Pause & Effect

Creep, drag and drift in between casting strokes

Creep happens. When I teach casting to intermediate anglers, it’s rare that this topic doesn’t come up. Same thing with drag and drift. They’re common themes in fly casting instruction.

In this case, creep isn’t the way you approach spooky trout on a popular river in low water. Likewise, drift and drag in this context aren’t referring to how your fly floats through a run with multiple seams and currents. When we talk about these concepts as they relate to casting, we’re discussing movements of the fly rod which occur after the stop but before the next stroke—in other words, during the pause between casting strokes.

Creep’s a drag

Creep, as defined by FFI, is rod rotation during the pause in the direction of the next cast. Drag, according to our FFI friends, is hand translation (movement) during that same pause. Why do intermediate and advanced casters make these errors more than beginners? Because they have comprehended the basic casting stroke and are now looking for more power and distance. However, until these students have understood and begun to eliminate creep and drag, they will have challenges extending their stroke length, developing more speed and carrying more line. Furthermore, until their rod and hand movements are identified and refined, all anglers will wrestle with keeping the path of the rod tip in a straight line.

Unwitting imperfections

Creep and drag, generally, are detrimental to the casting stroke, reducing the casting arc or casting length. Consider an angler making a 45-foot cast with good loops, using no less and no more movement than appropriate while ensuring a straight line path of the rod tip through acceleration. But then, after a back cast, there is an imperceptible forward rotation of the rod in anticipation of the next cast. Unwittingly, the angler has reduced the casting arc—gone from 10 and 2, to half past 11, so to speak. This is creep. Simultaneously, the angler’s arm fails to extend to the full stroke length. This is drag. Usually what happens next is the caster applies their power to a reduced casting arc, the rod path dips and a tailing loop shows up.

Familiar foibles

It’s important to remember this is a common occurrence. Often, as a caster begins to increase their stroke length and arc and adds distance to their cast, the upshot of those resulting wider loops is a loss of feel with the fly line. As slack enters the system in the unrolling loop, in an effort to remain connected, they start creeping or dragging the hand in the direction of the cast. Similarly, as the caster carries more line, in anticipation of the next, more powerful stroke, the hand and rod creep forward.

Creep and drag are almost always linked. And no matter the level of angler expertise, the biomechanics of casting means there will always be some rotational and translational movement. Blame physics for that. However, the degree to which each movement happens varies and for our purposes, once we’ve identified the occurrence, we can work to minimize it. Here are some common fixes:

Hold the position after the stop. The easiest, most immediate fix is to hold the position at the stop so that the casting arc is not reduced. Easier said than done, sure, but using vocal cues from an instructor or physical cues—a specific point or position in space—can aid in the process.

Increase the effective range of motion. Sometimes, the accidental introduction of creep can occur because a caster doesn’t have a full range of motion. Simple musclememory improvement exercises, such as practicing with a rod butt in front of a mirror, will assist with widening one’s stroke length.

Improve the loops. Tightening up one’s loops will reduce slack, improve feel and reduce the tendency to want to move that hand and rod forward.

Good with the bad

If you’re reading this as a tournament caster, you might be thinking that creep and drag aren’t always a bad thing. It’s true: creep and drag can both reduce slack before the next casting stroke begins. Used to pull in aerial, unrolled line, create a better connection with the system and even straighten the path of the rod tip, creep and drag can indeed be harnessed for good. But for the goals of most anglers, creep and drag are usually just that: a drag. To minimize them, my favourite remedy is to introduce drift.

Drift the drag away

Drift, once again as defined by our experts at FFI, is rotation and/or translation during the pause in the direction of the current cast. This differs from creep and drag, which occur during the pause in the direction of the next cast. Drift, generally, is utilized as a casting aid by instructors. Imagine a distance caster, accelerating smoothly, their rod tip moving in a straight line and ending with an abrupt stop, forming a good loop in the backcast. But then, as the loop is unrolling, the caster smoothly rotates/translates in the direction of the unrolling loop, in such a manner that doesn’t introduce slack and before the loop has lost energy and begins to fall. Instead of reducing the potential arc and the length of the next casting stroke, the drift increases these elements, thus allowing for a longer application of power, a longer stroke and an easier cast. The uniformlyapplied power reduces the tendency of a wavering rod path and because the drift is introduced on the front or back cast, but not under power, it has minimal impact on the loop.

While it can seem a bit technical, it’s important to understand the movements of the drift in fly casting.

Rotational drift is rotation made in the direction of the current cast or unrolling loop. This is typically done by rotating the wrist or shoulder. This has been referred to as a “lay back” when done in the backcast, but it’s important not to lay it back too much. Over-drifting can pull the fly line down, increase the rate at which the loop unrolls and end the cast prematurely, the result of which robs you of power and reduces distance.

Translational drift is also made in the direction of the current cast or unrolling loop, but because it is made at the end of the cast where the arm is extended, typically as a lift, it is hard to achieve in isolation. Like an overextension of rotational drift, lifting too much can put tension on the line and cause it to unroll more rapidly.

Through the paces

To practice adding a drift and minimizing creep and drag, start simple, without the burden of a full rod and reel set-up. Begin with just the butt of the rod, practicing in front of a mirror. Pantomime the casting stroke so you can watch the full motion of your cast without needing to turn your head. Make the “cast” slowly, then after the stop move the hand in the direction of what would be the unrolling loop.

Now, with an assembled rod and line, make the cast. After the stop, drift in the direction of the unrolling loop. The key is to practice it smooth and connected, as though your hand is being “pulled” by the unrolling loop. This means that no slack will be formed and will not pull on the fly line up or down or side to side.

With the drift made, it’s now critical to be sure you’re continuing to work on the range of motion. You will be applying power from a position that will be unfamiliar; this will generally take some time to manage efficiently. Practice the drift over a range of motion that is exaggerated so that your actual, effective stroke length and casting arc are easier to manage and control.

Advanced education

Casting creep is something that all fly anglers experience. Drag, too, occasionally drags all of our casting down. But drift—the kind that we achieve with our rod and arm position, rather than the quality of our fly presentation—can help mitigate these everyday errors.

Understanding the casting stroke on a deeper level means a greater understanding of your movements, why you are getting positive or negative results, and how to fix them.

Jeff Wagner

When he’s not fishing or casting you’ll find Jeff hiking or biking the back country with his family. They also volunteer their time to conservation efforts with groups such as Fly Fishers International. Oh, and during business hours Jeff does business stuff.