Ed Jaworowski's Functional Fly Casting Part 5: Real-Life Casting

Casting is a means to an end. It's really about fishing. Fixed instructions about starting and stopping points, casting planes, directions, stroke lengths, and rod paths may sometimes be good advice, but they can also make some casts difficult or even impossible to make when you're faced with certain real-life fishing challenges. In my previous articles in this series, I've discussed important aspects of acceleration, hand/rod rotation, leverage involving arm and body, and critical rod/line angles. Although space limits the number of situations and the kinds of casts I can address, and the detail I can include, I'll provide here a few examples that illustrate how to adapt those physical principles to the requirements of various situations you'll encounter on the water. Each of these, and a dozen others, could easily warrant a full article or a chapter in a book.