Short Casts
I feel like learning to make the short casts is an important lesson that is often learned rather too late in an angler's progression. So, given the response to the video and last week's tip, I'm going to focus in more detail on making better short casts.
The best and only real advice I have: Practice short casts.
Enlightening suggestion (read in sarcastic tone), isn't it?
Well, so I don't sound too simplistic I'll explain: Most anglers learn to cast with at least 10 feet of line out of the rod tip. Loading the rod properly with less line than 10 or so feet can actually be a bit tricky and demands some practice time. I like to call casting with 1 or 2 feet of fly line "tip casting" because you really only load the tip of the rod. In order to do this effectively and still be able to propel the line and trailing leader and fly where you would like them to go you need to use a very abbreviated casting stroke. The distance that the rod tip travels in this cast may only be 2 or 3 feet and the angle change will be closer to 11 o'clock to 12 o'clock, rather than the standard 10 and 2. Your stops after each stroke, forward and back, must still be solid to allow the line to straighten but the pause between strokes is much shorter.
One way to force yourself into learning to tip cast is to cast with just the top half of the rod. Simply pull the rod apart and cast a few feet of line with half a rod. The short rod will force a short casting stroke. After casting with the top half of the fly rod for a while, replace the rod tip on the whole rod and practice casting the same amount of line with the whole rod. Hopefully, you'll keep a very similar stroke.
The next step is to start casting to targets that are close by. You'll probably find it more difficult to hit close objects than it is to hit targets at 20 feet. This is where your newly mastered short stroke cast or "tip cast" really starts to make sense. Practice hitting objects almost at your feet and out to about 15 feet with a short casting stroke. Pretty soon, you'll become accurate even at really close distance. You will also likely discover that mastering this type of casting radically improves your line control at almost all distances.
If you're on the water enough, sooner or later a situation where you spot a fish that is actually inside of your comfortable casting zone will arise. You may become rather statue-like out of fear of spooking the too-close fish. However, if you have practiced your tip casting, you'll be ready to carefully pull in the line to the correct distance and give it a go with a couple of quick short casting strokes. Remember, too, when the fish gulps the fly nearby be a bit more gentle on the hook set so as not to break your tippet or leader.