Elliptical Casting 3

Elliptical casting in fly fishing is mainly, though not exclusively, a European development. American fly casters like Lefty Kreh, who is known for his perfect saltwater fly fishing technique, recognised it as a useful technique. One of the reasons he was so keen on elliptical/oval casting is to get beneath strong winds.

It was the change in standard rod lengths that made the technique possible, with shorter and lighter rods making it easier to cast elliptically. Another fly fishing celebrity, Lee Wulff, can be seen in his early fly fishing films, shot in the Rocky Mountains you can see him casting nearly in the same way as the inventor of the style, Hans Gebetsroither did.

Wulff was one of the first fly fishermen to catch salmon on dry flies with short, single hand rods. Another parallel development to that of Europe in the USA was the elliptic movement combined with light and short tackle which favoured the pointer on top grip - because it’s the most natural grip in fly fishing is the 45 degrees sideways rod position. Gebetsroither put only the pointer on top, while Wulff used the pointer on top with the thumb placed besides it.