Dealing With “Hang Overs”
The Casting Connection
December 2024
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. A. I like to cast under cover toward shade. I can usually do it with my spinning rod, but how do I do it with a fly rod?
Casting under low overhanging limbs and structure like boat docks can be tough on the fly. The smaller the window the tougher it gets. Really tight gets nearly impossible. A side arm cast to keep the loop low and horizontal is the ticket. But, how low can you go? Many fly casters don’t realize how high an angle their side arm cast is. Few are proficient casting at an angle much greater than 45 degrees. Ideally, we need to get to 90 degrees, or 3 o’clock on the clock face for a right hander, to make the lowest possible cast.
Look at how high an overhead cast delivers a fly. A caster with a 9-foot rod, holding the rod butt 5 feet off the ground, casting a 4-foot loop puts the fly 18 feet in the air. The 1- or 2-o’clock sidearm position still has the fly riding high. To cast a fly straight side arm at 3 o’clock, you must greatly increase line speed or gravity will win, dragging your fly and line on the water. This angle takes practice to master the speed necessary to keep your fly airborne.
Getting up under the shading foliage can be a problem. Photo by Jimmy Jacobs.
In addition to casting sidearm, you might find it helps to try an underhand cast. By changing the direction, the rod tip is traveling during the stop, you control the way the loop unrolls. The goal is to have the fly delivered lower than the line. It’s the opposite of an overhead cast where the fly is delivered on top of the unrolling loop. In the overhead cast the fly is on top because the stop at the end of the cast has the rod tip traveling down. To execute the underhand cast simply cast side arm, as near to horizontal as possible, and as you stop at the end of the final forward casting stroke, lift the rod tip up slightly. This way the following fly line and fly will pass under the rod tip and the loop will form upside down. The loop and fly line unrolling upside down can make for a very low presentation.
It is risky to intentionally tangle with timber. You might want to fish barbless and perhaps with a weed guard, too, as hang-ups are inevitable. It can be worth trying to get your fly to the best sheltering lies. You never know what might be lurking in the shadows.
Send comments or your casting questions to: Scott@AtlantaFlyFishingSchool.com
