail a bit in the water claiming that it helps with loading (if there are no weeds to catch on the line.) ** Lefty feels that having the cast pluck the fly from your grasp helps with that load. I agree.
When permit fishing, many anglers get right up to the forepeak... way up as far as they can get forward to the tip of the bow of the skiff. They place the line on the deck there, and the wind may well blow it off into the water unless they have a buddy to keep sweeping it from the gunwale. That extra 4 feet, to me, is meaningless for a competent caster.
On your "between the legs" comment : For many anglers that works well. Lefty keeps his "Line Tamer" there. With no device to hold the line, however, and the line on the foredeck, it is a lot more likely that the angler will step on the line. Remember, "Standing on your line does nothing to improve the cast !!!!" For that reason, many of us fish barefoot so we can feel the line if it ever does get under foot.
When wading the flat, the most important thing is to maintain line control. That means being realistic about the fact you won't be casting great distances and so you need less line out of the rod tip. Your finger-held loops are generally smaller; especially if you have to crouch way down on clear, calm "spooky-fish" days. Even more so if you have fish so nervous that you have to keep your rod tip down and cast almost horizontally. You usually can get a lot closer to the fish than you can with two anglers on a skiff.... one of them way up on the push pole platform holding a 22 foot long pole especially if there is some "wave slap"on the hull.
Things up high scare the daylights out of permit. That brings up the argument as to whether it really is a good idea to have a raised little casting platform on the casting deck. I do much better without it, but many guides have one because one of their biggest problems is that their anglers can't see the fish. They do a little better spotting a fish that the guide has seen if they are up a bit higher. A trade-off.
Gordy
* CASTING with LEFTY KREH, by Lefty Kreh, 2008, p.380
** Joan Wullf's FLY CASTING TECHNIQUES, by Joan Wulff, pp. 212-215, & Drawing, "The Ready Position", p 213.
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