Newbie but hooked needs advice/recommendation on small stream casting techniques

[rmotovidlak]

Guys I'm not going to bs, I'm a newbie to flyfishing for trout but am totally hooked. I picked up the double haul cast after watching some youtube videos and practicing out in the back yard for several hours and feel comfortable with a 40-50 foot cast(On a lake of course with no wind and lots of room behind me . Can someone point me in the right direction in terms of casting techniques for the smaller streams in NJ/PA? I'm in the Toms River are and this week I tried the TCA on the Toms River and caught 5 nice bows on a black woolie, but I realized 1) I need a shorter rod than the 9 footer I bought for the Delaware a couple weeks ago, and 2) It's not always possible to do a loop cast because the Toms is really grown in and very narrow. Any suggestions on techniques would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Trouser Trout]

rmotovidlak:

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[Rusty Spinner]

In the limited times I've fished the Toms TCA, I never even tried to cast my line. I simply tied on a streamer and stripped line out and "swam" my streamers past likely holding lies such as undercut banks and log jams. Somewhat unconventional, but I caught tons of fish both times I fished it. I know other guys like to nymph it and they also use almost no cast or a side-arm roll cast to get the line out there without snagging on all the trees and shrubs.

 

[irish1]

In most areas of the Toms TCA the only way to fish is roll-cast or, like Rusty says, let-er-drag. Other places you can cast but you must get away from the TCA. Wade any direction and you will find castable water. You can also try different areas on the Toms like the Learning Center but they all seem the same cover wise. Or give up on the trout and move to one of the many lakes in the area. Most are very wade-able and once you get off-shore you can cast easily. I fish the Assunpink, Prospertown (early season stocked by the way), and Turnmill Pond.

 

[rmotovidlak]

Thank you for the warm welcome Trouser_Trout!

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Thank you Rusty Spinner

---------- Post added at 09:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:39 PM ----------

Thank you irish1