Casting a straight leader

The Casting Connection

January 2025

By Capt. Scott Swartz

Scott Swartz founded the Atlanta Fly Fishing School, which began in 1999. It is the largest such operation in the Southeast and the only Trout Unlimited “Gold Endorsed” school in the United States. His Florida Fly Fishing Schools started in 2008, helping anglers learn to successfully fly fish in saltwater.

Q. My leader piles up and sometimes curves to the side. How do I get my leader to turn over straight?

We call it “spaghetti!” Our casting students know what it means. The line lays out straight as an arrow, but the leader lands in a pile like spaghetti.

There are a couple reasons why a leader might not turn over completely. Some are due to casting, but be sure to look at the construction of the leader. There are leaders specifically designed to not straighten completely such as a Ritz/Harvey leader for long drag free drifts. Drifts are great, but when tossing streamers to the bank you want the fly moving as it lands. To do that requires a straight leader and a tight line.

 Most store-bought leaders turn over well, and there are formulas for construction if you twist your own. Don’t just guess – follow a proven formula. Leaders that are too long, too thin, or don’t taper properly can be difficult.

For good transfer of energy from the fly line the butt section of a leader should be about 60 percent or more of the diameter of the fly line’s tip.

When casting a bulky wind resistant fly, a leader consisting of a longer butt section that quickly tapers to the tippet helps.

Remember to remove memory coils from the leader by running your fingers or leader straightener to stretch and warm the leader. With a correctly constructed tapered leader of the right diameter, and memory coils removed, we have everything in our favor.

Now, let’s look at the cast and how it may cause the leader to pile up or curve.

Not stopping your rod and letting it drop is a major cause of spagetti.

The number one casting culprit of a piled-up leader is not stopping the rod.On the final delivery stroke stop the rod crisply, and do it while the tip is still traveling toward the target. Dropping the rod tip on the final cast is a universal casting fault. Even great fly casters often try to help the final cast dropping the tip in an attempt to “throw” the fly. You cannot throw a fly! You can only pull a line through the air and then unroll it by stopping the rod. Dropping the tip robs energy going to the leader.

Less common causes for leaders not straightening are casting with insufficient power to turn over the fly or with so much power the line stretches and recoils back. Both too much and too little effort can contribute to a bunched-up delivery.

Leaders that “kick” to one side and land with a curve are caused by tracking issues. If you cast straight at and straight away from your target the leader will lay out straight. If you cast with your rod tip going through a semi-circle around your body, or if you twist your wrist out on the back cast and in, on the forward cast, it will result in the leader curving off to the side.

Checking your leaders and casting mechanics will determine the cause of your collapsed leader and hopefully get your casting “straightened out.”

Send comments or your casting questions to: Scott@AtlantaFlyFishingSchool.com