Anchor placement is one of the keys to any successful spey cast. Tom Larimer spends a few minutes today giving us 3 tips related to anchor placement. If you like spey casting, you can learn something from this clip. Trust us – it’s worth 6 minutes out of your day.
NOTE: if you’re viewing this in a newsletter or a reader, click here to see the video on YouTube.
Here’s the summary of Tom’s tips on anchor placement.
- ‘The 180 degree rule’. Make sure that the 3 elements of every cast – the anchor, the D-loop and the forward cast – are lined up straight.
- Slack is the enemy. Lay the line on the water as smooth and flat as possible when you place your anchor.
- Forming a small loop of line at your rod tip when you place your anchor will help load your rod immediately when you start your sweep.
As you can see, Tom knows what he’s talking about when it comes to spey casting. If you like chasing hot, chrome steelhead and want to spend some time on the river with Tom, why not join him at BC West on the Dean River this summer? Tom is hosting a trip in mid-August and amazingly there are a couple of spots still available. Drop us a line to learn more.
Hey this was great. Thanks Andrew and Tom. It makes so much sense to me and I’m going to watch the hell out of my line next time I throw for steel. I think slack haunts me, but I’m going to kick its ass from now on.
gt
Very nice!!! More, please. Thanks.
Ed
Great clear, simple explanation. Well done.
Thanks Tom I am really new to this and it helps immensely to here and see what I am needing to with my casting. I bet Duffy willnget me straightened out Monday.
Bear
I just started Spey casting.Need all the help I can get.Thanks
Tom I enjoyed the video on the snap T. I have been having problems with getting a good forward loop with the snap T, I usually have large loops on the forward cast. I think, my D-loop is not aligned with the anchor and the 180 degree principle. Please comment on this. Thank you. Art
Art,
Thanks for the comment. Breaking the 180 degree rule will effect your forward cast. -The major flaw of most casters is starting their sweep with too much power. That said, there are so many potential problems that cause a week forward cast, it’s impossible to diagnose without seeing you in action. Consider a private lesson with me in Oregon, or better yet -Join me on my week of Spey instruction at Alaska West this upcoming summer and we can work on your cast all week!
I’m a beginner and this video is really helpful. However, what this and other instructional videos don’t seem to address are the issues/problems encountered when standing/casting perpendicular to flow of water in the river. This video showed setting up the cast while facing and casting downstream. That’s rarely the case when actually fishing. And, it is a lot easier than performing those steps with the current running left or right. I’d appreciate more tips on setting up my cast when dealing with the cross current, which requires more focus on timing.
Thanks.
Very helpful. Thanks.
This video might have been helpful if I could really see the line and fly. The color of the back ground and the color of the line made it just about impossible to see what Tom was talking about.