Dave Rothrock can toss line from a fly rod some 100 feet or even longer by employing a double-haul cast. Used to reach farther distances on a stream to waiting fish, the double haul is not a cast that Rothrock teaches to novice fly-fishers.

The Jersey Shore resident who has taught fly-casting and guided anglers and has more than fifty years of experience stalking trout, would rather teach them the very basics of getting a fly on the water first.

Recently, he gave a quick lesson to Mike Hill, of Farragut, where they were set up on a grassy area of Trout Run Park. Within 10 minutes, Hill was able to successfully throw a line about forty feet – a cast that could very well even catch him a fish or two.

“I’m telling you right now, I could take you fishing,” Rothrock said with a smile.

“Many of the trout are right there,” he added, pointing to a phantom fishing spot on the lawn in front of them both.

Rothrock breaks down the approach to fly-casting in language that most folks can understand, likening it to operating a small business.

The angler is the owner, the fly rod the manager, and line the laborer.

“What you (the angler) convey to the rod will be conveyed to the line,” he said.

Rothrock calls it a “team concept.”

A simple process actually, he said.

It’s basically raising the rod with a single hand to a vertical position next to the ear while using the other hand to hold line. With the rod stopped just momentarily, the line is unleashed from the hand as the rod is brought forward.

Unfortunately, many beginning fly casters end up bringing the rod down too far.

Or, they muscle or jerk the rod forward with the belief that a good, long fly cast is all about strength.

It’s perhaps the most common mistake Rothrock has seen students and many other fly fishers make.

“I’ve had people tangle themselves in line and other bad things,” he said.

A smooth movement of the line, he said, is what fly casting is all about.

Rothrock, who appears in various instructional YouTube videos on fly fishing and has a blog, the Ranting Angler, can get technical about his passion.

He will talk at length about issues such as flouro-carbon leaders, tapered lines, wet flies, and nymph fishing. He’s fly-fished on countless streams in Pennsylvania and other states, and in such far-flung spots as Slovenia.

But even he admits one doesn’t need expert knowledge and skills to get a fly on the water and catch trout.

“A lot of people have a tendency to limit themselves,” he said. “My goal is to get them (students) into fish.”

Hill, for his part, feels as if he was able to pick up the basic of fly casting in his short session with Rothrock.

“It felt natural after a while,” he said. “It’s letting the equipment work for you.”

As with any endeavor, practice is the key.

“It’s all about trying to improve,” Rothrock said.