The "tuck" cast is a very cool specialty cast that is designed to get your fly down deeper in the water much faster than a normal cast can do. Obviously, based on that description, its a cast that's used for fishing near the bottom of the stream with nymphs, streamers, or wet flies. It is particularly useful when you're fishing submerged flies upstream. 

It's not very hard to do - but it can take a while to get the hang of it. The trick is to overpower your forward cast. Really jam that line forward hard & then stop the cast very quickly, all of a sudden. This causes the leader to tuck under the line. Your fly then comes crashing straight down to the water, as if it has fallen from the sky. This allows your fly to sink down deeper a lot faster. Its a cast to use in situations where the sooner you get the fly to the bottom, the better. 

The first time I performed the tuck cast it was by accident. I was casting into a fairly stiff breeze that day, foolishly. On one cast the wind let up just as I was trying to punch my forward cast through. I realized this & stopped the cast very quickly. The result was a beautiful tuck cast - even though that wasn't what I was trying to do!! After realizing what had happened I tried to recreate this cast. It took me a while, because at first it feels wrong (at least to me it did). Casting, so I thought, was always supposed to be smooth & graceful. Indeed, the tuck cast is, but it took me a while before I got the feel of the abrupt stop to the cast. 

The best way to explain the tuck cast is to show it. The short video below is an excellent demonstration & explanation of the tuck cast. If you fish below the surface, this is a great cast to have under your belt. It will help you pick up more fish when you need to use it. The best part is that it's an easy cast to learn.     

I saw this very short video & wanted to share it with you. It from the folks at National Geographic. In the video they show a generalized description of the lifespan of a mayfly. The footage is gorgeous & offers us anglers some new views of what goes on with these flies, in general. It's a gorgeous, short video that proves once again that those beautiful mayflies truly are the bottom of the food chain. 

As we celebrate the birth of our nation here in America, I hope you all have a safe, healthy, & happy 4th of July!!!

I've said it many times & I'll say it again: if you've never gone fly fishing for bass, you just don't know what you're missing. Catching bass on a fly rod is some of the most fun you can have on the water. They fight like monsters! While they're an easily accessible fish, they can sometimes be very difficult to fool. You must approach them with the same caution & carefulness that you sneak up to trout with. In fact, in the heat of summer you'll often find that bass have moved up into many of the places where the trout were earlier in the year.

During those hot, sticky evenings of summer, catching bass on a fly rod is a blast. You don't have to slow down in your fishing just because the trout have slowed down their feeding - if that's the case where you are. No, a summer spent fly fishing for bass is fantastic! 

Below is a longer video from the Orvis company. It's their primer on fly fishing for bass hosted by Tom Rosenbauer. It gives very sound advice & is aimed at the fly fisher who's never tried for bass before. Check it out & give those bass a try - you'll be glad you did!!