THE PILE-UP CAST
This cast has become my all time favourite to sink heavy nymphs quickly. It creates maximum leader slack. The pile-up cast is best achieved with a level Monofilament leader.
The principle behind the pile-up cast is a leader that instead of turning over piles up in loose coils around the indicator.
When it is done properly you can actually see the tiny splash as the nymph hits the water near the indicator. I always use the indicator as a marker and watch for the splash to tell me if I have got slack in the leader. When there is little distance between the indicator and the splash, I know, my nymphs are on a crash dive to the bottom.
The Pile-Up Cast is a bit tricky if you cannot perform the double haul.
1. Make a straight back cast.
2. Now start a high speed forward cast; aiming directly at the impact area. Try to generate a tight loop.
(An open loop will turn the cast over and straighten out the leader).
3. When the casting stroke is nearly finished do not snap the wrist forward to turn the cast over.
4. Instead guide the back tilted rod all the way to the "stop".
5. You know it is right when the nymph splashes near the indicator.
The Pile-Up cast is not the answer to every nymphing situation. In clear water it will scare spooky fish into next week.
On slow, deep stretches using a heavy nymph in combination with the pile-up cast is overkill. First your nymph will plummet to the bottom like a stone. Once down there it will hook up on every stick or stone to drive you mad with "phantom" strikes.
The pile-up cast is my specialist tool for nymphing the deep, fast runs. In such situations I know only too well that my nymphs have to get down to the fish quickly or be swept away above them. In such deep, turbulent water I am not so concerned about the splash or the silhouette of indicator and line. The disturbance is usually so far above that the spawning run fish takes little notice.
I use this cast a lot when nymphing the Tongariro River. It enables me to sink even moderately weighted nymphs quickly and definitely increases the time they drift in the strike zone.
Sounds complicated? Let me explain.
On a normal upstream cast, with a straight leader, a weighed nymph takes up to half of the total drift to struggle to the bottom.
It is effectively fishing only during the second half of the drift.
In my experience the second half of the drift (once the indicator has passed you) is not as productive as the first. Why? Because the more line is downstream from you the more difficult it gets to keep your nymph from dragging.
(Are you sceptical? Next time you are on the water watch out for the slightest downstream belly near your indicator. It is a sure sign that drag has started.)
When you use the pile-up cast your nymph plunges to the strike zone soon after entry. It starts fishing sooner and keeps on fishing longer. In short it is exposed to more fish.
A further bonus is that while the nymph is still coming towards you it also has a better chance of presenting drag free. You are getting more quality drift.
These are mayor advantages in the percentage game of a long Tongariro fishing day. All things being equal the angler who manages longer quality drifts through the fish holding lies ends up with more strikes.
Unfortunately this cast is not problem free.
Occasionally the pile-up will leave an unwanted knot in the leader or the nymph hooks up in the yarn indicator.
This is unavoidable since the line and indicator touch down first, then the leader collapses in loose coils nearby. The last to land onto the jumbled heap are the nymphs.
However, the occasional tangle is a small pain for a big gain.
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