So I fly fish. I think I do it alright. My casting ability gets me through. I could always learn and do better. There's a ton of factors that go into making someone a good caster which in turn will make a them a better angler. One, there's the person themselves. In the person I mean how well are you ready to go through the motions to make good casts. You don't have to be skinny, or good looking, like we see in all of the catalogues, but you do need to be sort of in some kind of shape. Having the ability to scratch your shoulders or touch your, well at least your knees, can help. I find a lot of it has to do with muscle memory. Knowing the mechanics coupled with a good stroke helps as well.
Let's look at two famous golfers. Tiger Woods and John Daly. Let's just say two different approaches, at least physically, to their respective golf games. Tiger, in his heyday, was all jacked up and in tune with his body. Daly, well, let's just say he may be, The Average Golfer. Up all night drinking, lighting up heaters on the golf course, and his diet, well, let's just say he represents the average man, and I guess woman as well. Daly admits to drinking up to 20 diet Cokes and hitting McDonald's three times per day. That's my boy blue. I'm not body shaming but that example kinda blows up how important it is to be in some kind of shape in order to be a good caster, or golfer. But he's an anomaly. I would say, being able to move, have strong muscles, or a good muscle memory helps. That's why I think I'm a better caster later in the year than earlier. It takes time to re-hone my skills.
Then you have to look at the environment. Cold weather, and how many layers you have on, affects your range of motion and mobility. Plus, being cold, like real cold, just plain sucks, at least as you get older. Then you have to think of the wind and where it's coming from. A nice touch of a back-wind is nice while a quartering wind on your casting side is not. Are you casting from a boat in a lake or in a big surf with a stripping basket just below your muffin top. Fishing at night can effect your cast as well as most people are scared of not being able to see and worry about putting that Clouser in their eye or the back of their head, so they cast very conservatively.
And lastly, you have your gear. Fly lines aren't what they used to be. It used to be basically floating, intermediate and sinking lines, or some variation mixing the two of them. These days they have fly lines specifically designed for the days of the week. Well, not really. But there's striper lines, tarpon tapers, textured. smooth, and weight can be distributed up front, like really up front, or somewhere in the head, or first 30 feet of the line. Cast a loaded line, like the RIO Outbound Short, which was a go to a few years back, compared to a straight intermediate line and you'll be able to tell the difference. I don't know if anglers really know the importance of choosing the correct fly line when they fish. Fish looking up and seeing your fly passing overhead, like a plane in the sky, won't get any love from a lazy bass looking to chew something in front of it. Presentation, not just like a drag free drift, but where your fly swims, or not, can be a deal maker or breaker.
Our reels. Do our reels affect our casting? Yes and no. Reels are important when it comes to fighting and landing fish, especially bigger ones or fish in big currents. If you are fishing for trout or schoolie stripers you might just get away with stripping your fish in and never having to go onto the reel. That depends on how much like you have out and what kind of conditions, like say on a jetty, you are fishing in. Rocks love to eat fly lines. But the reel comes into play when you talk about having multiple lines in your arsenal. Having a spare spool rigged up with a sinking line may prove beneficial when you're fishing a flood tide, or an intermediate when it's on the ebb, or floating when they bass start to come up onto a flat. The other thing to consider, and it goes with reels and lines, is the backing. That backing that you've had on since 2014 and is welded pretty much shut won't serve you well when you get surprised by that 35 pound bass that inhales your fly on the beach. Backing doesn't last forever.
And then we have the rod. Experts say if you had two put your money into one thing, especially if you are fishing the salt or big fish in the fresh or salt, then the reel is where your cash should go. Lefty always talked about how the cost of fly fishing gear is a barrier to people getting into the sport or making the jump from beginner to novice to expert. Some say a manufacturer's lower-end rods are, well fine, enough to catch whatever you will with a higher end rod. Yes, the cork and hardware may be cheaper, but that's where the cost difference comes in. But the technology and tapers are just about the same. And don't forget, products made in the USA are always more expensive than the ones made overseas.
So that leads me to the Orvis Helios. Orvis's new and improved line of rods. They come in both an F, for Finesse, and a D, for distance, The D's are for big fish and are for heavier weight lines. I'm a D guy. While I have been hemming and hawing over a switch to, say Colton rods and reels, I find myself torn with sticking with Orvis, which, I have to say, have served me well for over a decade. I started fishing Orvis rods before the original Helios line hit the market in the mid-2000's. I've had them all up until the Helios 3's, I never felt the need to make that jump. So now what?
The other day I stopped by to see my buddy Andrew Hamilton over at Orvis Princeton. He is a guy who I trust. He's fishy. He's in the know and a great resource for expertise and honesty is you ever need help from an expert. I'd also recommend the fishing manger there Bruce as well, either way you're in good hands. So Andrew poured it all out to me. What he thinks about the rods and what he feels about their casting abilities compared to the H3's and some of the competitor's rods as well. He said the only way to know is to get one in your hand and give it a go. So off to the courtyard we went.
I explained to Andrew that I didn't think and average caster like myself would be able to tell the difference, well, I was wrong with that. He loaded up the 10 weight variations with a reel and the Scientific Anglers Titan line and I was off to the races. I casted the 9ft 10 wt and the 8.5 ft 10 wt. First, that Sonar Titan line is a beast. I've never been able to cast into my backing but with this line
coupled with the 9ft 10 wt I was. Do I need to cast over 100 feet? Sometimes I do. And if I don't need the distance all the time, it's the reduced amount of effort in the cast, say during an extended outing, that really could make the difference. There was no need for multiple false casts, which I hate and do all the time, in order to make longer casts. One good backcast, with a solid load, and whew, it was gone. Now again, having a line all kinds of loaded up front won't be my choice for tossing crab imitations into the trough, but I am sure a less aggressive line on the new Helios would be just as good. Different applications call for different fly lines. That's where those spare spools come into play.
And what about the Benjamin's? Mmm. Well the price point on the new Helios is $1,098 for the F series and $1,198 for the D. If you're happy with your reels then that's great. Mine have been through the wringer. Dropped, dinged, bent, worn from the sand that creates new grooves where the spool meets the reel. It's time for an upgrade. A new Mirage reel will set you back $798 and the spare spool $398. That's not chump change. I know. But it is an investment in yourself and your hobby, or obsession. Basically it comes to the haves and the have nots. Who has it like that? Well, a lot of people do. Now that's not to say in order to love the sport, and catch fish, that you have to go for the over $2,000 to be in the game, but, you should know what the possibilities are. You know we spend and waste far too much money on things that we really don't want to or won't last.
If you are an Orvis customer and use the Recon or Clearwater line of rods and are happy with them then great. I would encourage you to still go and learn and try out the Helios rod. See if it can change your game. Technology has changed everything we know about everything. From cell phones, to our cars, to our appliances. Newer doesn't always mean better. Newer, to me, means more bells and whistles, with things that are now un-repairable, and almost disposable. That's a shame. But if this is your thing, and you feel your game would benefit from that huge step from an entry into the sport set-up to the top of the line, in any manufacturer's line, then there are ways to go about it.
Things are tough. Money is tight. The kids are still in college. Groceries are a fortune. You, like me, are realizing the costs, and the waste, and temporary-ness (think of the toilet), that say going out to dinner is these days. Maybe cutting back a bit, selling some other stuff off, asking for a Gift Card for your birthday or Father's or Mother's Day, just might take the sting off of that big investment. These Helios rods will be around for 6-8 years if history repeats itself. You have time if you so choose. For me, it's a tough call, return to where I have been for years, or venture off into an all-or-none world of another brand of rods and reels. Either way you'll have to decide to spend your money on something that will give you years of performance and satisfaction, or not. You may be just fine with what you are running with now. If it's the cost then think of that the next time you "just go out to dinner" for $200 and then turn around and flush that down the toilet the morning after. Do that 10 times and there you have your new rod, reel, spare spool and line, and years of enjoyment.
