This lesson is very simple but very important.   It has nothing to do with casting technique yet can make you a far better caster.  It’s one of those I should have had a V-8 moments when you finallydo it and wish you had done it long before.  The trick is the simple suggestion that you mark your fly line.

              First, a word or two about fly line and fly rods.  By now we all know that fly line has different measurement system from other types of fishing lines.  Those lines, be they monofilament, fluorocarbon, dacron , gel sor braid is measured by its breaking strength.  It is 4-lb. test or 25 lb. test or 100 lb. test.  The caveat is that unless the line is Tournament Certified, it is likely it will not break before its advertised strength but well beyond it.  12 lb. test may not break until 15-20 lb. are exerted against it.  Tournament Certified line is guaranteed to break beforethe advertised strength.   That is so anglers going after records will know that their line will break before it reaches its advertised strength.  Line that breaks above its advertised strength makes the accrediting agency for the record put to the next highest level line category.

              Fly line is different.  Instead of lb. test categories, we refer to the weight of the line.  Literally, the line is labeled according to the actual weight (in grains) of the first 30’ of line.  There is a chart that lists the official tolearances for the various weight classifications.  Usually there is a 6-10 grain spread.  If the line fits with that spread it is officially the line weight of that particular category.

              Please note that in recent years, line manufacturers, clever devils that they are, had realized that if they added a little more weight to the line in a particular category, anglers would realize they are making slightly longer casts with that brand over what other brands provide.  So more and more if you buy7-weight line, it may, in fact be 7.5-wt. or even 8-weight or higher line labeled as 7-wt.  Fortunately, almost all fly rods will be able to handle a line size above and a line size below their advertised weight.  But why not be honest and give us 7-wt. line and let us decide we’re going to step up one weight and use genuine 8-wt. line.  Such simple thoughts may be why I don’t have a long line of line companies’ representatives knocking at my door wanting me to come work for them.  Honesty, it seems, is not always the best policy.  But I’ve quit preaching and gone to meddling.

              Anyway, rod companies spend lots of money (or at least the better ones do), designing rods that will have their best performance with the weight of approximately 28’-32’ of a specific weight line hanging off the tip of the rod.  We speak of rods having a “sweet spot.”  This is the spot at which it performs best, meaning it will cast better with that amount of line out the tip.

              Some folks, serioius anglers all, such as the late Jack Kelly, and avid member of our Club prior to his illness and other issues that forced him to move out of state.  Jack was an O.R. nurse at Dosher and quite the perfectionist.  Whenever he bought line for a rod, he would cast it countless times with various lengths of line ou t the tip until he felt the “sweet spot” for that rod with that line.  He would tie a simple small knot (not a knot in the fly line but a knot on the line) at that length and use glue to lock in in place.  After making a cast, he would strip in his line until he felt the small bump in the line which told him he could cast at any moment since the sweet spot was at that bump.

              But tying that knot involves a lot of sensitive work feeling when the rod tells you you have hit the sweet spot.  But if you have multiple reels and lines and multiple rods and reels, it would be a tremendous amount of work making the sweet spot on each line for each rod, particularly if you use different reels for the same rod.    

              Marking your line may not be as precise but it sure is easier and it gets you pretty well in the ball park.  So, here is what you do.  Strip off around 80’ of line.  Start by marking the weight line you are using at both ends of the fly line.  When you have multiple lines and multiple weight rods,  It is nice to be able to look at a reel and tell immediately what weight line you have. 

              Obvioiusly, you want to mark the front of the line since you can see that when you pick up a reel.  But mark the back of the fly line, too, since if you take line off a reel and store it, the end of the line will be on top and it is nice to know what line weight  you have so you don’t have to go to the front mark. 

              In marking line, a long mark is a 5 and a short mark is a one.  So, three short marks and one long marks it 8-wt. line.  Mark is  ——–  —-  —-  —-.

              Going back to the fly line, measure off 16’ of fly line from its beginning and mark it with a marker with a long dash (=5).  Assuming a 9’ leader and 16’ of fly line, that mark is 25’ from the fly.

              Then measure off 25’ and put two long dashes.  This will be invaluable.

              Then measure another 25’ and put three long dashes- 75’ from the fly (assuming a 9’ leader).

              So, now you are out casting or fishing.  You make a cast and start stripping until you get to the doubles lines (50’ from the fly).  You have a 9’ leader and a 9’ rod.  So that 18’.  Subrtact 18 from 50 and your get 32’. 

              32’ is real close to 32’-28’ so you are in the neighborhood of where the fly rod will handle the cast best. 

              Make one more strip and then go into your backcast/forward cast routine.  When the 50’ double mark is at your reel and you have a 9’ rood and a 9’ leader, 9+9 =18 and 50-18=32- pretty close to the sweet spot of the rod.

              Try it, you will like it.  It may be several inches off because the rod’s sweet spot may be 32’ or 30’ or 28’ more or less but you are close enough for government work.

              Then mark off another 25’ and mark off 75’ with three marks.  This is for bragging.

              It is a simple trick but it helps you know when to cast with the greatest efficiency for your rod.

              Please note, this may be different for smaller rods for trout streams where you are not going to be making 50’ casts.  But that’s a whole different kettle of fish.

Comment from Dean Gayther: Orange line.  For old people like me, you can see your loops and back cast much better when your line glows