(^56) FLYLIFE
ORIGINS OF THE CAST
Herb insisted that if I was to write this
story I should properly research how
the cast came about, so he passed
on the name and email of one of the
anglers he befriended from the Roll-
cast Academy. By making a few calls
to various people, I discovered that
the instigator of the TRC was Chris
Brennan, now a Taupo-based guide.
I phoned Chris; he was very unas-
suming and appreciated being asked
about his story and how he accidently
stumbled upon the cast.
A local Taupo boy, Chris was only
sixteen at the time and like any
keen angler arriving on the water, he
eagerly wanted to get his line and fly
out as quickly as possible. Unclipping
and tossing his fly down, he rapidly
stripped line off the reel whilst shak-
ing his rod, back and forth, parallel
with the water, slipping all the line
out. In the process, he formed loops
on the water and, somehow, because
the line and weighted flies were still
moving, Chris managed to lift out the
stowed loops with the belly of the line
and then unexpectedly shot out a siz-
able cast.
Chris had the sense to replicate the
cast, getting the casting sequence fast-
er and faster with greater efficiency
and distance. Chris spent countless
hours on the Hydro Pool refining the
cast, more so out of necessity to target
hard-to-reach fish.
Before the 2004 flood, the Hydro
Pool had a small ledge on the bank
opposite where the Mangamawhit-
whiti Stream flowed into the tail of
the pool. There was a deep channel
around the mouth of this important
spawning stream where numerous
rainbows and browns would hold in
front of large boulders. The centre
of the channel was fifty feet or so
from the ledge, which could only be
reached with a long roll cast due to
the limited back-cast room. Using the
TRC, Chris was able to get his nymphs
far enough upstream to throw a mend
and get the flies to drift past the fish.
This spot would become a memo-
rable place for Chris, as he went on to
catch numerous, sizeable fish includ-
ing a good number of browns over
ten pounds.
Interestingly, when Chris realised
he could roll cast so much fly line, he
began using the cast even when no
trees were behind him. Chris found it
was an easier and more efficient way
to cast, and even to this day will often
use the TRC exclusively depending on
the situation. Later, Chris taught a few
of his mates – the ones in the Rollcast
Academy. Auspiciously, he also taught
a fellow at his local tackle shop, who
was the same angler that Herb would
later see performing the cast at Silly
Pool, ultimately setting Herb on a mis-
sion to learn and analyse the cast, and
take it to a new level.
GUARDIAN OF THE CAST
Herb realised from the outset that this
was a very special cast, but with only
a small user-base it could easily fade
into obscurity. Having analysed the
cast for his own benefit, he then wrote
about it to share his knowledge more
widely. Perhaps more significantly,
Herb conducted annual casting clinics
at the Tongariro Trout Centre to teach
the cast. Along with raising funds
for the Trout Centre, the underlying
impact was to develop a broader base
of anglers who could perform the
TRC, ensuring the cast would survive.
Herb named it the Tongariro Roll
Cast, to clearly establish its origin and
promote the country’s contributions
to fly fishing. With Herb preserving
the TRC through his teachings, the
modern day angler has an opportu-
nity to learn the cast and add another
arrow to their quiver.
In a heartening postscript, it was
through the writing of this story that
I brought Herb and Chris together
for the first time. It was surprising
that they had never crossed paths on
the Tongariro. But then, Herb did a
lot of his learning in New Plymouth
and Chris was busy guiding and
doesn’t participate in social media.
Chris had heard about Herb’s clinics
and was happy knowing the cast
was being taught.
It was a real privilege to watch
these two exponents cast at Red Hut
Pool on the Tongariro. Despite slight
nuances in their techniques, they both
cast with great timing and finesse.
You never know, they might team up
at the next TRC Clinic to teach and
promote this amazing cast.
Herb runs his annual TRC Clinic
at the Tongariro Trout Centre in the
winter season (www.troutcentre.com).
Chris Brennan is also happy
to teach the TRC as part of his
regular trout guiding service (www.
flyfishingguidetaupo.co.nz).
POSTSCRIPT
FL
Herb explains the theory behind the TRC at one of his clinics.
The formation of a large dynamic D-Loop is an essential part of the TRC.
The Roll Cast Academy... continued
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