Engineering Commons^™

The Mechanics Of Flycasting: The Flyline, Graig A. Spolek

Mechanical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In order to propel a fishing fly through the air toward the distant quarry, a rather massive line, to which the fly is attached, is cast. As the cast line rolls out, the fly actually accelerates horizontally and seems to defy physical law. The phenomenon is modeled simplistically to determine the magnitude of this effect. In the absence of air drag, the fly can accelerate to increase its velocity by an order of magnitude. Air friction dramatically decreases the effect, but some fly accelerationis still predicted. By tapering the flyline in various ways, the fly velocity history can be significantly …