“10 and 2” Is Too Little, Too Late

“10 and 2” Is Too Little, Too Late

Many fly-casting instruction books tell you to imagine casting as if your rod moves along an imaginary clock face, with the forward cast stopping at ten o’clock on the imaginary dial and the backcast stopping at the two o’clock position.

That’s correct, in theory.

In reality, when casting, most people are oblivious to the positions of that imaginary clock. What feels like two o’clock on the backcast may actually be four o’clock.

When I guide, I change time zones and suggest to clients to go to one o’clock on the backcast.

For whatever reason, most people achieve the ten o’clock-two o’clock mechanics if they’re thinking “10 and 1”. Try this the next time you’re helping a buddy fly cast, and you’ll see what I mean.

Joan Wulff, one of the greatest fly casters of all time, teaches the basics of casting.