On Sat, 3 May 2008 17:05:16 -0700, "Bob Weinberger"
wrote:

Even for those longer casts, a person rigged up as you describe is far
better off using water loading rather than false casting to get the line out
and reach the distance. The open looped slow line speed techniques
required to false cast such rigs without tangles are not all that good for
distance casting, and are next to impossible to execute effectively in the
presence of wind.

While I agree with the water loading, there are situations where I can
not load the rod that way. One specific spot is a 50+ foot cast
across a couple of currents, and the entire distance the fly travels
is 25 feet and that is directly in front of me (and only half that
distance is drag free). There is no way to water load the rod. The
fly has to be retrieved (sometimes getting hits) before casting again.

I disagree with your assertion that such fishing is not nymphing. For
the first few seconds there is a drag free drift until the current
overtcomes my mends. Most of the takes at this spot are soon after
the fly hits the water, ie during its drag free short journey. After
that, your description of swinging a wet fly would apply.

The only way to fish the spot is exactly as I have described, and you
can only reach it from one spot on the river. I call the spot "Flat
Top". It has three feeding lines that are fished with a conventional
upstream nymph cast of 20 feet, keeping as much line off of the water
as possible, and when the fly gets downstream, a circle cast without
false casting will bring the fly upstream to one of the three feeding
lines. However, knowing that there is that little honey spot fifty or
so feet away, is just too much to ignore, especially since some of my
biggest landlocks (25 inchers) have come from that spot.

It is also possible to fish this spot with a dry. You only get a few
seconds of drag free drift, but it always seems to be enough.

Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you: My casting is horrible. It looks
terrible and clumsy. But sometimes the homliest girl at the dance is
the best dancer. d;o)

Dave