For trout fishing on small/medium size streams, I use three casts to reach my goal of accuracy, delicacy, and natural drifts.
In order to achieve a natural drift with a dry fly to a trout on his feeding station, it is imperative that I negate the current. Undesirable stream currents that pull on the line or leader will cause my dry fly to drift unnaturally. There are two different casts which I find very helpful in getting drag-free drifts with my dry flies.
Puddle Casts
The first part, I extend about ten feet more line than I need to reach my target. On the presentation cast I stop the forward motion of the rod tip when it is 45 degrees over the stream. This allows the leader and the forward part of the line to fall onto the stream in slack curves. Then the fly drifts drag-free to the trout.
Lazy S Cast
The second slack line cast I use is the Lazy S Cast. As the presentation cast flows forward I wiggle the rod tip about six feet from side to side. This allows the leader and forward part of the line to fall onto the stream in slack curves. Then the fly drifts naturally to the trout.
On small mountain streams when some casts are 12 feet long or less I usually use my flip cast. The fly is held in my line hand with enough slack hanging from the rod tip back to the fly to reach the trout’s feeding station. During the presentation cast the rod tip is pushed forward and the fly is released from the line hand. This motion propels the fly delicately and accurately to the trout’s feeding station. Don’t confuse this with the bow and arrow cast which propels the fly much more rapidly and not as delicately.
Pendulum Casts
I use a pendulum cast when a surface feeding station is one to two feet in diameter and the currents surrounding it are racing by rapidly. I wade slowly to within 6 to 8 feet of the feeding station. Then with my rod held high over the feeding station I allow the fly to swing gently to the center of the feeding station. By using a cautious approach I have had great success with this technique on the Madison, Pennsylvania spring creeks, and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Reading the water carefully and using delicate casts can increase the quality of your trout fishing.