Austinite Roger Skov spent 25 years as a spin caster before discovering fly fishing.

Monday, April 17, 2000

Austinite Roger Skov spent 25 years as a spin caster before discovering fly fishing. That was six years ago.

During his first year with a fly rod, Skov, a southpaw, broke his left arm. So …

He started fly casting with his right one. When it comes to fly casting, Skov is now ambidextrous.

"When I teach someone," said Skov, "I take them someplace where it’s a barrel shoot."

That’s because Skov understands that early success is important in order to overcome what he called the "intimidation" factor in learning to fly cast and fish.

"In fly fishing," he said, "you’re not throwing the fly, you’re throwing the line."

To do so involves a process of "loading and unloading," said Skov, who articulated the fly cast:

n It all starts with a back swing that Skov compares to drawing back a bow. It’s called "loading" the rod.

n The fisher draws back the rod, accelerating to a distinct stop of the casting forearm and wrist.

n Immediately, the fisher proceeds with the forward cast, while – again – accelerating to a stop that unloads the rod, sending the line out into the waiting water.

"The key is to stop in the back swing and in the forward cast," Skov said. "If you keep on going through, your line is not going to go anywhere but dead."

Once the basic fly cast is mastered, fishers can learn to haul the line, which is to pull the line, adding tension that effects the outcome of the cast.

Skov said there are a lot of useful books and videos on the subject of fly casting. He recommended the Austin Public Library, which has a handful of books available on the subject.