Lefty's style / Open stance

You're right about fresh water guy's & gals having to think about what's behind them (bushes, trees etc.) Good reason to learn to Spey cast !!

Tom when teaching do you promote an open stance? I find that students if given an opportunity to see their back cast are less likely to let it fall, or cast low (I'm sure you do, just a thought). You can have some fun by sitting the student in a lawn chair, get him/her to cast without hitting the ground on the back cast, also if you have a fence handy, use that as an obstacle behind them, they get tired of un-tangling their leader in a hurry.

I've notice a lot of people cast more horizontal then vertical, I think Lefty's to blame for this. I once heard Lefty explain the reason for his style was more to do with a shoulder problem and his physical make up, Gordy have you ever talked to him about this?

Yes...I have talked with Lefty about his almost horizontal rod plane. He feels that it is easier for HIM to cast that way....but not because of an old injury or anything like that.

It has been his experience that many folks cast easier with his style or a modification of it for most casts. Also, that style happens to lend itself very well to flats fishing....especially in windy conditions.

Also remember that Lefty placed himself in sort of a self made, "box" when he came out with his teaching and videos of what he became famous for...."new" techniques of fly casting and teaching of it. Helped deepen his, "nitch" and got lots of press because it flew in the face of what was then considered standard teaching of more vertical and elbow-forward techniques. His famous statement, "The trouble with fly casting is the way it has been taught" peaked the curiosity of many and helped provide grist for his voluminous writings and entertaining presentations.

Problem was, years ago...not, "the way fly casting is taught" but the fact that the concept of STYLE had not been developed. You did it the way your instructor taught you, or you were just plain wrong. If an instructor saw another teaching in a different style, this was sometimes passed off with a comment like, "well he just doesn't understand fly casting." I believe it was Al Kyte who, years ago, coined a definition of, STYLE, as "self optimization". This led to the concept of different styles for different personal anatomies and (later) for different casting and fishing situations.

Now, really good fly fishermen change styles to suit the desired presentation in the face of changing circumstances. 'Their usual way of casting for most situations may be called their, DEFAULT STYLE.

Might check out his old video: "ALL NEW FLY CASTING TECHNIQUES by LEFTY KREH". This was part of Outdoor Safaris International video productions, narrated well by Bill Burrud.

On OPEN STANCE. Tom may have a different answer. Mine is that I use it the way Joan Wulff does, to gain longer drift or a longer stroke and greater rod arc when I need distance. I also use it so that it's easy to SEE my back cast loop.