The Roll Cast

This is probably one of the most useful casts you will ever learn. Whether you are just straightening a fly line prior to a cast, or raising a sunk line to the surface prior to a cast are a just a couple of examples.
Start with the rod tip touching the water and yourself facing the target; the line doesn’t have to be straight for this cast. The rod is raised slowly to about 45 degrees vertically and then stopped; the line will sag toward you. It is then swept slightly out to the side and back to 45degrees behind, a mirror image of the initial stop. You will notice at this point the line has come feathering back and formed a shallow D loop behind the rod. The back cast now complete, the forward cast can now begin. Very slowly begin to push the upper hand (thumb) forward in a straight line while pulling with the lower hand (50/50). The stroke is accelerated, and as we go past the vertical with the rod there is a rapid build up of speed with both hands to a hard stop. On the finish, (45 degrees in front) you will notice that if you have flexed the rod correctly you will have ended up with the upper arm still bent.

It is well worth spending time getting this one right. The fly line will then unroll above the surface, as it straightens out and begins to fall, follow it down with the rod tip.

THE JUMP ROLL CAST

Similar to the basic roll cast except this one is a little bit more dynamic. Not used for great changes of angle but a good one to learn as it forms the final movement of the single Spey. Instead of the line feathering back as in the roll cast and a small D-loop created, the initial lift is a bit quicker and the whole line is lifted off the water and swept back into the back cast position at 45 degrees behind. This entails making the last yard or so of the fly line to touch down and anchor on the water opposite your shoulder, the D-loop will be a lot larger in profile, thus more weight of fly line to flex the rod against. The forward delivery is very similar to the basic roll cast.
For this cast, the line must be straight with no slack, then lift the rod vertically to 45 degrees (unsticking the fly-line from the surface) to a brief stop. Before the line begins to drop, sweep it back, all the time building up speed with a very shallow dip. (This dip is very similar to the path of the wire between two pylons). As the tip passes opposite your shoulder, (the bottom of the dip) begin to accelerate back up to the 45 degree stopping position on the back-cast. With the loop now formed behind the rod, and in line with the target, the end of the fly line anchored on the water, you see a splash from the fly-line landing, the forward cast is then executed by a smooth straightforward stroke stopping abruptly at 45 degrees in front, this will unflex the rod. As the cast goes out follow the fly line down with the tip.