FlyFishing & FlyTying / November 2012 Where no fly has gone before... PHILIP BAILEY and Massimo Magliocco explain how the Italians adapt their casting for fast, turbulent and overgrown streams and improving presentation You can have the perfect fly, tied with excellent materials but if you do not present it in the right place and in the best possible way, it serves no purpose. This is the motto adopted by Fly Fishing Masters, a team of enthusiastic, talented and dedicated fly fishers from Italy. Over the past few years, the FFM team has travelled to Britain to promote their own style of casting. This style, born out of the Tecnica di Lancio Totale (TLT) - Total Cast Technique, developed by the famous Roberto Pragliola, provides a different set of casts to meet demanding fishing conditions presented on turbulent, clear and overgrown streams in Italy. The new approach to casting began development in the early 1970s as early adopters began to study the types of water currents on the streams that they fished and develop solutions on how it was possible to overcome them. Pragliola gave Italian fly fisher s the modem Italian technique. But over the last 20 years others started to study how it might be possible to increase the number and dynamics of those initial techniques. Massimo Magliocco, one of Italy s most respected and talented fly fishers was one of these. In 1985, Massimo met Pragliola and learnt his new techniques and ultimately became an Instructor with the TLT team. However, Massimo decided that the techniques could be improved further and over a course of years he developed those original casts into a technique that is practiced by the Italian Fly Fishing Masters (FFM) team today. Massimo felt that people go fishing for pleasure and when they go fishing they should not have trouble with casting. If casts can be made simpler with the same results then why not use them? This is why the slogan for FFM is fly fishing made easy. Massimo Magliocco with a result from the Italian cast: a beautiful brown from a difficult lie. For those that have learnt to fly fish using the classical techniques, adopting these new casts can be challenging. The FFM technique calls for high line-speed using a short rod with light line-weight. Typically, the rod is 7ft 6in long, has a very stiff, progressive action and carries a 3-weight double-taper line with a leader approaching five metres (16.5ft). The use of light lines provides a more delicate and less fish- scaring presentation. They also are remarkably effective against wind, when cast with speed, and when they are cast with greater speed and tension they offer the potential of greater accuracy. Massimo states, If you can control the line speed of these rods, then with practice you will be able to perform similar casts with longer and heavier rods. Master the line and then you can master the water whether it is a slow glide or a turbulent rapid. The Italian style is a good example of form following function, as all the casts have been developed with the sole purpose of improving presentation. Like all casting techniques, the FFM approach uses some fundamental principles. These include the axis in which the cast is made; the casting plane for each cast; the grip; obtaining a very tight loop; vibration dampening and thrust during the cast; and, the importance of the left hand. Immediately noticeable when looking at someone casting in the Italian style are the grip, the cast and the delivery. All of the principles above go into producing a very fast, narrow loop that delivers the fly, leader and line all at the same time. When executed well, the fly just appears on
Roberto Pragliola demonstarting in Italy. on the water in front of the fish. Gripping the rod may seem a secondary issue but by gripping it in a certain way rather than another can make casting easier or create problems. This is certainly the case in the classical techniques used by most fly fishers but it is critical in the Italian style. The classical grip is acceptable but only if the grip is as low as possible towards the reel. Too far up and unwanted bending of the wrist will cause the line to move out of the axis and plane. The Italians use what is called a wrap around grip. Very similar to a classical grip but the hand is wrapped around the reel. This grip helps to increase contact with the rod and facilitates the dynamics of certain techniques, especially the very fast casts. It may feel uncomfortable at the start, but one quickly becomes accustomed to using this grip. In the Italian style of casting, the cast operates in a plane of between 45 and 30 from a line drawn horizontally across your waist. This position, when viewed front on, allows the person casting to have more space to cast. The more space you have to carry out the entire cast the more acceleration you can produce. It also helps to remove abrupt movements typical of the 1 o clock to 11 o clock casting arc (which often devolves into a 2 o clock to 10 o clock arc). For Italian casting the hand is wrapped around the reel. When you see this style of casting you will note that there is no perceivable stop on the back or forward cast. Casting this way is a harmonious approach without forcing the rod too much. One of the fundamental elements of this style is the use of vibration dampening which avoids the traditional stop and the end of the back and forward cast. Vibration dampening occurs after, what the Italians refer to as the thrust. The thrust occurs in both the back and forward cast. The example here is of a forward cast.
The thrust is defined as the precise instant during which the rod transmits a sudden increase in velocity to the line in a tightly defined space. The line goes forward over the rod tip and the loop is formed. This is a constant and progressive increase in line speed, which creates a sudden snap, and a forward increase in velocity thus creating the loop in front of the rod tip. In Italian casting, this action is the second last stage of the cast and it is followed by a further stage quite different to that observed in die classical technique. It is at this point that we introduce vibration dampening that allows us not to physically stop the rod. After executing the thrust the arm continues to move in the direction of the line for 20-25cm (10-12in), waiting for the line to turn over or straighten out. Just before this happens, the next cast (forward or back) is commenced. This action removes the traditional stop in casting. The combination of the plane in which the cast is performed, the thrust and dampening which creates a high line-speed and a very tight loop resulting in the fly, leader and line all arriving at the same time. It is this technique that traditional casters find the most difficult to learn. The Italian Style of casting includes a specific anti-drag cast, casts that are executed a: high speed and others that provide a range of techniques to fish in places that are often by-passed or over-looked. The Italian casting style, taught by the highly professional instruction team, is not a replacement for other techniques. It prouder an alternative approach to the way in which you fly fish and will be attractive to those who fish small streams or want to learn a different way of casting. If so, participation in one of the clinics will allow you to decide if you want to take the next step and embrace those techniques developed for specific fishing conditions.
CASTING ITALIAN STYLES Low Parallel Cast - to get under low bushes Extremely useful when fishing fast, turbulent overgrown streams, the high speed Low Parallel Cast has been developed to get your fly under a low, overhanging bush. To get it right, the line needs to travel perfectly parallel to the water and only a few centimetres above it, as though someone is pulling the line off your reel. The primary element to this cast is an extremely high line-speed, and to achieve the right speed you need to cast a little differently: you need to load the butt of the rod instead of the tip, as in normal casts. You start with the rod quite high up behind you held perpendicular and without any incline backwards. You then move the rod down making sure you bring the butt and reel forwards keeping the rod tip slightly behind the rest of the rod. The reason for this is that you want the butt section to load up. You perform a few false casts and finish with your arm held out parallel to the water at your side, or slightly in front. Once the arm is almost completely stretched out, without rotating your wrist, a final thrust in a very short space is exerted to unload the rod. The line in the left hand is released late (almost when the line is completely turned over) and as a result the line will continue to travel for a few more metres to penetrate overhanging bushes. Totally Under Tip Cast - to shoot under low trees This cast has become common with the Italian style. It has also been developed to get your fly under bushes. While this technique is included in other styles this is executed in completely natural, almost spontaneous movements for the Italian style. The first part of the cast is a backcast on a horizontal plane with the line behind - but at the same height - as the rod tip.
When the forward cast is commenced the wrist is rotated and continues in an inclined plane upwards until the hand has gone 25-30cm past the caster s hip. The loop remains parallel to the water and the line will pass totally under the tip of the rod. When the rod passes by the hip the caster can start the thrust which takes place when the wrist is not yet straightened out but at a 30 angle. It is at this moment that that you rotate the wrist in a scooping movement and at the same time the tip of the rod is bought upwards. This prevents the line from hitting the water and it increases the height between where the has stopped and where it is moving. It creates the peculiar shape of the loop, which is horizontal and shaped like a V. A mini double haul is also introduced to create tension. The final result is a rod, which is inclined upwards, a line that is still at an angle downwards, and a horizontal loop that continues
forward under the overhanging bushes. Slowed Down Angular Cast - for piling the leader off the opposite bank One extremely effective cast is the Slowed Down Angular Cast. This is often referred to as the piled up cast. This cast lets you place your leader in places where fish hold on the opposite side of very fast currents. It does not pile up the line and leader in the fast current. It places your leader where you intend placing it. This is a big difference because the more traditional approach to this cast piles up the cast with some of the leader in the faster part of the water. This is much less effective because the moment the line touches the water it gets dragged away reducing its efficiency. The Slowed Down Angular Cast has the scope to get line over the fast current and to pile the leader up in the slower part of the water. The operation is very simple, and consists of slowing down the casting movement operating with the rod held very high and casting with a short arc. The loop remains very tight and on the forward cast the speed is taken out of the line by releasing with the left hand very early. The line will continue down into the area, which you have targeted resulting in a long period where the fly rests static on the opposite side of a fast flow. Information Massimo Magliocco is the Technical Director and founder of FFM in Italy. Philip Bailey is a FFM Casting Italia instructor and UK representative for FFM. FFM - Casting Italia runs clinics for people to try the Italian Casting Style in various parts of the UK. Ongoing casting days are run regularly for those who wish to continue the learning journey. Tuition is provided by approved FFM Italy or FFM - Casting Italia instructors. www.flyfishingmasters.co.uk Philip Bailey has fly fished for over 35 years. A former guide in Tasmania, he was inaugural president of the Australian Trout Federation. He now lives in UK, fishing the streams of Yorkshire and Cumbria.