Tongariro Roll Cast

Roll Cast History and Concept
The Tongariro Roll Cast was developed in the Hydro Pool of the Tongariro River in New Zealand and is a variation of the standard roll-cast It was developed as a way to send heavy bombs and glow bugs a long distance without a back cast and is an extremely effective way of fly fishing New Zealand’s larger rivers.
With practice, anglers can achieve greater distance than overhead casting as well as reducing the risk of receiving a bomb in the back of the head on a windy day. Most people find that once learned they can pretty much achieve the same distance as double hauling but with far less effort.
The basic idea is to lay the line out in front of you on the water and then drawing the rod tip back behind you leaving the tip of the fly line and flies in the water ahead. You then quickly make a forward cast which when you stop the rod at the end of the cast at the 10 o’clock position, propels the belly of the line forward with the momentum ripping the tip of the line and flies off the water.

How To Tongariro Roll Cast
The demonstration video uses an 8-weight rod with a weight forward 8-weight line, a yarn indicator and a 14-foot 6lb fluorocarbon trace. Attached to the end of the trace are a size-10 hare and copper bomb (4mm tungsten bead with 2 wraps of lead dubbed with Hare fur over copper wire) and a size-12 glow-bug. This setup is the standard Tongariro winter nymphing rig.
We set the line up in front then we throw out some slack (some just drag off the slack – I actually give a little haul and a low side cast attempting throw some slack line well out past the indicator), then we pretty much back cast that slack behind us – again I give a little haul, and then when it loads up against the anchor and we fire the forward cast in exactly the same motion as an overhead cast.
This demonstration was filmed on the Tongariro on a windy day, there were no takes i.e. only filmed once with no warm up and the distance cast is around 80 feet of fly line from the reel plus the leader.
Technique
The reason the Tongariro Roll Cast is so effective is that it allows you to create a bigger D-loop than ordinary roll casting, which imparts greater power and distance. You also want to have everything aligned as straight as possible just as when roll casting.
You will find that the closer the anchor is to you the more effortless the cast is. If you use a longer leader and heavier flies then the amount of fly line you need to leave as part of the anchor will decrease, whereas if you are casting a dry fly then you may need to leave a few meters of fly line on the water to provide a sufficiently large anchor with the necessary resistance.
Set up | Set up as though you are going to execute a standard roll cast
Slack line | Drop a heap of slack line onto the water
D-Loop | Sweep the rod behind you parallel to the water and cast the slack into as tighter D-loop behind you as you can
Forward Cast | The rod loads with the fly line moving into a tight D against your rod tip and the anchor, cast your forward stroke
Key Terms
Line Stick | Is the water tension that holds the fly line to the water, i.e. when your line is on the water and you go to lift it off you will see a bit of a splash as the line rips clear of water because of the waters resistance against the fly line.
The D-Loop | Imagine you have just cast on the water. Now you lift your rod tip up and point at the sky (12 o’clock). Then a friend walks out into the water 5 meters away and grabs hold of the fly line and walks behind you holding the line up high. This forms D-shape with the rod being the straight bit of the D and the line the loop part of the D-shape.
The Anchor | When you roll cast the fly line, the anchor is the flies and leader that are still touching the water at the time you begin your forward cast.
Line Hauling | Where the non-rod holding hand pulls line toward through the rings during either the forward and/or backward casting stroke creating a tighter loop, a greater load on the rod and therefore a more powerful cast.
Key Points
Don’t drop the rod tip | When you cast the slack behind you that forms the D-Loop make sure that you don’t drop your rod tip too far allowing any of the slack to touch the water as this will increase the amount of line stick which adds to the size of your anchor and the resistance on the water.
Single & double haul | To achieve the best distance you will need to haul. Haul when you throw the slack out, when you throw the slack back into a D-Loop and when shooting the final cast. If possible shoot/slip line anywhere you can in the setup. I shoot/slip some more into the D Loop.
Keep rod tip low to the water | Make sure that your rod tip is in a low side cast position only 30-60cm from the water, as this speeds up the process and stops the heavy flies sinking and increasing the resistance of the anchor.
Gear
Although you can perform the Tongariro Roll Cast with a broom stick and a bit of rope if you needed to there are better combinations of tackle. A fast action rod will give a longer cast in the end, I am currently using a New Zealand made Composite Developments XLS 8 weight 4 piece rod.
Long belly fly line | This is the most important part of your setup. The best taper and line I have found so far for my rod is a Cortland 444SL, although any longer belly line is suitable. Consider using a line which is 1-2 weights above your rod rating.
Fly rod of 9 to 10ft | Any standard rod is suitable although beginners may initially find a medium action rod rather than the increasingly popular faster action rods, may offer a gentler learning curve.
Trace, indicator, and flies | Beginners will find it easier to begin with if they remove the flies from the end of your trace and simply tie on a small indicator. As you progress begin to add weighted flies in increasingly gradients as you become more comfortable.
Sunglasses and hat | For peace of mind and safety its a good idea to wear sunglasses and a hat, which gives greater confidence to concentrate on what matters – breaking down and perfecting each of the 4 stages of the casting process.




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