Deeter: Fly Casting into the Wind...The Best Tip Ever

Wind freaks fly casters out. But it shouldn't. The wind can be your friend as much as it is an adversary. The best tip I've heard about conquering the wind in your face comes from my guide friend Torrie Bevans from South Andros. It's also one of the simplest.

Hard on the backcast... easy on the forward cast. Harder than normal on the backcast, and easier (believe it or not) than normal going forward. Or as he says... be a "rugged man" on the backcast, and "soft man" going forward.

Now, the one tricky part of this, of course, is that it is completely counterintuitive... it's instinct to want to punch the line into the wind. But that's a big no-no. You want to take about 30% or more off the throttle from the backcast to the forward cast. You want your mind to be thinking "engine" on the backcast, and "steering wheel" on the forward cast.

Yet another way to put it... imagine throwing a dime into a stiff breeze. Gently fling it with your fingers, and you'll get it where you want... whip it into the wind, and it skips off the breeze, and almost never lands where you want it to.

"Rugged man... soft man." Whether you're fly fishing a trout stream, a steelhead river, a bass lake, the flats, (basically anywhere the wind blows)... that's the money tip for beating a headwind.

Give it a try, and you will be amazed.

Deeter

PS- I apologize for the rough video... I shot it with a little handheld in a 20-mph wind. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.