Orvis has avoided all that in this podcast, but I’m looking for the Undergrounders to throw down their ideas.

Here, Tom Rosenbaeur and Perk Perkins advise anglers to not push the rod harder and don’t fight the wind, all of which is transparently good advice.

He and Rosenbauer also offer up a few non-controversial ideas, including:

• Keep casts low to the water (less windy there)
• Use a Belgian cast (a constantly loaded elliptical cast) to keep the line moving (haven’t tried it for wind, but it’s handy when you’re casting heavy flies like streamers)
• Use shorter leaders and smaller flies
• Cast a shorter rod

Interestingly, Perkins suggests he does just as well with a mid-flex rod in the wind as he does with a tip flex – something I did once experience fishing 6wts on a lake. I don’t get it, but it was true for me.

Is that simply because moderate tapers suit my casting style, or is there something else? (Discuss)

The Chainsaw Death Match Part

Finally, we get to the good stuff; Lefty Kreh has famously suggested underlining a fly rod by one line weight on windy days, apparently so you can throw tighter loops and generate faster line speeds.

And yes, I tried that once. The results weren’t pretty.

Apparently, Perkins and Rosenbauer don’t think much of the idea either, and in the interest of fomenting an Industry-Wide Death Match between Big-Name Heavy-Hitters, I’ve gotta ask the Undergrounders: has anyone else actually tried this, and had it work (or not)?

In my case, I’d suggest the lighter line loaded the rod less and offered less mass to “boss” the fly.

Perhaps If I’d been throwing a midge, it wouldn’t have mattered, but I was throwing a #14 parachute during a Callaebatis hatch, and eventually switched back to my original 6wt line (the rated line).

I’ve heard of anglers opting to overline a rod by one line weight on a windy day, so clearly, there’s ample room here for violent disagreement discussion.

Obviously, there’s plenty of room to screw around with all this stuff, but after years of mucking about, I simply fish a 6wt when it’s windy. Sometimes the simple solution is the best.

Where do the Undergrounders land on the subject of wind, fly rods, fly lines, and the prospect of an industry blood bath stuff?

Banquet Presentation NCCFFF Festival of Fly Fishing, Lodi California October 11, 2008
by Marty Seldon

I lost a good friend four days ago. Perhaps it was because we were the same age and he was a lot funnier, but I really liked Mel Krieger. Three years ago at the FFF Conclave, we sat at table in Russ’s Livingston Bar and Grill until the wee hours. That week, Russ Chatham had taken Ernie Schwiebert on his last fishing trip and Mel and I sat with Ernie – who was already ravaged by cancer – reminiscing. I feel the same way right now.

Mel, reared in Louisiana and Texas, migrated to San Francisco in 1964, and under the tutelage of that great casting champion university, the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club, soon became one of the best.

Mel had his fly fishing schools, did a youth camp with Mike’s Fly Shop, and put anglers in homes with anglers in New Zealand, he did it all. Mel originated the now predominant FFF Casting Instructor Certification Program, and the FFF Guides Association.

The FFF Board of Directors recently established a committee to investigate another of Mel’s dreams, an Academy of Fly Fishing.

Mel Krieger received the FFF Ambassador Award, the FFF Lifetime Achievement Award and the FFF’s highest honor, the Lapis Lazuli ring. The Federation has recently established the Mel Krieger Casting Instructor Award in his memory to recognize exceptional contributions to casting instruction and to the FFF’s certification program.

My friend Mel spent so much time there that many considered him the “Moses” of Argentina. His Casting Instructor Certification Program has been translated to Spanish and migrated to Spain. Mel also established a foundation that brings Argentinean youth to a summer fly fishing camp.

There will only be one Mel Krieger, and I know that I and many of you will always miss him.

****************
The Celebration of Life Party for Mel Krieger, who passed away on October 7th, is scheduled for Sunday, November 2nd from 3 to 6PM at the Golden Gate Casting Club in San Francisco.  

mel kreiger, fly fishing, fly casting, fff, golden gate casting club

Casting great/fly fishing icon Mel Krieger passed away this morning after battling an undiagnosed sickness that was only recently discovered to be a brain lymphoma.

Krieger’s casting videos, books and clinics taught many how to fly cast, and his methods for doing so were admirably simple.

Boiling away a lot of the obfuscation surrounding casting, Krieger was also an entertainer; he made learning to cast a fun gig, and did so in a non-threatening manner. It was a little like having your kindly grandfather teaching you how to do something enjoyable.

Godspeed, Mel. 

mel krieger, fly casting

From Angling Trade:

According to Hutch Hutchinson, host of the Orvis/Angling Trade Helios Challenge “we’ll have an assortment of casting challenges and obstacles to simulate natural conditions and increase the challenge element.  This unique event isn’t just a great time, it also gives industry conservation efforts a significant boost of exposure.”

It sounds like fun – and yes, it’s an ideal venue for Orvis to introduce their rumoured new line of Helios “Ion” small stream fly rods (the “Ion” series wouldn’t be our first choice for a name, but it’s theirs, and they make way more money than we do, so…)

Like the Bend, OR course, the FFR installation is supposed to feature true-to-life casting problems, though frankly, the Underground wonders how “real” any indoor casting course could be.

After all, how do you simulate “real-life” stream moments like:

• In mid-cast, you realize you didn’t turn off the stove after heating that can of soup
• At dusk, hordes of bloodthirsty mosquitoes descend like the tiny winged hounds of hell, forcing you to cast with one hand while trying to prevent a reverse blood transfusion with the other
• You stayed up late the night before and drank too much; how do you simulate casting with a hangov… wait, it’s FFR, this one’s covered
• With a crowd watching from the far bank, you hook yourself on your own backcast in a part of your back you can’t reach; you have 20 seconds to solve the problem without anyone noticing

Of course, these are just a few real-life conditions I encounter every day, but I’m sure the Underground’s tail-looping hordes can add a few of their own.

How about it Undergrounders: what it would take to develop a truly realistic casting course?

Best suggestion wins a copy of Craig Ballenger’s not-lauded-nearly enough book: “Shasta’s Headwaters – an Angler’s Guide to the Upper Sacramento and McCloud Rivers.”

Undergrounders, the contest floor is yours.

fly fishing, fly casting, casting competition, ffr, orvis, angling trade, booke giveaway

The Orvis shop in Old Mill lies at the start and finish of an 18-station casting course.

Most of the growth in “outdoor” sports is occurring courtesy a competitive angle (e.g. competitive bass fishing, competitive hunting, “action” pistol events, retriever competition, etc.), yet competitive fly fishing has yet to take hold in the USA (despite several attempts).

But competitive casting on a closed, “real-world” style course? Hmmmm.

Let’s face it; wild trout and their environs aren’t particularly well suited to competitions, but the technical act of fly casting almost certainly is.

And while regular readers know I’m hardly a cheerleader for the fly fishing industry, I do think this is an idea with merit.

We don’t force our wild trout populations through the competitive ringer, and I could see weekend competitions acquiring the patina of a social event – much like the action pistol competitions (the fastest-growing shooting sports), where largely low-key competition is almost always followed by a barbecue.

Of course, I see growth in a worthy sport. The fly fishing industry no doubt sees growth in sales of a new line of competition-only fly rods.

How’s the course work?

Like golf, each station on the course will have a par score. Depending on the station, experts will be able to hit par in one to two casts, intermediates in three to four casts and beginners in five to six casts.

Scorecards will be distributed at the store, and those with the best scores will have their names affixed to a store plaque, Tibbett said.

The course will be free and open to the public. It is being developed in partnership with The Old Mill District.

“Really, the whole fly-fishing business is abuzz about it because it could be the start of a whole new thing,” Tibbett said. “It’s been talked about, apart from grass-roots events where you throw a Hula-Hoop on the lawn, but it’s never been taken to this level. The Old Mill (District) really has gone out of its way to make this happen.”

Did they mention golf? Damnit. Fly fishermen already look ridiculous, and adding lime-green plus fours to our competitive outfits isn’t going to help.

I’m trying to get past it.

So I’m putting the question to the Undergrounders (especially those living in urban areas): would a “Casting Course” style competition (with hints of sporting clays, golf, and barbecued food) interest you? Or should urban anglers get used to fishing ditches for carp?

Is this a Big Thing for the industry, or just a recession-mired fly fishing industry making hopeful noises?

As always, Undergrounders, the floor is yours:

fly fishing, fly casting, fly rod, orvis, bend, casting course, old mill