The Art of Casting a Fly

The zen of the false cast, the science of fly selection, the religion of the rod itself--it's all here for both the wannabe angler and the wader-clad stream veteran who's caught it all. -- Ken Ringle, author of Fly Fishing for Alligators and Other Tales Do you want to learn how to cast a fly? Read this book. Do you want to know why your casts end up looking like eagle's nests? Read this book. Do you want to make longer casts? Read this book. Do you want to start having fun fly-fishing? Read this book. The key to unlocking the magnificent sporting world of fly-fishing is the cast. Casting is the key to acquiring this life-long enjoyment. It is so important it is the reason I focus just on casting the fly. Certainly, there is so much, much more to fly-fishing. The beauty of fly-fishing is that one need take on only what is desired and comfortable. No need to learn how to make 60-foot casts if one just fishes in brooks. Just as there's no need to dress flies if buying them fills the creel. One can spend a fortune on all sorts of plain and fancy fishing equipment, but I had my best fly-fishing fun wading in jeans and sneaks with a box of favorite flies in my shirt pocket. What really makes this Treatise special is the gifted and meticulous artwork of my bride, Vera Claire, in the renditions of fishes and all forms of artificial flies and lures. Her precise entomological drawings may clue the waterside fisherman on what the fishes may be eating, and increase the luck by using a similar imitation fly. The renderings are a validation of the art and skill needed to dress the vast variety of artificial flies and lures, actual and invented. They belong in a museum but work better at the end of a fly-line.