The Jump Roll
The jump roll cast is a more dynamic version of the original roll cast. It shares the same forward stroke as all of the Spey casts but the D-Loop formation and anchor placement more resembles that used in the single Spey cast. Again all of the 'Spey casting basics' apply. It is a great cast to learn as a bridge between the roll cast and single Spey as it allows a pupil to practice 'jumping' or sweeping the line upstream under tension and creating a much larger and more dynamic D-Loop. It also allows the pupil to practice making minimal anchors and placing them in the correct position: about a rod to a rod-and-a-half’s length out from and level with your casting shoulder.
Unlike the roll cast we now have a timing issue to understand and deal with. Once the line has been swept upstream and anchored in the right place we must then pause just long enough to form an energy filled D-Loop behind us and for the anchor to lock firmly into the water surface. If we pause too long gravity will have an effect and the loop will start to sag and fall down this will allow too much of the bottom leg of the loop to come in contact with the water, this will result in the forward cast being robbed of energy because it has had to overcome too much line stick. The cast will then fail to achieve sufficient distance and result in poor turnover. If however we don’t pause long enough we wont give the anchor enough time to grip the water and it will be ripped off the water backwards by the energy stored in the rod when we start the forward stroke, the result will be that the rod unloads too quickly and the forward cast will again lack sufficient energy to travel the required distance and turn over correctly.
The Technique
The line should be facing straight down stream and under tension, the rod tip pointing down stream and close to the water surface. With the correct stance and grip you will be facing the target downstream. This cast will be made from the left hand bank looking downstream with your right hand uppermost on the rod handle for the purpose of this example, for a left hand up cast the movements would be mirrored other than you would be standing on the right hand bank.
First slowly lift the rod vertically to 45 degrees, pause for a moment and watch the line sag towards you, it will stop and hold position.
Now sweep the rod upstream maintaining the angle of 45 degrees from your body and with the tip of the rod running parallel to the water (imagine running the tip along a curtain rail or the crossbar of a football goal) until the rod is at 90 degrees to the flow and level with your casting shoulder*. Now raise your arms a little while continuing to sweep the rod up stream and behind you to the back stop position. This sweep from the end of the initial lift to the back stop position needs to be smooth and constantly accelerating with a tempo of slow > medium > fast. *It should be noted that the smooth accelleration needed to jump the line upstream should be completed by the time the rod has reached this position.
The line will jump into place with the formation of a larger energy-filled D-Loop and the anchor will be placed approximately a rod to a rod and a half’s length out into the stream and level with your casting shoulder. The rod should also be canted at about 30-40 degrees into the stream, this cant will make sure that your D-Loop is positioned far enough away from your body to be safe ensuring that it will not collide with your back on the forward cast.
The timing of the forward stroke for this cast is critical, especially for beginners. Think of 'kiss and go'. As we are sweeping the rod and line into position glance to your right and watch for the anchor to land, as you see the last 3 feet of fly line kiss the water start the forward stroke as per the roll cast. You will find however that minimal effort is now required in the forward stroke as the rearward energy stored in the bigger and more dynamic has helped to load the rod spring. Accelerate to a positive stop and then as the line unfurls and straightens in front of you follow it down with the rod tip.