FLYLIFE^55conflicts with the traditional down-
stream anglers swinging wet flies.
He even regaled me with a story of
unknowingly fishing and having a cup
of tea with the Governor General of
the day at Major Jones Pool.
Of the many stories, one in par-
ticular had a significant influence on
Herb’s fishing...
THE ROLLCAST ACADEMY
Herb explained that each year on the
Tongariro a particular pool will fish
better than others, but word soon
gets out. In the late 90s, Silly Pool
proved to be the best holding water.
To be first on the river, cold pre-dawn
starts were necessary. Getting to Silly
Pool involved scrambling down a pre-
carious track and slippery boulders by
torchlight. The first casts were made
once the bright indicators were visible
against the dark current.
On this unforgettable morning,
Herb and some mates had done well
and were taking a break for a well-
earned cuppa when a stranger arrived
from down river. Chatting about the
fishing, Herb noticed the angler was
using an old Sage RP3 rod. He com-
mented on its relic nature, to which
the stranger replied: “I do a bit of roll
casting and this is a good rod for roll
casting.”
Displaying good etiquette, the new
arrival asked to fish the pool, to
which they happily agreed. Enjoying
their brew, they watched the angler
strip line off the reel, but instead of
making a back cast he flicked a large
loop of extra line onto the water and
then shot it forward as the longest roll
cast they had ever seen.
Herb was staggered as the stranger
launched beautiful casts from his
antique rod and sent them sailing
out across the wide pool. In no time
at all, his rod bent into a good fish,
which the angler skilfully landed and
dispatched. He fished to the head of
the pool and before they could inter-
rogate him about his technique, he
collected his fish and disappeared up
the track.
Herb thought he had remembered
enough to perform the cast. How-
ever, he struggled and only man-
aged to tangle himself in line. What
had looked so effortless in the hands
of an expert now had Herb entire-
ly bewildered. Without making any
progress, Herb gave up in frustration,
but not without vowing to his mates
that before he died, he would master
this cast.Herb began a slow and excruciating
journey of self-directed learning, which
often ended up as self-punishment. He
had no one to teach him. Success
came in tiny increments, mainly from
studying Spey casting videos and ana-
lysing his own progress. Occasionally
he was fortunate to observe a few
young TRC practitioners on the Hydro
Pool, which he dubbed the ‘Rollcast
Academy’. Herb believes they were
some of the first people to have used
the TRC, and it was most likely con-
ceived on the Tongariro River, but the
exact origins of the cast were sketchy.The TRC belongs to the family of
Spey casts. It is a waterborne anchor
cast that is particularly suitable for
upstream nymphing with single-
handed rods. Its nearest Spey cast
relative is the Perry Poke, which
differs in its set-up.
The Tongariro Roll Cast can be
broken down into four phases:Phase 1 – Planting the Anchor
Phase 2 – Slipping extra Line
Phase 3 – D-Loop
Phase 4 – Forward CastThe TRC has the Spey cast’s
characteristics of an anchor and
a D-loop. The anchor is that part
of the terminal assembly of line,
leader and fly that remains in
contact with the water. The anchor
is always placed outside the rod tip,
preventing the fly hitting the rod or
caster. With the additional slipped
line, a large D-loop is formed
between the anchor and the rod tip
through a rearward and upward
sweep of the rod arc. The D-loop is
the equivalent of the conventional
back cast, which loads the rod.
The caster adjusts the forward cast
based on anchorage calculations
for the variable casting situations.
For example, a bigger anchor
requires more power and greater
trajectory in the forward cast.
The TRC is mainly for fishing
upstream but can be cast in any
direction. Once proficient, casters
can achieve the same distance as
double hauling but with far less
effort and fatigue of the shoulder.
The TRC will deliver Tongariro
bombs safely and effectively
over superior distances and is
particularly safe to use in strong
tail winds quartering over the
casting shoulder.
The TRC is also very useful for
summer type upstream nymphing
and even dry fly fishing if an
overhead cast is not applicable.
On the downside, the TRC won’t
handle a strong head wind as well
as an overhead casts will, and it is
not quite as accurate.
For those wanting to visualise the
cast, Harry Moores has captured
some excellent footage of Herb
executing the TRC on the Tongariro
River. Go to the link https://flylife.
com.au/tips/tongariro-roll-castTONGARIRO ROLL CAST
Slipping additional line into the cast produces a bigger D-Loop.