There are three possible stances in fly casting: square, open and closed. When fishing, we may be forced to use a particular stance depending on footing or some other circumstance, but when practicing, we should use a stance that promotes good mechanics.
Square Stance
A square stance positions our feet side by side, perpendicular to the direction of the cast.
A square stance. The feet are side by side.
Since the caster’s feet are beside one another, there is little ability to create a significant weight shift when initiating a cast (front or back), or to counteract the forces directed forwards and backwards during a cast.
However, the square stance provides a solid base to handle the vertical forces needed for various parts of the cast because a foot is planted just off to the side of the caster’s arm. And as long as we don’t turn our shoulders and torso to generate forward and backward forces, this stance promotes a straight rod path forward and backward.
Open Stance
When I started fly casting, I used an open stance. As a right-handed caster, I put my left foot forward. It seemed logical since the stance allowed me to scrutinize my front and back cast loops, and it helped with timing.
An open stance. My weight is on the front foot.
The problem is that an open stance allows our shoulders and torso to rotate, creating a rod tip path that is naturally curved – not straight. Although it is not an insurmountable problem, it takes time and practice to perfect a straight rod path with this stance.
Aerial view of a caster. When the shoulders and torso do not rotate horizontally, the rod tip path is straight in the forward and backward directions (left image). However, when the shoulders and torso rotate during the cast, the rod tip path becomes curved in the forward and backward directions (right image).
Another issue is that an open stance plants the front foot on the opposite side of the body relative to the caster’s hand. As we initiate an upward force, there is a horizontal vector that will typically produce a curved or off-axis path of the rod tip.
To understand the difficulty of creating a weight shift straight ahead, imagine you are accelerating your rod to a stop during the front cast while standing with your feet together on a four-legged chair. The casting direction is perpendicular to your hips.
The chair represents your stance. If this chair were missing its front leg directly under your casting arm (similar to an open stance), you wouldn’t be able to come straight forward. You would have to come forward and toward the front leg that wasn’t missing – sideways – to make a cast without toppling the chair.
The fix would be to cast towards and away from the one front leg of the chair – across our hips. This arrangement would place the front leg of the chair closer to, and more in line with, the casting arm to handle the vertical forces created during an abrupt stop at the end of a front cast or a launching of a back cast.
A modified open stance where the leading foot is closer to, and just to side of, the casting arm would minimize horizontal movements. However, these changes in the feet placement still allow the torso to rotate freely.
Modified open stance. My weight is on the front foot.
While it may not be the best stance for most of us, the open stance (in one form or another) is the choice of distance casters. The rotation of the shoulders and torso – the very thing that we, mortals, should be trying to prevent – creates a longer stroke and generates a tremendous amount of power.
Closed Stance
In a closed stance, the right foot is positioned in front of the left foot for a right-handed caster. Since the front foot becomes positioned almost directly below the casting hand at the end of the front cast and at the beginning of the back cast, the caster is able to create the vertical forces needed during parts of the cast without deviating (horizontally) too much from a straight rod tip path.
A closed stance. My weight is on the front foot.
It’s important to note that the location of the nearest foot relative to the caster’s arm at the end of a front cast (or beginning of a back cast) is similar in the closed stance, modified open stance, and a square stance. This is the configuration that allows us to create vertical forces efficiently.
Although the location of the leading foot relative to the casting arm is similar in the closed stance and the modified open stance, the closed stance prevents our shoulders and torso from rotating horizontally during the cast, whereas any open stance does not.
By restricting rotation of the shoulders and torso, a closed stance naturally promotes a straighter rod tip path forward and back compared to an open stance.