Cast Away the Aches with Lefty Kreh

This article was originally published in the December 2008 issue of Fly Fisherman. 

[Excerpted from Casting with Lefty Kreh (Stackpole Books, 2008). THE EDITOR.]

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If you elevate your elbow on the backcast and lower it on the forward cast, you risk straining your rotator cuff. The heavier the rod, the more air-resistant the fly, and the longer the distance you try to obtain, the greater the danger of developing a torn rotator cuff.

Young or strong anglers may not have a problem now, but they tend to develop this painful problem later in life. For people who are not young or strong, the likelihood of developing a torn rotator cuff is highly possible when they use tackle that is a bit heavy for them, or they are trying to cast far distances.

Using your whole body to help cast places less strain on the arm, elbow, and rotator cuff. By keeping the elbow lower (near its normal resting position), rotating the upper body, and using just a little forearm motion during the cast, you can avoid rotator cuff problems. I am over 80 years old and have never had rotator cuff problems caused by fly casting, despite casting huge flies and heavy lines for years.

Footwork is important when using this technique. A right-hander should place the right foot to the rear; a left-hander, the opposite. For a short cast, the foot need only be a little to the rear. The longer the cast, the farther back you should position your foot. This allows your body to pivot during casting.

Lower the rod before casting. Lock your arm firmly against your body and do not move your wrist during the cast. If your arm leaves your body, you’ll aggravate the rotator cuff, and if you move your wrist, you’ll aggravate the elbow— similar to tennis elbow injuries.

1. Raise the rod to lift the line free of the water. Hauling helps.

2. As you raise the rod, begin to shift your weight to the rear foot as your body begins to pivot. Your elbow should move forward and backward on an imaginary shelf, but not up and down (off the shelf). Keep your thumb opposite the target, and begin moving your forearm and rod in concert with your pivoting body.

3. When the line end leaves the water, make the backcast by pivoting quickly.

4. Make the speed-up-and-stop by accelerating your body as you pivot it, and move your forearm back while staying on the imaginary shelf and adding a short haul so a tight-loop backcast develops. Most of the weight has shifted to your rear foot. During the entire backcast, your elbow has stayed on the shelf as your forearm sweeps the rod to the rear. Your wrist is barely flexed. Note that your shoulder joint is stationary and you use your body to make the cast. No strain has been placed on the rotator cuff.

5. Your forearm and elbow move forward on the shelf, and your wrist remains straight as your body pivots, loading the rod.

6. To extend the rod farther back, rotate your body farther while you move your forearm along the shelf. Almost all the weight is on your rear foot. At the end of the cast, your body has pivoted well to the rear, and your hauling hand has moved in front of the rod butt.

7. Your shoulder has not been involved and remains stationary throughout the cast as you haul on the line. With a slight flexing of the wrist, speed up and stop in the direction of the target.

8. Just before the line unrolls, begin quickly pivoting your body back and move your forearm forward along the shelf. To make the forward cast, swivel your body back to the starting position—while hauling the entire time.

9. As the line is unrolling, slowly lower the rod. Your body is now in the same position as at the beginning of the cast. There has been no strain on the rotator cuff (which remained stationary throughout the cast), and with only a slight flexing of your wrist on the final speed-up-and-stop.

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