By Rene J. Hesse
Have you heard the expression that there is no stress unless we put it on ourselves? After hearing this thought process, I started to look at my work situation a little differently, and it was for the better. But this is supposed to be a fly casting article, so why would tension be involved? We put tension on ourselves to complete a task (mental), and we also want to put tension on the line to make a cast (physical). The English language is really confusing. How do people from another county ever learn it?
The word ‘tension’ can mean to strain, stretch or being stretched. The good side of recognizing what tension is in life is that we can look at ourselves and control that aspect of things. We control how we react to things if we want to. The same applies to tension in fly casting. Tension on the fly line is a good thing, and learning how to control it will improve your casting.
When your line is out in front of you and before you start the cast, put some tension on the line. Lower your rod tip to the water and start to strip the line in until you make the fly move, then start the back cast. If you are using a short line, say 15-20 feet, lift the rod tip until the fly is moving. That will create the tension needed to then allow for a smooth, crisp acceleration to a stop for the back cast. Think about the beginning of the cast as trying to stretch the line straight before the smooth acceleration to the stop. Think about tension in the back cast too. Don’t allow the line to fall and lose tension by waiting too long as the line extends behind you.
Having a little tension in our lives can be a good thing, especially in fly casting.