Roll Casting

During this overview, we will go over the basics of roll casting. Roll casting is a technique that you use when there are obstructions behind you. These obstructions could be a tree or a bush, or even people walking behind you. It is an effective technique for getting your fly to the desired location without getting it hung up and causing you to lose a fly.

To roll cast, you need to set up two points. An anchor point—your fly line hitting the water—and what spey casters call a D-loop. This is the point from the tip of the rod down to the anchor point on the water. So, how do we do this?

First, instead of doing a typical back cast at 10 o’clock, we will lift the rod up to a neutral point, somewhere close to our ear or above our shoulder, at around 12 to 1 o’clock. As you’re lifting your rod, you will come to a stopping point around 1 o’clock. As you do this, you will pause, just like you did with your back cast on the overhead cast.

Your line will naturally make a D shape behind you, between the water and the rod tip. When this happens, you then cast forward, flicking the line in front of you and making a nice straight line. This will make the line roll off the water and land out in the desired location.

As the line travels out, take your opposing hand and replace the line under your trigger finger, letting it ride through freely until it lands. Now that it is in the trigger finger, you will be ready for any strikes that may accuse and take that first hit.