Quick Tips: The Backhand Snake Roll Fly Cast

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G. Loomis and Patagonia ambassabor and Abel Pro André Brun gives us this instructional video on how to do the backhand snake roll fly cast, including an air mend at the end, to get a drag free drift. This film is done with Brun’s regular 5-weight rig for brown-trout dry-fly fishing (a G. Loomis NRX+ 9-foot 5-weight rod paired with an Abel SDF 4/5 reel) with a delicate fly line, suitable for presentations to spooky trout in clear water. 

As Brun breaks it down:

We have the regular Spey cast and we have the regular snake roll cast. And then we have the wonderful backhand snake roll cast with an air mend. Which I’ll use when the river is running right to left and the presentation is crucial.

The air mend itself gives you one splash less compared to mending on water. And the backhand snake roll is without a doubt the most refined presentation in such circumstances. When it comes to mending after the presentation has been done, I will bend the tip. When you mend, hold the line firm with the left hand and the split second you mend, release the left hand so that the line flies through the guides. This prevents most of the drag that otherwise that would be visible on the fly if you would keep on holding the line with a firm grip. It’s all about presentation and this gives your mayfly dun imitation a drag-free drift.

The snake roll is a change of direction cast that gives you a quick transition to having your line hanging straight downstream to shooting it out in front of you. Form a D loop downstream in the direction you’re about to cast. Be sure that there is no negative drift to your arm and keep it high up like you would with a regular cast. From here make a regular fly cast out in the direction you’d like to go. Only difference being that you have your right hand on the left side of your body.

As you’re about to present the fly, make a right movement upstream with your fly rod tip to create the air mend kind of mending.