My Trout Fishing In America Has Gone International. I'm Roll Casting Kiwi, Baby.

Yesterday I landed a 5 pound Brook Trout in the North Fork Shenandoah River using the Tongariro Roll Cast.

I learned the cast from downloading and watching the above video of the Tongariro Roll Cast performed by Andrew Blake, a local fishing guide from Turangi, which is located near Lake Taupo in New Zealand.

I must have watched this video a thousand times.

It's far more complicated to perform than it looks.

The Tongariro River has been the birthplace of many homegrown fly-fishing innovations.

Innovations such as the shooting head, Red Setter wet fly, Globug, Tongariro bomb, and all the adaptations to upstream nymphing for spawning run rainbow trout.

All these can be traced to this famous river.

The Tongariro Roll Cast (TRC for short) is the latest and certainly not the last contribution to fly-fishing that has come from this illustrious water.

Every roll cast breaks down into two parts: The set-up and the forward cast.

Because advanced roll casting is relatively new to this country you ought to know that the difference between all roll casts is purely in the set-up stages.

That is, everything you do “before” you launch into the delivery.

The delivery cast (or forward cast) remains identical with all of them.

UPSIDES OF THE TRC

Only minimal back casting room is required, hence you can fish places others can't. (Don't tell me you wouldn't love that.)

You will never get hit by a “bomb”. (No more pain.)

Say goodbye to the dreaded tailwind. (And collapsed back casts.)

Your nymphs spend less time in the air and more time in the water than with conventional overhead casting. (More chance for a hook-up.)

The cast is also less tiring and not so hard on your fly-line. (Lets you fish out the week without resorting to painkillers. It also saves money.)

Leader length and bomb weight is less critical. (Ever tried casting with two-rod lengths of leader?)

You can get excellent results with gear of a lighter AFTMA rating, i.e. # 6 or #7. (Great for women, kids and men who hate pumping iron.)

DOWNSIDES OF THE TRC

As you might expect there are downsides. (I hope you didn't expect a free lunch.)

The cast is not easy to learn. (That should put the slackers off.)

The cast gets more difficult the deeper your wade. (Shouldn't worry guys who habitually stand right in the middle of the best lie.)

Not as headwind penetrating than an overhead cast. (So, don't throw out overhead casting just yet.)

You will get lots of folk pestering you for a lesson. (Great for the ego but it will seriously cut into your fishing time.)

For the past month I've been practising the TRC at Lake Thoreau, which is a short walk from my home.

I can't being to tell you how many times I've been stopped by walkers and runners asking me how this cast is performed.

When I retire I want to relocate to New Zealand.

I understand people in New Zealand don't pester people who cast Kiwi.