Good anchor? Line stick?

[bronjuan]

Hey guys,

Just looking for some tips on getting a good anchor. I feel that sometimes I just dont load the rod well, for whatever reason.
I was wondering if this was related to the length of my head, or my tip, or even my leader. it changes even when I change the size/weight of the fly.

Is it just too short for my swing/height, that it's not deep enough in the water? Should I try a cheater?

As a side note, how do I know when I have just too much line stick? When I do the sweep to bring my tip to my right in order to form the anchor in a traditional skagit cast, It feels so heavy...sometimes I cant get it to move without the the tip/fly skipping along the surface towards me.

Hope it makes a little sense...

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Bron

[btree]

I understand your frustration, but I think the easiest way to correct your problem is to either a) get a casting lesson or two, or b) post a video of your casting and we can take a look. It's hard to say what's going on but skagit casting is usually a no brainer for casts up to 70'. Past that some control & timing is necessary which just takes practice. Probably it's the operator rather than the tool

Try using a lighter sink tip or a smaller fly?

[geoffvl]

When you start your cast make sure your raise your rod nice and slow to take all the tension off the line. When you place your anchor count for an extra second so it sinks a bit. Also if you increase the speed of your "back cast" that helps load your rod better than an increase in speed of your forward cast. When my casting starts falling apart getting tired I just go back to the basics and think each movement through. I don't know what line your throwing but with longer lines I find the double spey doesn't work too well and I use the snake roll instead.

[TieFlier]

What kind of set-up are you using? If there is an equipment issue someone here can find it, and if not then we will have a better idea of what to look for when casting.

[SalaR]

Hey guys,

Just looking for some tips on getting a good anchor. I feel that sometimes I just dont load the rod well, for whatever reason.
I was wondering if this was related to the length of my head, or my tip, or even my leader. it changes even when I change the size/weight of the fly.

Is it just too short for my swing/height, that it's not deep enough in the water? Should I try a cheater?

As a side note, how do I know when I have just too much line stick? When I do the sweep to bring my tip to my right in order to form the anchor in a traditional skagit cast, It feels so heavy...sometimes I cant get it to move without the the tip/fly skipping along the surface towards me.

Hope it makes a little sense...

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Bron

Hi Bron..
I know it's easy to say but go onto the Nile Creek web site and read the 4 main steps to spey casting...what I read is that you are actually not understanding what you are doing with that cast...forming an anchor is as simple as waiting...How long is the head you are using,the line(brand) length of tip,,leader length ??
What I really like to teach is to use a 6" length of bright coloured yarn, keep your eyes on it and you will soon have some memory that helps create good habits. If you have a very fast rod then Skagit casting is a differnet animal...Skagit likes slower actions
C

[bronjuan]

Maybe im setting it up for a good anchor, just not waiting long enough. It just seems that some of the tips I use seem to provide a better feel...that resistance you get when you know you're going to bomb one.
I've thrown 70-80 footers before, so I know I can do it...things just fall apart time to time. I can't really fathom needing much more than that on most rivers. I find a lot of people don't understand how far that actually is...kind of like when they estimate the length of their...

Upon reflection, this problem tends to occur later in the day and usually in faster sections...I guess Im either getting impatient and starting my forward motion a little too early. In fast flows, it's hard to keep your anchor directed parallel to where you want your line to go...when it strays, you end up with an L shape..the tip going 90 degrees upstream and the rest of the line parallel to where you wanted to be...

[SalaR]

For years,before we had Skagit lines, we did a compensator cast that allowed us to not only see whats going on with all our line but would also actually develope into a nice cast. The cast is simple to pile up a bunch of line within a few feet of us on the water and accelerate into a loop,utilize the rod as the tool it is ,watch your line slide off the water ,anchor move and then complete the forward stroke. Someone put a name to it "Perry Poke".This cast is a wonderful cast to help you create the slow speed needed to fully appreciate a good spey cast;even Skagit . Scandi is a\something different though. If you use a long piece of yarn on the leader for practice,keep watching as the tail will actually move and position itself directly opposite your loop,a helpful hint and a great tool to actually deliver the cast 180 degrees to the target!
The four rules!
C

Maybe im setting it up for a good anchor, just not waiting long enough. It just seems that some of the tips I use seem to provide a better feel...that resistance you get when you know you're going to bomb one.
I've thrown 70-80 footers before, so I know I can do it...things just fall apart time to time. I can't really fathom needing much more than that on most rivers. I find a lot of people don't understand how far that actually is...kind of like when they estimate the length of their...

Upon reflection, this problem tends to occur later in the day and usually in faster sections...I guess Im either getting impatient and starting my forward motion a little too early. In fast flows, it's hard to keep your anchor directed parallel to where you want your line to go...when it strays, you end up with an L shape..the tip going 90 degrees upstream and the rest of the line parallel to where you wanted to be...