Border Game Angling

Circle Spey Cast

The Circle Spey or Circle “C” cast, as it is sometimes called, can be used as an alternative cast to the single Spey, as it is another cast that is much safer and much more efficient when used in an upstream wind. It is also a cast that can assist you with your anchor placement if having difficulty with the single Spey cast.

Here are a few uses for the Circle “C” cast:

• A great cast for consistent anchor placement.
• A great cast for making a variety of angle changes.
• A very useful cast for raising a sunk line to the surface, without having to roll cast first.
• It can dig out a heavy fly prior to casting.
• A very controlled cast when placement of D loop into gaps in the bank foliage behind is required.
• It can also be used to ping heavy bugs upstream (for more depth) when fishing for Grayling etc.
• It’s a great cast when using droppers (e.g. spider fishing) as tangles become a thing of the past.

When executing this cast from the right bank, (left hand uppermost if using a double handed rod) see single Spey imagine you are drawing a large capital C prior to forming your D loop and delivering the cast, you will then realise why it is called a circle “C” cast. However, if fishing from the left bank, see single Spey, you will actually be drawing an inverted C (as in picture) (right hand uppermost if using a double handed rod). Either way the C shape is quite significant when executing this cast.

The circle C cast with a single handed rod can be very useful when using a team of flies on the river, such as spiders etc, as the circular movement and draw back of the rod tip will lay them out in line on the water above you, prior to the delivery of the cast, limiting the chances of your flies becoming tangled on the forward cast, which is more likely when using a Single Spey, or an overhead cast.

Always remember that the rod tip must be returned to it’s downstream position (just above the water surface) immediately after the “C” shape has been formed. This will assist your anchor placement, and also afford you a long smooth upstream climbing sweep, which you will need to create your D loop prior to the delivery of the cast.

Finally it must be pointed out that this cast, as apposed to the Snap “T” cast, is a much safer cast when using heavy flies, (e.g. brass tubes, or heavy bugs) as it allows you to keep your flies well away from the rod tip during it’s more open initial circular movement.

Snap “T” Cast

The Snap “T” is another very useful cast for upstream winds, as the D loop, prior to the final delivery, is once again formed on the upstream side of the angler, and therefore much safer in these conditions.

What differentiates the Snap “T” form the Circle “C” cast is the profile of the fly line in the air as it travels in an upstream direction. This is much narrower than the very open and circular shape created when using the Circle “C” cast.

With the basic rule in fly casting being, “the fly line will only follow the path of the rod tip as it moves through the air”, then this tighter profile is obviously caused by a narrower, or sharper, downstream snap of the rod tip at the end of it’s upstream journey.

By doing this you can keep your fly line low to the water allowing you to access very difficult areas along the river bank such as overhanging trees etc, that you would possibly hit with the rod tip if using a Single Spey cast, or even hit with your fly (or flies) if using a Circle “C” cast, as your fly (or flies) would follow the very open circular shape as it travels upstream. This would not be the case with a Snap “T”.

This downstream chop, or tuck, of the rod tip underneath the moving fly line (shown in the picture on the right) is designed to project your fly line, leader and fly in a low upstream direction, how low, is dictated by you as you move the rod tip upstream prior to returning it to a position downstream of you and just above the water surface surface (see picture below). You are now ready for the next movement.

“So what next”. Now that the rod tip has been returned to its downstream position, following the snap, (as in the Circle “C” cast) the subsequent upstream sweep of the rod tip, required to create your D loop, can then be made. This movement can be much flatter than the Circle “C” cast, and once again lower to the water, (as long as it continues to gradually climb) making sure that you remain under the overhanging branches and not in them. Given it’s lower trajectory, you will find that the timing of both your sweep and delivery of the cast will change to prevent the fly line from sticking in the water when delivering the forward cast.

If your intension is to fish with sinking lines, and tips, then this cast is not as efficient when it comes to digging your line out of the water with the initial snap. In this scenario, the Circle “C” would be the better choice of the two, as it allows you to move your rod tip through a longer distance to assist with drawing the sinking section of your fly line up to the surface during the initial movement of the cast. Alternatively you can use a Roll cast to roll your fly line and fly onto the surface prior to the snap.

Depending on your situation, variations in the angle of your rod tip building up to the initial snap can be quite useful and is worth experimenting with, as well as combining the Snap “T” with the Circle “C” cast to create a hybrid of the two, (often light heartedly referred to as a Snurkle) which many of us already do.

You can view a more in depth article on the Circle “C” cast on the following link:

You can view a more in depth article on the Snap “T” cast on the following link: