What Flygirls Do for Fun

H: May 15, 2014: What do flygirls do for fun? Besides fishing, and more fishing, they definitely enjoy participating in a fly casting round robin.

My friends, the Wild Trout Flyrodders, recently held a Casting Rendezvous at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum in Livingstone Manor, NY. I got to hang out with fellow casting geeks, took an advanced spey casting class, and watched some local tyers, including my friend Richard, tie trout flies for the upcoming season. It was a lot of fun!

Fly casting round robin at the Catskills Fly Fishing Museum, Livingston Manor, NY. Photo: M. Gallart

But probably the MOST FUN thing that weekend was the casting round robin organized by easterncaster on Sunday. There were about 16 of us, mostly fly casting instructors. And there were over 20 different outfits to try out! It was cold and windy that morning and the field wasn't deep enough to really push some of the rods for distance, but I got to cast everything from a 4-ft(?) 2-weight to some powerful 7s. G. Loomis, Guideline, Hardy, Orvis, Sage, Scott, St. Croix, Swift, TFO, and Winston were all part of the line-up.

Casting a Swift Epic glass rod. Photo: M. Gallart

We spent a few minutes casting each outfit, channeling our inner Goldilocks. Some were too stiff. Some, too soft... And after the 12th rod, it all started to blur. But I remembered the ones that felt just right (a 5-weight G. Loomis Streamdance and a 6-weight Winston BIIIx), and the ones that felt so wrong (a hollow-feeling TFO instructor rod and the tiny 2-weight). Granted, with different lines, the experience might have been different. Overall, there were several rods I liked and it was an invaluable exercise trying to adjust my casting stroke to each rod's action.

If you've never participated in a casting round robin, I highly recommend it. But be warned. You'll leave the field with a list of new fly rods you want to buy! ;)