The Roll Cast
The basic Roll Cast is one of my favourite casts and is a grossly under rated cast. I cannot stress enough the importance of being able to perform a well-executed Roll Cast. It is a useful cast for arranging an untidy line, maybe afterinitially stripping it from the reel. It is also very useful for raising andrepositioning a sunken line before making any Spey cast.
"Why is such an elementary cast so important?" you might ask.
The answer is verysimple, the roll cast or in particular the forward stroke of the roll cast isused in an identical way in every Spey cast we perform. To furtherenhance the status of the roll cast it also encompasses all of the principleswithin the 'Spey Casting Basics' section, which I stressed, were so important.All of a sudden the humble roll cast forms a huge part in the making of everySpey cast.
The Technique
With the line on thewater and hanging directly down stream. Make sure that your grip and stance iscorrect and that you are facing directly down stream at your intended target.First slowly lift the rod vertically to 45 degrees, pause for a moment andwatch the line sag towards you, it will stop and hold position.
Now sweep the rod slowlyand deliberately upstream ensuring that the line remains in constant contactwith the water and without slack while maintaining the angle of 45 degrees fromyour body until the rod is now at 90 degrees to the flow and level with yourshoulder.
From this positioncontinue to sweep the rod up stream and behind you whilst raising your arms alittle before pausing in the back stop position. The line will fall into placewith the formation of a shallow D-Loop and the anchor will be slightly downstream and just off your upper hand shoulder. The rod should also be canted atabout 25 degrees into the stream, this cant will make sure that your D-Loop ispositioned far enough away from your body to be safe ensuring that it will notcollide with you on the forward cast.
You are now ready tostart the forward stroke. Aim to move the thumb on your uppermost handforward in a parallel plane to the water whilst pulling down on the rod withthe lower hand. The tempo for the stroke should be slow > medium> fast in a progressive acceleration culminating in a rapid speed up andstop. Just before the rod tip passes the vertical this rapid speed up should occur as a result of your top hand wrist snaping forward atthe same time as your bottom hand pulls into your side to a positive stop with the rod at an angle of 45-degrees in front of you. Theline should begin to peel almost silently from the water surface andtravel forward from the rod tip in a narrow unfurling forward loop. As theline and leader straightens out in front of you towards your intended targetyou can follow it down with the rod tip.
NB; The slow and deliberate movement of the rodand line is to ensure that by avoiding any jerky movements you do not introduceany slack line into the cast. It is also good training for the movement of a sunkenline, which will be held quite firmly in the water column and cannot be movedquickly. The almost silent peeling of the line from the waters a good indicatorthat you have the correct style and tempo of acceleration into your forwardstroke. If the line rips off the water with a loud slurp it is a clear signthat you have applied too much acceleration too soon in the forward stroke.