The Real Value of Shooting Line.

Presenting a fly quickly when flats fishing is certainly beneficial with the term ' shoot the line ' associated with the derived benefits of speed of delivery and to a lesser degree, distance. This narrow view however is one of the most misunderstood aspects of fly fishing the flats for bonefish and permit with anglers having a blinkered view of these benefits by limiting it to just those two favors. Ie speed of delivery and distance. But what if there is a third and as equal a benefit or quite possibly a better overall benefit of shooting line than just speedy, longer deliveries?

Photo caption and credit.

In My opinion there is. The single most important factor to presenting the fly softly is the use of shooting the line. Even when casting a relatively short distance, I want to always try and shoot line. The reason for that is because when you shoot the line and as the fly travels forward in a loop the energy carrying the fly is a dissipating energy. Therefore as the fly gets closer and closer to the target the slower it gets. The slower it gets the less impact it will have on entry. This of course is also proportionate to the angle of the cast. The more horizontal and parrallel the line is to the water the better the effect. If you have a more vertical up and down casting stroke then the benefit to presentation is less because your trajectory is accelerating the fly into the water making impact louder. Hard impacts of fly on water is not desirable.

However if for example you had 4 days on the flats with good light then most likely the vast majority of your shots are not going to require speed deliver the fly. If your preferred casting distance is say 60 feet and you first spot the fish and 100 fish how can speed of delivery even be required ? It does not so if you as an angler associate shooting line as a necessity of speed then already that requirement is instantly redundant.

Speed

presentation

In reality most opportunities you have on the flats are in the 40 to 60 foot range as an average. Conditions often determine that rather than the angler.

I have seen good casters belt out a 90 foot cast with ease. it's great to watch but when the fish are constantly 10-15 feet shorter it loses its appeal and the value of that long cast has gone.

So as is the case with many fishing requirements the successful anglers stay within the limits of their abilities. consistancy is key. For me for example i love the 60 foot range. maybe 70 foot range. Can i cast 90 feet, yes.. Do i ? Only if it is absolutely necessary and that pretty much means a fish moving away. When conditions allow i prefer to wait until the opportunity is in my wheel house.   

Understanding the benefits of shooting the line must be explained.

So what actually happens when you shoot the line? You increase line speed in order to increase velocity and that increase in velocity starts to take up your line at your feet so now you are shooting more line. Most of the time it will be used for distance because you need a certain amount of line out in order for the principles of fly fishing to take place so shooting line initially is always just a way to increase the amount of line out fro your rod tip. Then the shooting of the line morphs into something that is speeed related because n

Presentation of the fly

I teach my clients that the benefits of shooting the line has a better value in fishing for presentation than speed and that they should start to look at presentation as the true benefit of shooting the line and not speed. In fact i believe that anglers will learn to shoot more line when they are considering presentation and not speed or distance.

Learning to associate distance.

the need for speed is really only needed when certain conditions are in play ie

I see so many anglers have a 30 second run into a school of fish and then try and make only 2 false casts before presenting the fly. They have been brainswashed into believeing they ned to get the fly there quickly once the process starts. That makes little sense when you have been watching a school of bonefish for 20 seconds because they are too far away to cast at.  So again, this belief that anglers need to have 2 or MAX 3 false casts before deliverying the fly. That is ust absurd. Take 10 it you want as long as  you dont spook the fish then you do what you need to do to present the fly quietly and accutrately. Too many anglers are blinkered into believing there is only one way to do this. ie quickly !! yes, at times for sure but that is due to circumstance and should not be confused with technique. A fish that shows at 25 feet from behind a cloud will require a different approach than say a fish at 12 feet that has been spotted and gives the angler the opportunity and luxury of time,  although for some that is an agonising wait !

There really

Flats fishing is always a meld of all these aspects but they all have one boss. So speed, accuracy, distance are the tools one uses to present your fly. it is best to associate them al individually as componants but the guagae you need to use is how each affects your presentation.

Imagine,  you spot your permit at 120 feet away, speed of delivery is not needed and in fact, now you have an agonizing wait while the guide poles you into position. Too much time possibly ?

SET UP : You need to have an overweighted or heavy WF fly line.

Lines designed no wind and carry 6o feet in the air and indoors etc.

Your work in and around that 40 to 50 foot range is your bread and butter so learn how to shoot line, even in the shorter distances. Matching your rod with te right fly line is very important so keep that I mind.