Techy Thursday - Better Back Casts

The Issue

You pick your line up from the water and your back cast immediately snags in the bushes, or low grass behind you...sound familiar? It probably does, it’s an issue I see with the vast majority of clients. Much of the time this can be directly attributed to having too much slack line on the water as you commence pickup, but that’s easily solved: employ a dynamic lift, or simply take a few extra, faster strips before you lift. More often however, you’re opening your casting arc way too much.

The Mechanics

You’re picking your line up off a downward plane, and so bringing your rod back, to say 2 on the back cast (if you still actually use the clockface) creates a rather circular path of your rod tip. This in turn opens up your loop, reduces line speed and by the time your back cast has straightened, if it does, you are securely hooked into the grasses behind.

Solution

First, remove all the slack out of the system by taking a few extra strips of line before immediately beginning a long, smooth, upwards and rearwards lift. Make sure you begin with your rod tip pointed right down to the water. Think of your back cast as an ‘up cast’, smoothly accelerating, squeezing and stopping your rod tip on its upward travel.

The addition of a late, zippy haul as the line leaves the water and you squeeze into the back cast will further assist in generating line speed and ensure your back cast straightens high, tight and tangle free.