Improve Your Cast By Controlling Your Wrist

Fly-casting instructors are a bunch of liars.

Our lies are well intentioned, mind you. We do it as a way of helping our students execute their casts properly, and it usually works.

Let me give you an example:

One of the most common lies in fly-casting is that you should never bend, or flex, your wrist. The truth is that the wrist can be very important to good casting. A little "rotation" at the right moment will generate a useful burst of speed that can't be achieved any other way.

Why do we lie about this?

We lie, because this "power snap" is a very precise movement applied at a very specific moment, just as you're finishing the casting stroke. If you bend your wrist too much or at the wrong time, your cast loses focus and power. You literally pull the cast apart. But that tends to be more information than most first-time students (and many more-advanced casters) can absorb. Simple instructions are easier to execute.

There is a health concern as well. Casters who use a lot of wrist are prone to certain repetitive stress injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome in particular. Bringing your wrist under control sure beats a visit with the doctor.

The most effective remedy for a floppy wrist is to tell a student to never bend it at all, to always keep it straight or "tight." Chronic "wristers" can even buy a casting aid known as a Wristlock.

Some bending is inevitable, at least that's my belief. But once the student starts thinking in terms of keeping the wrist straight, he or she starts to gain control. The result is a wrist that bends just a bit at the end of the stroke, and that leads to a better cast.

So forgive us our little lies; we mean well. And keep that wrist straight.