I fish lots of ponds and small reservoirs that are lined with trees and bushes or really steep banks (or both). I can roll cast only about 20ft max even with a ton of practice. Most of these places also have a very steep depth drop-off so wading in isn't going to extend my back-cast distance more than say 10ft. Is there any special technique to fly fish in close quarters of foliage and tough terrain? Is trying to fish these places without waders or a boat impossible? Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions.
That's the sad fate of the wading fly fisher...some of the best spots to land a fly are just impossible to fish without a boat - save yourself frustration and lost gear and just find a more accessible area.
If you are stuck on shore sometimes using a longer rod (10-11 ft) can get you out past the vegetation so you can get a lateral cast going. But it would be less expensive to purchases a set of waders.
The quarters are....close. Less than a rods length of clearance to the rear. Yeah, I could just use my spinning gear but I much prefer the fight on the flyrod. Honestly fishing with flys catches me more fish than throwing rapala's 400 times a day. Yeah I have the boat but its not something I can just get up and go with. I'll check out the video.