Now I can cast well, why don’t I catch more fish?

The simple answer to this little, or large problem, is fairly straightforward – Discipline!!
Be it the physical aspect of casting the fly to present it in the correct manner, or reading the river properly, all facets of fly-fishing for salmon [and I say “fly”, not lure fishing here], are challenging, and require great discipline for any human being. Although we are hunting, we are not hunting to stay alive, our lives are not at risk! However, on the inside, we are all driven by primeval instinct, but interestingly, we are also competitive by nature and find it really difficult to control both, especially in the “extremely unlevel playing field” of salmon fishing;, but why?
Primeval hunting instincts and methods learned from others point us to where the fish are likely to be resting and how best to present our fly in each particular pool. However, our competitive nature blinkers all of us, playing tricks with our mind, clouding our primeval instinct by focusing on how far we can throw the line rather than “hunting” our fish!
There are times when casting a long line will help catch a fish, but I have to say, those are few and far between. Many more fish are missed by fly-fishermen because they fail to read the water properly, focusing on casting as far as they can, covering as much water as possible rather than the manner in which the fly is fishing in a particular part of the pool.
Essentially, our desire to cover more water is stronger than that of thinking where the fish may be and covering that area of the pool accordingly.
Modern rods and lines present casters of mediocre ability to make casts of 35 yards or more, something which in the past could only be achieved by the best of casters. What nearly all fail to take account of is – The influence of the current between the rod point and the fly. The greater this distance the less potential control the angler has on the fly.
Time spent reading the river and observing the effect of the current on your fly, ultimately will provide you with many more takes and salmon landed. Throwing a pointless, ill judged and poorly executed long line, in the unlevel playing field which is salmon fishing, will get you nowhere.
Concluding – Other than salmon being present in the pool you are fishing, I believe, presenting your fly properly to salmon is the most important ingredient in catching them. Trust your instinct, hunt the fish, rather than have you fishing day degenerate into a “Casting” day! Discipline yourself, fish for the fish and not the far bank.




The picture above shows the effect of casting an overly long line at the wrong angle, the fly is now being “Dragged” around near the surface, fine in the summer or in warm water, but not in the spring. In this case and to fish the best part of the pool, the angler needs to wade deeper, use a shorter line, holding the rod tip higher than he would in the summer.