From Jim White – As the Director of Education for the Cape Fear Flyfishers, I have missed a golden opportunity to encourage all of you to practice your casting. There are multiple benefits: you get to go outside, you get to mess around with your fly rod(s) and you begin to grow more confident or at least identify areas where you need some help.

The importance of practice cannot be overestimated.  Of all the recommendations I have seen and heard, the most compelling is by noted fly angler, guide and TV personality Flip Pallot.  His remarks are widely available but a link to them is listed below.

Several years ago, I had the privilege of spending two days with Flip and the late Lefty Kreh.  In person, Flip gave an impassioned plea for us all to practice no matter what our skill level.  It’s not quite like being able to ride a bike in that you can lose the touch fairly quickly.

Flip points out that our credit cards can help us do a lot of things in fly fishing.  With a good card we can buy the best rods, reels and line made.  We can buy incredible flies and fancy waders.  We can buy club memberships and plane tickets to famous lodges around the world.  We can hire the best guides for as many trips-of-a-lifetime. 

But, he says with all the seriousness he can muster, if we can’t deliver a fly the last 40’ with a good cast, we are wasting our money, the guide’s time and are demeaning both the fish and our sport.

The last 40’.  If you can’t make that last 40’, Flip may take your money but he won’t let you go on his boat.  It is a waste of his time and at his age, he doesn’t need the aggravation. 

If you want lessons, he’ll work with you.  But he won’t take you fishing until you can cast that last 40’.

There is a danger in practicing, though.  The danger is we will reinforce bad habits through repetition.  That will lead to frustration and may be enough to drive us to give up the sport, saying it is too hard.

The fact of the matter is that fly casting is hard because we make it hard.  The harder we try to make the fly rod cast well, the worse our casting will be.  In subsequent posts in this series, you will get insights from some of the tricks of great fly anglers to help you in your practice- in getting the skill to make the last 40’.

Here’s the link to Flip – Click Here