Fly Casting Glossary

• 180 Degree principle- In a straight-line cast, the backcast should be 180 degrees opposite the forward cast.
• Action- The flex characteristic of a rod or rod blank. Stiff, fast, slow, soft etc. describe action.
• Anadromous- Fish that mature in salt or brackish water and spawn in fresh water rivers and streams.
• Anchor- The line, leader and fly placed on the water with which, in combination with the resistance of a D-loop, is used to load the rod in a Spey or roll cast.
• Annular sector- a four sided shape described by two radii and two concentric arcs. I use it to describe the path within the stroke and the rod arc.
• Automaticity- The ability to perform a task without having to think about it.
• Boron- A mineral fibers and manufactured and combined with composites to manufacture certain rod blanks.
• Casting cycle- one cycle is comprised of two continuous casts in opposite directions.
• Casting Fault- An action or inaction that has a negative affect on an intended cast.
• Casting stroke- The path of the rod hand during a cast.
• Centripetal force- The resistance required for a rotating object in motion to continue in a curved path, rather than a linear one.
• Chunking- Breaking down a task into small pieces for ease of learning.
• Closed loop- When gravity causes the fly leg to cross the rod leg during a cast, the loop appears closed from the side.
• Coil Memory- The propensity of a line to retain the shape of its storage or reel spool, after it is unspooled.
• Concave rod-tip path- A rod-tip path that is curved like a saucer.
• Convex rod-tip path- A rod-tip path with a curved rod-tip path shaped like an igloo.
• Counter-flex- The bending of a rod in the direction of a cast following the stop.
• Creep- The unintentional forward or backward rod-hand movement before loading the rod.
• D-Loop- The shape of an unaccelerated backcast of a water anchored cast, such as a Spey or roll cast.
• Damp- Reduction of vibration by lessening grip pressure.
• Dead-drift- When a fly travels at the same speed as the current in which it is carried.
• Deflection-The amount of bend in a rod or blank held in a fixture at a given angle, caused by a test weight hung from the tip.
• Deflection board- A Board or paper sheet mounted behind a rod or blank on which to record deflection with a wrting instrument.
• Distal Grip- A grip with the index finger extended on the handle. It is also known as a three-point-grip.
• Double-haul- Making haul and return cycles on multiple casts to accelerate the line.
• Drag- The intententional forward movement of the rod hand to increase tension on the backcast before the forward cast.
• Drag(fly)- The affect on the fly when current pulls on the line or leader and moves it at a different speed than the current in which it drifts.
• Drift(fly)- The effect of current on a fly when it is presented in or on the water.
• Drift(rod)- Intentional rearward repositioning of the rod after loop formation of the backcast.
• False-cast- A cast made without delivery. It may be used to dry a fly, extend line or aim.
• Fluorocarbon- A clear abrasion resistant fishing line manufactured from extruded polyvinylidene fluoride.
• Fly leg- The portion of line and leader from the point of a loop, to the fly, or end of the leader.
• Graphite- A material used in modern fly rods and manufactured as a fiber cloth to be wound around a steel mandrill. It is usually impregnated with an epoxy resin that is activated in an oven.
• Gulper- A fish, usually a trout, cruising a stillwater in pursuit of mayflies on the surface.
• Haul- A timed tug on the line to accelerate the line during the cast or flight of a loop.
• Hover- A technique to increase the visibility of an accuracy false cast by letting the leader straighten over the target for an instant.
• Left bank- The position of a caster with the current moving to his left.
• Loading- The bending of a rod with the acceleration of the stroke and to a small extent, a haul.
• Loop- In the words of Bruce Richards, “The shape of an aerialized fly line formed by a casting stroke.” Or the “J” shape of a fly line after it has been made airborne by a casting stroke or snap and then sharply decelerated.
• Mend- A manipulation of the line after the rod stop of a cast.
• MRL- Maximum Rod Load, or rod bend, of a cast.
• Nano-silica resin technology- The incorporation of small silca spheres in 3M’s new Matrix Resin used in the prepreg graphite cloth used for rod blank manufacture.
• Off shoulder- A position with the rod-tip over the opposite shoulder than the rod hand.
• Overhang- The amount of running or shooting line extended past the tip before delivering a cast.
• Over-line- To use a line with a heavier stated weight than stated for the rod, or matched by testing.
• Parallel Loop- A loop whose parts are in the same plane and whose fly and rod legs are parallel
• Pirouette- An analogy comparing a turn in ballet with the act of rotating the anchor into alignment during a Snap-T or Double Spey.
• Quartz- Composite Developments (NZ) LTD has manufactured rods with an external layer of pure quartz.
• Rebound- The spring-like return of a rod after counterflex.
• Right bank- The position of a caster with the current moving to his right.
• Rod Angle- The angle of a rod at a given time in relation to level and to the direction of the cast.
• Rod arc- The change in rod butt angle from the beginning of rod loading to unloading.
• Rod leg- The portion of line being cast from the rod tip to the loop point.
• Rod loading- The act of bending the rod with a casting stroke.
• Rod unloading- is the expenditure of stored kinetic energy and first straightening of the rod.
• Rod Plane- The planar path of a rod during a cast.
• Rod Stop- A term used to describe the deceleration of a fly rod. A fast complete stop is called a positive stop.
• Rod-tip Path- The path traveled by the rod tip during a cast viewed from the side.
• Roll-cast- A water anchored cast with no, or a slight change of direction.
• Rotation- The angular movement of the rod butt caused by the rod hand.
• RSP- Rod Straight Position- The straightening of a fly rod during the stop sequence. The first is RSP-1, the second is RSP-2 and the third, is RSP-3 when at rest.
• Running line- A thinly coated line sharing the same core as the head.
• Shoot- To extend the length of line beyond the tip by releasing line at the rod stop, letting the cast pull line through the guides.
• Shooting head- A head component usually with a rear loop for connecting a shooting line.
• Shooting line- (Noun) A thin diameter line attaced to a shooting head as part of an interchangable component system.
• Single-haul- A pull and return, or pull and shoot, used on either a single forward cast or backcast.
• Skagit style- A Spey casting style developed on the Skagit River in British Columbia specifically for heavy sinking winter steelhead lines. It employs a sustained anchor and includes casts such as the Snap-T and Perry Poke.
• SLP- Straight Line Path of the rod-tip viewed from the side.
• Snap- A casting techniques using a loading move and a quick movement of the rod in the opposite direction. The Snap-T and Catch cast are some examples. (see article on its origin)
• Spey cast- A roll cast with a large change of direction; named after Scotland's River Spey, where it was developed.
• Spine- The stiffer longitudinal part or a rod blank due to the overlap of materials.
• Stroke- The acceleration and path of the rod hand during a cast.
• Sustained anchor- An anchor that doesn’t require an immediate lift into a D-loop.
• Stop Sequence- The process of the deceleration of the fly rod and the movement of the rod through RSP, counterflex, rebound and ending in RSP-3.
• Tailing Loop- A closed loop with an upward curvature of the fly leg which often crosses the main leg a second time.
• Tempo- The speed of executing one or more casting cycles.
• Timing- The pause between the rod stop and the start of the next cast.
• Tracking- The rod’s adherence to one plane during a cast.
• Trajectory (casting)- The angle of the cast relative to level.
• Translation- Horizontal movement of the rod butt without a change in rod butt angle.
• Triangulation- To aim a cast using the perceived distance relationship of the fly, line and leader, rod hand and rod to a target.
• Under-line- The use of a line with a stated weight less than the stated or tested rod weight.
• V- loop- The name of a water bourne backcast resembling the shape of a "V".
• Water bourne cast- A cast whose resistance is created mainly by placing the end of the line in the water as in an anchor.
• Zone(The)- A term used in sport psychology literature to describe a transcendence into a mental state of focus, self confidence with automatic, relaxed control of one’s performance. A person in this state can feel an altered sense of time.