The Basic Double Haul (14 of 16)

Hi. I'm Pete Kutzer, from the Orvis Fly Fishing Schools. Today, we're going to talk about the double-haul, and making a quick presentation towards moving fish. There are times when we do have to gain a little bit more line speed; let's say we're dealing with windy conditions, casting larger flies, maybe a little bit more distance, and that's when the double haul is going to come in play. Believe it or not, I use the double-haul whenever I cast over 30 feet. It actually takes a lot of strain off of our casting hand. It makes that cast easier, when you're dealing with those longer distances. Before you start the double-haul, you want to make sure you can get that pick up and lay down cast consistently, nice smooth, tight loops; and your shooting line consistently, as well. Once you start to shoot line, then we can think about that double-haul. The double-haul does require a little bit of coordination. It's kind of like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time, however, it's not as difficult as you might think. We can break it down into its very simple forms, but first we need to understand how this cast works. When we make a basic back-cast, we're starting with that forearm, bringing that rod back, then applying that little pop to a stop, or that little flick, then when we come forward, doing the same thing, just in the opposite direction. Think pop to a stop, pop to a stop, with a smooth acceleration in between. When I start to haul, the haul actually does the same thing as that flick to a stop. I'm going to lock out my wrist, and just tug on the line, and you're going to notice that that line starts to jump behind me, and in front of me. There's one key part, though, we have to think about with this double-haul, and that's the reposition. After we tug on this line, we have to drift back to setup for that haul on the forward cast. We come back, haul, and then drift. Setup a haul of maybe 18 to 24 inches, then haul, and drift on the forward cast. Haul and drift, come forward, haul and drift. We don't have to reach all the way back up here by that guide, this is going to contort you a little bit and make it a little difficult to get that haul, just up near the reel, so we're setup for that forward haul, here. Haul reposition, haul reposition. When hauling, or when practicing hauling, you're going to do the same thing. You might make a couple hauls and false cast in between, but then you want to make that nice haul right down by your pocket, shoot that line, and that's going to get that line to roll out. It's a little bit more of an aggressive haul, not too much more, but that's going to help make that final delivery cast. We haul reposition, haul reposition, then when I deliver that cast I'm going to make a nice haul down by my pocket, remember to feather that line back up underneath that finger, closing that bale, and then we can start to strip that line back in, as we're fishing to those fish.