The “Water Haul” Casting Technique

[Mike Cline]

In a recent post concerning casting distance, I posted a video in which I made several “water hauls” during the cast with a long sink tip line. The “water hauling” or “water loading” was denigrated by several members as (to be nice) poor technique. In another video posted that was designed to teach the “Water haul”, a member called the casting instructor a “hack”. These comments prompted me to explore the technique further to see how mainstream or niche it might be. I mastered the “Water haul” well over a decade ago and find it an excellent technique to generate distance and accuracy with long sink tips fishing streamers in big Montana rivers, Florida saltwater flats and still waters, especially in windy conditions. In the last decade, a very well know Master Casting Instructor and fishing partner has helped me perfect this technique on the water.

With just a bit of research time, I found numerous references to the “Water Haul” in books and online by Lefty Kreh, Cathy Beck, Ed Jaworowski and others relative to casting streamers with long sink tips in both fresh and saltwater environments. Hardly hacks.

So the poll above is just an attempt to see how popular this technique is for fishing streamers with long sink tips.

 

[Pink Nighty]

I'm not a pretty fly fisherman. In fact, rarely is anything I do aesthetically pleasing and form-correct. In keeping with this, I water haul all the damn time. Dries, nymphs, floating, sinking, big and small I water haul it all. Water haul with a double haul and triple stamp that double stamp. You can totally do it.

 

[Gary Knowels]

I like to use it while fishing chironomids, especially if I don't have a lot of fly line out of the tip, helps generate enough load to throw a bobber, 2 bead head flies, and 15 feet of leader. But then again, I'm a hack and often display poor form.

 

[clarkman]

You forgot, "water hauling isn't fly fishing"

actually, totally kidding.

Personally, I don't do it often as I very rarely find it necessary....although, occasionally, when I decide to throw larger streamers (>16") for tiger muskies it may be necessary even on a 12wt. edit: it should be noted that's only on the back cast, otherwise you're spooking the fish in front of you. Out of all my streamer fishing, that's the only situation where I have felt it necessary.

 

[Coach Potter]

I water load more than water haul but I also don’t care much about anything that pertains to aesthetics when it comes to fishing. I fish to catch fish.

 

[Mossback]

The real question is what shorts do you wear while water loading your casts ?

 

[Shad]

I say do whatever you have to do to get the fly where it needs to go. I "water haul" a lot when indicator fishing in flowing water. Quickest way to get the setup from the bottom of the drift to the top again. Takes much less effort than any sort of aerial recast. Of course, in order to be efficient, the drift needs to be relatively close to your position.

I do a lot of my local streamer fishing with a floating line, sinking polyleader, and weighted streamers, but when I want to get down the swimmy, unweighted stuff, I grudgingly break out the sink tip line.

Straight away, I'll say it... I HATE fishing sink tips, but there are some situations where you just have to suck it up and use them. With a one-hander, it's usually an ugly, chuck and duck affair (as I said before, whatever it takes to deliver the system to the lie is what you gotta do), so far be it from me to cast aspersions on anyone else doing the same.

I like the integrated streamer lines much better than separate tips for casting purposes. Not having any transitions between the shooting line and the head allows the system to move through the guides like a normal fly line, which enables the angler to use Spey casts and the like, which is essentially just high-class water-hauling but makes you look and feel cool. What I don't like about integrated lines is that you lose the adaptability of a system of tips in various lengths and sink weights. Both integrated and multi-tip setups wear me out on a one-hander, and the older I get, the less my joints approve of hauling all that awkward weight through the air and water. I do kind of hate them, but I fish them when I have to, and water hauling is probably among the lesser sins I commit when I do.

 

[Coach Potter]

I water load more than water haul but I also don’t care much about anything that pertains to aesthetics when it comes to fishing. I fish to catch fish.

The kind that will turn the head of a barista

 

[Northern]

I find a water haul to be useful in several situations, and give no f***s what anyone but the fish think
Well, actually, my questionable right rotator cuff usually talks me out of it pretty quickly, but that's a different issue.

 

[Salmo_g]

I learned about the water haul at the same time I learned the single and double haul as I was learning to fly cast from casting instructor Dawn Holbrook in 1971. It's hard to not water haul at least a little bit when casting a sinking or sink tip fly line even when one roll casts the sinking line to the surface prior to beginning the back cast because that sinking line immediately begins sinking even after being roll cast to the surface, imparting some amount of additional resistance (which is what the water haul is) to the line.

I didn't respond to the poll because my use of a water haul doesn't quite fit those pigeon hole side boards.

 

[DimeBrite]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a single smooth water haul to initiate your cast, it is vital. However, repeatedly water hauling (line landing in front of you in the target zone) is going to spook fish in most scenarios. A crisp double haul cast is better than making repeated water haul casts in my opinion. In really extreme situations you can water haul behind you to load your rod for a quick shot. Tight lines and healthy rotator cuffs.

 

[Tom Butler]

I guess I do it all the time. I use the water to load the rod fishing my 3 softhacles or whatever in the small streams I fish all the time. complete the drift and use the water to load and flick it back up, or across or just for a new swing. Maybe water loading is a better term. It seems to me that's what I use ESN nymphing also.

 

[clarkman]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using a single smooth water haul to initiate your cast, it is vital. However, repeatedly water hauling (line landing in front of you in the target zone) is going to spook fish in most scenarios. A crisp double haul cast is better than making repeated water haul casts in my opinion. In really extreme situations you can water haul behind you to load your rod for a quick shot. Tight lines and healthy rotator cuffs.

you articulated this far better than I could have hoped to....

 

[Salmo_g]

However, repeatedly water hauling (line landing in front of you in the target zone) is going to spook fish in most scenarios.

There's a time to water haul and a time to not water haul. It wouldn't make sense to water haul if it were landing in the target zone. I know it's important to not make assumptions, but just about any statement of fact is dependent on certain assumptions that are often inferred or implied. Lacking inference or implication, I suppose there are rookie anglers who might water haul - and a lot of other things they shouldn't do - in the target zone.

 

[DimeBrite]

How your streamer fly feels during excessive water hauling

 

[Divad]

I like water loading heavy nymph rigs and fat streamers in the fall, preferably in tiny water with stupid big fish.

 

[clarkman]

So are we talking "water haul" as in repeatedly in the same cast? or water loading at the very beginning to get a proper fly cast? This question is a little too open ended for my taste.



/sarcasm

 

[Roper]

I always water load full sink lines after stripping in on lakes…who cares if someone doesn’t like it?

 

[John Svahn]

I waterhaul and then water load/haul from beside/behind me to launch the forward cast pretty regularly when fishing a single hander in big water. I kinda thought that is how you shoot line, especially if tired…

 

[Eastside]

I always water load full sink lines after stripping in on lakes…who cares if someone doesn’t like it?

Spot on. After a guided trip in South Puget Sound for sea-run cutthroat where the fish were skittish with water loading, I’ve been working on using the double haul after the first cast using a water load after stripping in the sinking line. When I’m in the tube, I need to reinforce that I don’t have to cast to the other side of the lake, thus eliminating the need for water load and double haul casts.