Article # 4, The Roll Cast

The roll cast is the foundation of all fly casting. Unfortunately, most fly fishers do not spend enough time perfecting it in all it's various aspects. There are many adaptations of this cast that are useful in fishing.

Why roll cast? In it's simplest form, the roll cast is mainly used to straighten out slack, change direction, bring a sinking line or weighted fly to the surface, or when you can't make a conventional back cast. Even if you have a strong wind at your back, you can always make a roll cast forward. You can also roll cast into a strong head wind.

It's best to practice this cast on water because the water creates the friction and drag necessary for a good roll cast. The friction of the water on the line in the roll cast helps load, (bend) the rod. Learning how to load the rod is important for your future development in casting expertise. If water is not available, it is possible to learn this on grass using a grass leader. This was developed by Al Buhr in Oregon for practicing Spey casting.

Take a spool of monofiliment, 15 to 30 lb. test. Make a cut at 15". This will be your butt section. Now, tie a blood knot. Move down the leader seven inches. Make another cut and tie another blood knot. After you have done this about 15 - 20 times you will end up with about a 9' grass leader with a blood knot every 6 inches. Leave fifteen inches on the end for a tippet and tie on a piece of yarn. Trim the stubs at about 1/2" or less. (You have to tailor the length of the stubs to the length of the grass. The longer the grass the shorter the stubs should be. )The stubs will cause drag on the grass. They will also resemble barbed wire. This leader can be dangerous so be sure to wear eye protection! This is the formula for a Spey rod. You can make the leader longer or shorter according to your needs.

When making a roll cast, you must use all three joints in the arm: The wrist, elbow and shoulder. The wrist is the weakest link in the system so it needs the most care and attention to execute a good cast. It moves all right, but in a firm controlled manner. In a conventional roll cast or fly cast, if the full range of motion for each joint is 100%, the wrist is only moving about 10% or so of it's range as it's contribution to the cast.

Without total control of the wrist, which means being able to apply between 1% to 100% range of motion, you will fail to master many kinds of casts. You cannot make a curve cast, for example, using only 1% of the range of motion in your wrist. In advanced fly casting, you may need 100% range of motion in the wrist, the elbow and the shoulder in some casts. The shoulder is usually used the least. (It's often over used.) It's all about control.

In a cast of about 50 feet, when making a conventional fly cast or roll cast, the shoulder only moves about 10% of it's range of motion. The hand moves up and down along a 45 degree angle.

The elbow is the biggest contributor to the cast, utilizing about 80% of it's full range of motion. The shoulder uses only about 10% or less of it's range of motion. These percentages vary depending upon how far you are casting and the type of cast you are making.

In order to ingrain the muscle memory that will insure proper form as you develop fly casting skills, it is imperative to learn the roll cast properly.

The hand in the start position of the roll cast will be in virtually the same position as the 'stop' in the back cast when fly casting. You start the forward stroke for fly casting in about the same position where you start the roll cast. The forward stop position of the roll cast is close to the forward stop position of a fly cast. (This is true for a cast from 10 to 50 feet. Distance casting is another story).

The basic roll cast begins with rod in hand and approximately 25 - 30 feet of line off the tip of the rod. Slowly raise the rod tip to about the 1- 2 o'clock position. The line will slide across the surface of the water toward you, (you'll find it difficult to slide on the grass with a grass leader. You'll have to compensate for that) . You must maintain contact with the water. Look at your hand. It should be opposite your face and the index finger should be at about eye level. Check your hand grip and make sure your right foot is slightly forward of the left foot, for right handers. Your shoulders should be square to the direction you want to cast. The line should be hanging straight down or slightly behind you and at rest.

The forearm should be in a close to vertical position and the elbow should be in a slightly open position, not closed. The elbow should be as close to the body as possible. The cant of the rod should be adjusted so that you will not hit yourself or your rod with the line.

To begin the cast, cock your wrist back slightly past neutral. Do not break the wrist too far back. Now, the tip of the rod is still at one or two o'clock. Chop down and forward as if you were chopping celery with a large knife. During the chopping motion, you should drop the shoulder slightly, and gradually move the wrist into a neutral position. The hand is drawing a straight line at a 45 degree angle. That is the path that the hand should follow. The rod tip will start to bend, (load) as it accelerates downward . Open the elbow outward so that the forearm is parallel to the ground. At the end of the cast, fire that cocked wrist, and stop the rod at about 10 o'clock . At the completion of the cast the upper arm and forearm form about a 90 degree angle.

The movement of the wrist and elbow is smooth as they accelerate. The line should strike the water and unroll in an elliptical loop. As you make the cast, the wrist, elbow and shoulder are all in motion, each at the proper time. (As in all casting, you must accelerate to a stop.) Remember, the hand will be moving in a 45 degree angle downward. Do not make the common mistake of pushing out in front of you and down and avoid breaking the wrist backwards at the start of the cast. (I have leather devices to correct that.) Also, avoid pushing the butt of the rod forward because this causes the tip to lag behind. The tip needs to move first.

The right timing is going to create the best possible roll cast. If your loop is open and round, keep practicing until you've got a nice egg shaped loop.

The acceleration may need to be a little stronger or faster. The stop may need to be a little sharper. If your loop is too open and round you may have a floppy wrist. The wrist must be especially firm at the start and stop points of the cast. The height of the stop may need to be adjusted. If you stop too high, say around 11 o'clock, you will have made an aerialized roll cast. That's an advanced cast so don't forget how you did it. You'll need it later. On the other hand, if you stop at about 9 o'clock, your going to dump the cast in the water. Have a buddy watch you to see that all your joints are in control.. Perfect practice makes perfect casts.

Please feel free to e-mail me at or contact me at the ponds for help. Practice that roll cast, you'll need it. Next month, the off shoulder roll cast, a little loop adjustment and a little distance.

Tight Loops
Floyd Dean
©1/11/2002