Fishing Accessories – Opportunity Drawing:

Blue Wave Boats – 2 fishing Shirts

Floatmaster- One (1) portable bait / wading system which includes tackle box, live bait bin, rod holders and more!

Salt Water Soul – Variety of apparel valued at $500

Bruce Vieau – Bud Light NFL Fridge

Capt. Galen Pruett – Granite Cutting Board & T-shirts

Trout Support DVD- Two (2) DVD Sets (Redfish DVD)

Texas Smokehouse Sauce – Three (3) Gift Baskets – Sauce, Rubs & a Koozie

Evans Marine – 100 hour outboard service ($550 value)

Grind Terminal Tackle – 12’ Stringer, Spike Sheath, Assorted Buggs and a Touts Wade Box

Baumann Propellers – Two (2) Gift Certificates for $150.00

Rita’s Italian Ice – Four (4) Quarts of Italian Ice, redeemable at Rita’s Italian Ice 61^st ST & Seawall

BAAD Marine Supply – Pro-O2 Oxygen System & a Fishing Reel

Fishing Tackle Unlimited – $250 worth of products & fishing gear

Fish-N-Hunt – Lures & Assorted gear

Third Stone Software – Fisherman’s Analyst Software

StrikePro – Towels, Stickers, & Fishing Lures

Rods  (Opportunity Drawing / Auction)

Custom Coastal Rods (Allen Pierce) – Two (2) Bait Casting Rods

“TTU Wader” – Alex – One (1) Custom Rod

Shoal Patrol Custom Rods – One (1) Custom Rod

Big Daddy Custom Rods – One (1) Wading Rod & One (1) Heavy Spinner for Kings, Snapper etc.

Live Auction:

Texas Original Pits – Custom BBQ Pit

Redfish Capital – One (1) Kayak, Seat and a Paddle

Wildlife Portraits – Custom Wildlife Framed Print by Les McDonald

Trips (Live Auction Items)

Capt. Glenn Stevens – ½ Day Guided Fishing Trip (2 people)

Capt. Greg Francis – ½ Day Guided Fishing Trip (3 people)

Notorious Guide Service – Capt. Thomas Barlow – ½ Day guided fishing trip (max 2 people) sight casting to reds

Capt. Steve Soule – The Shallowist – 2 People ½ day Guided Fishing Trip

Kaylin Barlow – Donated Trip for 1 person on a poling skiff

Capt. Craig Lambert – 4 people ½ day fishing trip

Moody Gardens – Overnight stay at the Moody Gardens hotel

FishWestEnd would like to thank all of our sponsors

 

Texas Outdoors Journal

Hookset Marine Gear

BAAD Marine Supply

Saltwater Assault Guide Service

Breakwater Marine Electronics

Trout Support

Texas Smokehouse Sauce

MudMotorTalk

Grind Terminal Tackle

Redfish Capital Management

Daley’s Hunt N Fish

Gator-Tail Outboards, LLC

Coastal Guide Service

ANDCO Construction

Baumann Props

Chickenboy Lures

Custom Coastal Rods

Evans Marine

Plash Lights – LED Supplier

Johnny’s Trailer Repair

Underwater Green Lights

Waterloo Rods

Castaway Rods

Fish N Hunt

Casting Tales Fishing Charters

HookSpit

South Texas Boat Works

 

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Some of our past supporters

Lutes Marine

Billy StiX Custom Rods

Big Nasty Bait Co.

High Tech Marine

Capt. Mike O’Dell

Hook1 Kayak Gear

Texas Tackle Factory

Fischer Angling – Reel Repair

Shoal Patrol

J Hardgrave Marine

Reel Crazy Apparel

Boat Lift Distributors

Texas Original Pits

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Friends / Organizations & Tournaments

SaltyTexan

2CoolFishing

S.E.T.S.F.A.

Gulf Coast Trout Series

Galveston Redfish Series

Tails & Tunes

Texas Swordfish Seminar

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Charitable Organizations we support:

Gary J Lynn Foundation

Texana Children’s Center for Autism

The Fischer House

Shriners Hospitals for Children – Galveston

 

 

2012 Big Trout Tournament Raffle Ticket *WINNER NEED NOT BE PRESENT* ** We will fill out the ticket for you & send the ticket stubs to you via US Mail**

Read More

 

Fly-Fishing 101

Fly-Casting Essentials

By Captain Steve Soule’

 

Here it is another month gone by and it’s time for another installment of “long rod lunacy”. I’m going to take the big challenge this month of describing with words something that is difficult to explain and teach even when you’re standing next to someone with a fly-rod in hand I’m going to run through the “Essentials of Fly-Casting” in the order that I teach them to a beginning caster. The terminology and statements are taken from the booklet written by my good friend Captain Bill Gammel and it has been adopted and used by the Federation of Fly-Fishers as the foundation for teaching. This booklet is the most concise and informative tool that I’ve ever encountered for learning and mastering fly-casting. The booklet is available through the federation for a mere two dollars. You can contact me for information on obtaining a copy.

So you’re ready for the first attempts al casting, you’ve got your new rig all set up and you’re ready to cast. You’ve seen it on TV, in movies, maybe even watched a casting demonstration. It doesn’t look all that hard, more graceful or elegant, to watch the fly line “loop” unroll off the tip of the rod. It really isn’t, given the right instruction and a little basic understanding of how it works. I talked last month about rod actions, now I need to add a few new technical terms to our vocabulary. First of all, we need to understand” rod loading”. A rod “loads”(bends or stores energy) by the force being exerted upon it. With conventional gear we use weights or lures to accomplish this, with a fly-rod it is the weight of the foreword section of the line or the “head” that helps to load the rod. The other important term is the “loop” which is formed during a well-executed cast. Generally speaking, a tighter “loop” is better because the casting energy is directed more efficiently towards the target.

On to the casting, keeping in mind that initially we will work only with the casting hand, in other words no “hauling” or “double hauling” until we’re proficient at the basic casting stroke. The first essential element involved is that slack line must be kept to an absolute minimum at all times during the cast. I’ll give a few quick examples; before beginning each cast the rod tip should be near or touching the ground so that there is no slack between the tip and the ground. During the cast, the line between the lowest guide and the reel must be controlled so that it won’t slip or allow slack in the cast. The other example falls into the next essential so we’ll refer back to it then. What we need to remember here is that the goal in fly-casting is to move the fly to the target, and before we can move the fly we must move all of the line from the rod tip down to the fly. Why does slack matter you ask, because all slack line must be removed before the remainder of the line can move and in casting and in doing so potential casting stroke is always lost.

Essential number two says: there must be a pause at the end of each casting stroke, which varies in duration with the amount of line beyond the rod tip. This one sounds simple and basically it is. The reason for the pause is that the line needs time to straighten at the end of each cast before the next cast can be made. The amount of time for straightening is greater when casting with a longer amount line and conversely shorter when using less line. The reference back to the slack line issue here is that unless the line is allowed to straighten between each casting stroke it acts much like starting a cast with slack line. It works like this, you make a back cast and don’t pause long enough before making your foreword cast, the first part of your foreword casting stroke must essentially pull the slack line straight before you can effectively begin moving the line foreword. The tell tale sign of this casting error is hearing the line “pop” as you begin the casing stroke. It helps many casters early on, to watch both foreword and back casts until the sense of timing and feel for line straightening is developed.

The third essential states; In order to form the most efficient loop the Rod tip must move through a straight-line path. Again this sounds fairly simple, and again it is, but to understand it completely we must understand and account for the “rod loading”. I said earlier that the rod loads from the weight of the fly line and the force exerted on the rod. To put this into perspective, the casting hand actually moves through a slight arcing motion but as the “rod loads” the tip flexes in the opposite direction of the cast and therefore travels along a straighter plane when compared to the casting hand. Here’s an important point; a fly rod is designed to cast a fly line by “loading” and “unloading”. A fly-casters job is to create “load” in the rod by applying power and then “unload” it by stopping the casting movement in a crisp or sharp manner with the rod tip pointed toward the target. This is how the “loop” is created and controls the shape and size of it as well. If the rod tip moves through a convex or outward curving arc the loop will expand. If it moves through a concave or inward curving arc the loop will grow tighter. It can and will become too tight if the arc becomes concave and this is how a tailing loop occurs.

Essential number four says: the length of the casting stroke must vary with the length of line being cast. This works much like the pauses from essential number two. The best way I know to explain it is that the fly rod acts as the lever to propel the fly line and to cast more line you must use more of the lever. This can be seen very easily when casting with only twenty feet of line the cast can be made efficiently with a very short stroke where the casting hand may move only one foot. When casting longer distances of line say sixty feet the casting strike must be lengthened to two to two and a half feet. Keep in mind that what maters here is how far the rod tip moves not the casting hand, so there are ways to lengthen the stroke without overexerting yourself.

The final essential refers to power application; Power must be applied in the appropriate amount and at the appropriate time during the casting stroke. This one is often difficult to master. and is the cause of many problems especially for those who have spent a lifetime casting conventional tackle. Here’s how to apply power at the proper time; power application should be smooth and gradually increase through the casting stroke to the maximum necessary speed for the given cast. At the end of the stroke the casting hand must come to a “crisp” stop at the point where the rod tip is directed toward the target and will allow for a level trajectory of the line. This casting motion will generate both rod “loading” and “unloading” and create a tight efficient loop.

Obviously there’s much more to be said about fly-casting but it would take up more space than FishWestEnd.com would probably want to donate to me. I hope that you find this information helpful in your quest and if you have any questions feel free to give me a call. Until next time, just try to keep those loops tight.

 

Captain Steve.

Please note our 2012 Schedule of Events

January 28, 2012 – 3rd Annual West Bay Big Trout

March 24, 2012 – 2012 Charity Cook Off

April 28, 2012 – Blackjack Tournament

July 7, 2012 – SLAM Tournament

October 27, 2012 – Redfish Showdown

Trips

Saltwater Assault Guide Service
Captain Greg Francis with Saltwater Assault Guide Service will take you & friend on a trophy trout trip. Use your brand new Charlie's Custom Rod (included) to land that trophy trout!

Coastal Guide Service
Captain Glenn Stevens will host you and your party for a day on the water in Galveston Bay.

Flounder Gigging & Overnight Trip
You and a friend will hit the secret gigging spots of top flounder expert Bert “2112” Flores. He will show you what it’s like to stalk the flat fish in style and come home a winner. Before and after your trip you will stay at Sandy Law’s (Coachlaw) private cabin on Titlum Tatlum bayou known as Blockade Runners. So before and after your trip, pull up a rocking chair, kick back on the porch, enjoy genuine Cajun cooking, and see if you can catch a few trout under the lights…this will be a night you will never forget!

Tackle & Gear

HookSet Marine Gear – Wading Boxes, Stringers, Belts, & Gear

Breakwater Marine Electronics – Chart Points – load your GPS up with these proven spots 

Texas Tackle Factory – T.B.D. – Tal is putting together a great raffle item.

Fish-N-Hunt – Collection of Buggs Lures

Grind Terminal Tackle – Wade boxes & Stringers

Rockport Rattler – Jig heads and koozies

Fishing Tackle Unlimited – Complete Wade Fishing Setup with Rod & Reel

Billy StiX Custom Spiral Rod – Custom Spiral Rod by Billy McDaniel.

(2) Trout Support DVD – Find out what you have been missing, watching this DVD will have you catching more quality fish in no time!

BAAD Marine Supply & Pro-O2 Systems – Complete oxygen system to keep your fish alive!

Coastal Custom Rods – Allen Pierce has donated a one of a kind custom redfish rod!

Pro-O2 Systems – Complete oxygen system to help keep your fish or bait alive.

Around the Home

Texas Smokehouse Sauce – Gift baskets for the everyday cook! Also the sauce being used for the BBQ Plate Lunch / Dinner

Texas Original Pits
-Custom 36” Fire pit – Perfect for the patio or the camp
-BBQ Grill / Smoker with temperature gauge – Great to show off those backyard BBQ skills

Custom Furniture Maker Victor Martinez – COOLER
Beat the Texas heat! Victor Martinez has graciously donated one of his custom designed wood encased coolers. If you ever need to keep drinks cool why not keep them cool in grand fashion. Add that “old time” Texas beer cooler look to your back porch. These coolers not only keep your items cold for days but they do it in style…Texas style!

Dinners & Retreats

Dinner at Salt Grass Steakhouse for 2!

Spa Day at San Luis