Tips For Casting Bass Bugs (8 of 16)

Tom: In fly fishing, the line propels the fly. In spin fishing, casting the lure propels the line to the target. It's important to understand you don't need to make long casts to catch a bass on a fly. Simple casts of 20 to 30 feet will be fine. Now let's visit my friend Pete Kutzer from the Orvis Fly Fishing Schools for some tips on casting big bass bugs in the wind.

Pete: Hi, I'm Pete Kutzer from the Orvis Fly Fishing Schools. Today we're going to talk about tips on how to cast in windy conditions. Wind can be a little bit intimidating. For some folks trying to cast that fly in those windy conditions can be a little bit difficult. However, there are some things we can do to help deal with that wind. A wind coming at you, a wind coming at your non-casting shoulder, a wind coming at your casting shoulder, or behind you; there are different casts we can do for each one of these situations.

Let's start off with the wind coming directly at you. The wind coming straight at you is not the worst wind to deal with. There are a couple of things we can do. The first is make a low angle cast and get below the wind. If we can send that fly out underneath the wind, we can deliver that fly to our target. Watch shore birds when they're flying around at the beach. They almost fly between the waves, there's a lot less wind down low. Another option is to make a high angle back cast and drive that fly down through the wind, down to the water. You don't get the best presentation when you're making that cast, but it can help deal with those windy conditions.

When you're dealing with the wind coming at your non-casting shoulder, I'm right handed, so if that wind was blowing at my left shoulder, what I might have to do is compensate for that wind a little bit. I can send that fly a little bit more to the left of that target, and hopefully that wind will blow it on track. Or just like with that wind coming at me, I can cast below the wind, making that low angle cast and getting that fly out to target.

If I have a wind blowing at my back, that wind can be a little more difficult than you think. You want to make a low angle back cast and get that line underneath the wind. Make sure that line gets out nice and straight, and then we can make that higher angle forward cast. The cast almost looks a little bit like an oval. We're going to make a low back cast, bring the rod tip up, then a high forward cast to deliver that fly out to our target.

The worst wind you can deal with is the wind blowing at your casting shoulder. When you're dealing with that wind that can in some cases, blow that fly right into you, hooking yourself. I've hooked myself in the neck, in the ear, in the back, even in the rear end. It's not very comfortable. So there are a couple of techniques. One technique is actually taking that rod tip and angling it over your left hand shoulder. Make a high angle cast, and get that line off your shoulder, above you. One friend used to describe it as combing your hair. Comb your hair, that's going to keep that fly off of that left shoulder.

Another technique is to switch hands. Practice casting with your non- dominant hand. I practice all the time and it really does help in those windy conditions. But perhaps the easiest technique to deal with those windy conditions at your casting shoulder is to simply turn your back to the wind. And make a back cast delivering that fly to the fish. That's going to keep that fly well away from you, keep you nice and safe and help you catch more fish.