When it comes to saltwater fly fishing, there’s no doubt that the double haul is one of the most valuable tools when casting on the flats. Increased line speed and the division of power application between not one, but two hands, resulting from a proper haul is simply unparalleled.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that one of the things we work on most often with our anglers at Andros South is, you got it, the double haul!
Knowing how to double haul, and executing it efficiently, are two vastly different things. Aside from poor timing (practice makes proficient!), one of the more common faults we see on a regular basis is not maintaining tension on the fly line with your line hand while hauling.
This is typically caused by one of two different ways. The first cause is from not returning all the way back to the starting point with your line hand after the downward ‘pull’ of the haul. We’ve written on this cause before, and you can read all about it by clicking right here.
The other cause results from the line hand returning back to its starting position too quickly. This causes the section of line between your line hand and the stripping guide to develop slack faster the loop of line outside of the rod tip can take it up (see photo above). And, as we all know, in nearly every avenue of false casting, slack should be kept to an absolute minimum.
So, how do we correct it? Like most casting faults, slo-o-o-w down. After pulling on the downward portion of the haul, allow the loop of line traveling away from you to ‘pull’ your line hand back up to the starting position. Doing so will maintain tension on the line at all times and provide the proper timing for the next haul.
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