In saltwater fly fishing, many articles are written about casting. Topics such as adding distance to your cast, casting accuracy, or quickly shooting line out with minimal backcasts are all covered in great detail, but I’d argue being able to land your fly softly on the water without a big “splat” is as important a factor as any. When that wind is howling, you are often forced to generate extra line speed to get your flies in front of the fish. This extra line speed can cause your flies to loudly smack down on the water and can spook the fish. To avoid this, try not to stop your line so suddenly on your final forward cast. That sudden stop does help you shoot line further, but the flies will land with a big splash on the water. On your final forward cast, try and stop your rod tip a little higher up (11 o’clock as opposed to 10 o’clock) and avoid holding the fly line, instead slowly let it slide out of your hand. This will cause your flies to land on the water much softer and hopefully help you avoid spooking that trophy bonefish!