The pursuit of musky with a fly started for me over three decades ago. An interest in this mighty top of the food chain predator was instilled at a young age and intersected with my growing passion for fly fishing as an adult. For years, I toiled with single-hand rods and shooting heads in the pursuit of this elusive quarry, but musky fly fishing involves casting large, wind-resistant flies. Single-hand casting all day long with this added resistance can place a substantial physical strain on the arm and shoulder.
Thankfully, I moved to the two-handed overhead casting approach for musky over ten years ago. The two-handed style lends itself perfectly to making long casts with big flies. Musky anglers today, fishing with conventional gear, all cast two-handing rods, and it makes perfect sense that fly anglers would use the same approach.
The Why
Single-handed casting for musky can be a grueling ordeal. Long days on the water, cast after cast, and throwing large flies can leave you physically and mentally exhausted. Unfortunately, for anglers, muskies have a tendency to bite at the most inopportune times. If you’re not focused, there’s a good chance you may miss the fish of 10,000 casts.
Musky fishing is largely a statistical game; consistent casting and presentation increase the odds. Overhead casting with two hands and a shooting head is an efficient way to generate significant line speed, resulting in impressive distances. Engaging both hands as well as using the body’s core in the process results in less fatigue over a day of fishing, allowing for effective casts right up to quitting time. The efficiency gained through two-hand casting has led to a significant increase in musky encounters and fish brought to the net. I credit it as the single most important step I have made over the years of musky fishing.
The How
Two-Handed Casting Fundamentals
If you Spey cast with a two-handed rod, you already have the basic stroke for overhead casting. And if not, the basic two-hand approach can be learned easily by someone who is already a proficient one-hand caster. To be efficient with the two-hand overhead approach, both hands need to be fully engaged: the hand on the top grip pushes, while the hand on the bottom grip pulls in toward your torso in an accelerated movement. Your hands operate around a fulcrum, creating significant line speed. The pull of the bottom hand basically replaces the haul or double haul when casting a shooting head with a single-hand rod. When properly executed, this movement can shoot 50 to 60 feet of running line, even with a big musky fly.
Once you make your cast, two-handed rods help you complete your retrieve and presentation. Musky are known to follow a fly and attack boatside, typically within two feet or less of the rod tip. A two-handed fly rod allows you to figure 8 effectively with one hand on the front grip and one on the rod butt.
Setting Up the Cast
After the figure 8 or similar maneuver, to start the next cast, sweep the rod low with the fly in the water to create tension, pulling the end of the fly line and a portion of the head past the tip of the rod. At this point, the fly line is controlled by your stripping hand from the retrieve. Once you have a portion of the shooting head out of the rod tip, begin to transfer the fly line to your middle and index fingers of your top grip hand while rolling the rod into the first false cast.
Line Control
The key step in making the cast is controlling the line with the index and middle fingers of the top hand. There is a learning curve to feathering the tension against the cork so the line can slip through during back-and-forth false casts to place the head beyond the rod tip without losing control. More fly line or head past the tip requires greater tension against the cork. With practice, muscle memory kicks in, and the process becomes nearly automatic.
One or two false casts while allowing the line to slip through where it is pinched off against the upper handle allows the head to clear the rod tip into the launch area to set up for the forward cast. Most lines have a distinct color change between the head and running line to indicate when the head has cleared the tip, but over time, it can usually be detected by feel.
Mastering the Casting Stroke
The basic two-hand stroke follows the same principles of one-hand casting. The rod should move in a straight plane in an accelerated manner on both the forward and back cast, moving slowest as the stroke begins and fastest just prior to an abrupt stop. The farther the rod tip moves, the more line it can throw. When delivering the forward cast, aim high for distance and lower when accuracy counts. Release the running line after the abrupt stop on the final forward cast, and be sure to forcefully pull in with the bottom hand to create line speed.
Good casting form provides for a strong turnover of the fly and leader. This allows the fly to start fishing immediately after the proper depth has been obtained and prevents the fly from fouling during the cast. Consistency is important in the pursuit of musky. Making repeatable casts within your abilities is a more effective approach than attempting to cast too far with a lower number of quality presentations.
Essential Gear
Rods
There are some rods on the market manufactured specifically for two-handed and overhead casting that include an extended bottom grip—most range from 9 to 10 feet long. For musky, rods range from 10 to 12-weight offerings, although many of these rods are rated by grain weight rather than the traditional line weight scale. Longer switch rods can also be used, but a length much greater than ten feet can be somewhat cumbersome for working the fly near the boat. Typically, casters place their dominant hand on the top grip when two-handed overhead casting. However, it is beneficial to practice with your non-dominant hand on the top grip; being able to do so provides flexibility to meet challenges caused by wind direction or when there are two anglers in a boat.
Lines
Lines with shorter heads help load the rod quickly and facilitate getting the fly back in the water. Heads of 23 to 25 feet work best, although slightly longer heads with an aggressive front taper work equally as well. The grain weight that matches most two-handed casting rods ranges from 500 to 750 grains. In the past, I created my own lines by splicing a shooting head with a running line. Thankfully, there are currently a few lines on the market that meet these specifications, and manufacturers are beginning to offer more options for two-hand overhead casting as this style of fishing gains popularity.
Most heads for musky fishing are designed to sink with sink rates of 5 to 8 inches per second. For fishing on or near the surface, integrated Skagit-style heads work well to deliver a fly with the two-handed technique.
Two-Handed Casting for Other Species
The two-hand overhead approach is not limited to musky but can be applied to other fly fishing situations. I have used this technique while fishing along beaches for striped bass and other near-shore species. With the running line stored in a stripping basket, the two-hander facilitates fast casting for sight opportunities and the power and leverage for blind casting in the surf. Utilizing a longer length rod than used for musky can increase the advantage of leverage to deliver very long casts.
The two-hand overhead approach can be used for any type of streamer or predator fishing that requires efficient casting. This includes fishing for pike, trout, or bass. The approach is perfect for an angler who suffers from shoulder ailments that restrict the ability to single-hand cast. I know of some anglers who have adapted the two-hand approach to fishing for tarpon and other big game saltwater species to overcome casting shoulder issues.
Final Thoughts on Two-Handed Overhead Casting
For musky fishing, the advantages of the two-hand approach are obvious and have changed the game for me in many ways. While this style of casting provides its highest benefit on larger waters, it is also an efficient way to present a fly on smaller musky rivers as well. The two-hand style provides the tool for musky fly anglers to be effective and is an approach that can be applied to a wider range of challenges.