The Metropolitan Cast: Its Welsh Origins, History and Modern Application

By Steven Pugh | Celtic Fly Casts

The Metropolitan Cast, is one of the most interesting waterborne casting methods in the history of fly fishing.

Its origins are closely connected with an earlier Welsh casting technique known as the Welsh Throw.

Although the Metropolitan Cast has attracted renewed interest in recent years, its history reaches back to the nineteenth century. Its underlying principles also remain remarkably useful in modern fishing conditions, particularly where currents, tides and moving water make conventional casting difficult.

At Celtic Fly Casts, my brother Nigel and I have spent many years researching, reconstructing and demonstrating historical fly-casting techniques, including the Welsh Throw, the Metropolitan Cast and traditional Scottish casting methods.

Our work has always combined historical investigation with practical experience. We believe that understanding how these casts were originally performed is essential, but so is exploring what they can teach us about fly casting today.

The Metropolitan Cast is a particularly good example. Its ability to reposition the line progressively through a succession of waterborne movements makes it a highly adaptable method in both freshwater and coastal environments.

The Welsh Throw: The Earlier Casting Tradition

To understand the Metropolitan Cast, we must first consider the Welsh Throw.

The Welsh Throw belongs to an older Welsh fly-casting tradition. It was a method I encountered personally through older Welsh anglers during the 1970s, long before I began examining its relationship with nineteenth-century casting literature in greater detail.

This practical connection has been particularly important to our research at Celtic Fly Casts.

The Welsh Throw was not simply a name encountered in an old book. It was a casting method that had survived through practical knowledge passed between anglers.

One of the most important historical sources connecting the Welsh Throw with the Metropolitan Cast is Edward Fitzgibbon's The Book of the Salmon, published in 1850.

In Chapter II, Fitzgibbon discusses the Welsh Throw and the Metropolitan Straight Cast.

These references are valuable because they place both methods within the same historical discussion and provide a starting point for examining their relationship.

The distinction matters. The Welsh Throw was already an established method when Metropolitan anglers began learning and adapting its principles.

The Metropolitan Cast should therefore be understood in the context of this earlier Welsh tradition.

Edward Fitzgibbon and the Historical Evidence of 1850

Edward Fitzgibbon's The Book of the Salmon remains an important nineteenth-century source for anyone researching the development of fly-casting techniques.

Fitzgibbon was writing at a time when casting methods were often associated with particular regions, fishing conditions and groups of anglers.

His discussion of the Welsh Throw and Metropolitan Straight Cast provides an important historical connection between Welsh casting practice and the methods subsequently used by London anglers.

One particularly significant point in the account is the indication that Metropolitan anglers had learned the relevant casting method comparatively recently.

That observation is important because it suggests a sequence of transmission rather than the independent invention of an entirely unrelated cast.

The Welsh method existed first.

Metropolitan anglers became acquainted with it and developed their own way of employing its principles.

This is the historical relationship that we believe deserves greater recognition.

The precise date when the Welsh Throw originated remains unknown. Nor does Fitzgibbon's account establish exactly when London anglers first adopted it.

Nevertheless, the distinction between an existing Welsh method and its subsequent Metropolitan adaptation is central to understanding the history.

How the Metropolitan Cast Developed

Casting techniques rarely remain unchanged when anglers begin applying them to different waters and fishing conditions.

Methods are adapted. Movements are refined. Existing principles are employed in new ways.

The Metropolitan Cast can be understood as part of this process.

Building upon the earlier Welsh Throw, Metropolitan anglers developed a method involving additional movements to reposition the line before making the final delivery.

These movements are important because they distinguish the practical operation of the Metropolitan Cast.

Instead of depending upon one large repositioning action, the caster can make a succession of controlled waterborne movements.

Each movement changes the position of the line and helps establish a more suitable arrangement for the next stage of the cast.

This ability to reposition the line progressively is one of the Metropolitan Cast's most useful characteristics.

It is also one of the reasons the method remains relevant in modern fishing.

Progressive Line Repositioning: The Central Principle

The most useful modern description of the Metropolitan Cast's practical operation is progressive line repositioning.

The principle is relatively straightforward.

The caster uses a succession of controlled waterborne movements to bring the line into the position required for the final delivery.

Rather than attempting to make one large directional correction, the caster works progressively.

A first movement changes the line's position.

A second movement may refine that position.

Further adjustments can be made as necessary.

Each movement contributes to the overall repositioning of the line.

These individual movements can be described as successive waterborne resets.

The word reset is useful because each movement allows the caster to establish a new relationship between the rod, line, waterborne anchor and intended casting direction.

The caster is not simply repeating the same action without purpose.

Each reset makes a controlled correction that prepares the line for the next movement or the final delivery.

This progressive approach provides considerable flexibility.

It can be useful when changing casting direction, working with restricted backcasting space or responding to a line that has been displaced by moving

water.

Following the Moving Waterborne Anchor

An especially important aspect of the Metropolitan Cast is its relationship with the waterborne anchor.

In still water, the caster may be able to establish an anchor that remains relatively stable during the casting sequence.

In flowing water, however, the situation is different.

Currents, tidal streams and waves can continually alter the position of the anchor.

As the anchor moves, the relationship between the line, rod and intended casting direction also changes.

The Metropolitan Cast allows the caster to respond through progressive line repositioning.

As the waterborne anchor moves, the caster follows its movement.

Successive waterborne resets allow the line to be adjusted in response to the changing position of the anchor.

Rather than treating every movement of the anchor as a problem, the caster can use controlled corrections to restore a suitable casting arrangement.

This is particularly valuable when fishing in moving water.

It is also a principle that becomes especially apparent in coastal conditions, where the anchor may be affected by waves and tidal currents throughout the casting sequence.

Re-establishing the 180-Degree Alignment

The 180-degree principle provides a useful modern framework for explaining the alignment required for an efficient forward delivery.

In broad terms, the rearward line and casting loop should be appropriately aligned opposite the intended direction of the forward cast.

When that relationship is disturbed, the caster may need to reposition the line before making the final delivery.

The Metropolitan Cast provides a practical means of doing so.

Through successive waterborne resets, the caster can progressively correct the line's position.

Each movement helps bring the rearward line into a more suitable relationship with the intended forward casting direction.

The objective is to re-establish the 180-degree alignment required for an effective delivery.

In moving water, this may require more than one correction.

The anchor can shift between movements, and the caster must respond accordingly.

The Metropolitan Cast therefore allows the caster to work towards the required alignment through a controlled sequence rather than relying upon a single repositioning action.

Restoring and Managing Line Tension

Correct alignment is only part of the process.

Line tension is equally important.

As currents or waves move the waterborne anchor, tension can change throughout the casting sequence.

If the line becomes poorly positioned or insufficiently controlled, the next movement may be less effective.

Successive waterborne resets allow the caster to manage these changes.

Each correction provides an opportunity to reposition the line and restore the tension needed for the following movement.

The objective is not to maintain exactly the same tension at every instant.

Instead, the caster aims to preserve control and establish appropriate tension before the final delivery.

The relationship between progressive line repositioning, anchor movement, 180-degree alignment and line tension is central to understanding the practical value of the Metropolitan Cast.

These principles work together.

When the anchor moves, the line may need repositioning.

Repositioning helps restore the casting alignment.

Controlled movements also help re-establish the tension required for an efficient final delivery.

The Metropolitan Cast in Surf and Estuary Fishing

Although the Metropolitan Cast is a historical technique, our experience at Celtic Fly Casts has shown how useful its principles can be in modern coastal fishing.

In 2009, I moved to the island of Anglesey in North Wales.

Living in a coastal community near RAF Valley gave me access to the island's beaches, estuaries and tidal waters.

We began experimenting with historical casting methods using double-handed fly rods, particularly while fishing for bass in the estuaries and surf.

The Metropolitan Cast proved especially interesting in these conditions.

Coastal fly fishing presents challenges that are not always encountered in the same way on rivers.

Waves can lift and move the line.

Tidal streams can carry the waterborne anchor away from its original position.

The direction and strength of the current may change during the casting sequence.

In these circumstances, attempting to establish one fixed anchor and complete the cast without further adjustment can be difficult.

The Metropolitan Cast offered another approach.

Through progressive line repositioning and successive waterborne resets, we could respond to the movement of the anchor and gradually restore the required casting alignment.

If a wave or tidal current displaced the line, another controlled movement could reposition it.

The caster could follow the changing anchor, restore line tension and prepare for the final delivery.

This made the technique particularly useful when fishing from beaches and estuary margins.

We were using and experimenting with the Metropolitan Cast for double-handed surf and estuary fishing on Anglesey from 2009.

That experience forms an important part of our continuing practical investigation of the cast.

It also demonstrates that the Metropolitan Cast's usefulness extends beyond the circumstances in which nineteenth-century anglers originally employed it.

Celtic Fly Casts and the Reconstruction of Historical Casting Methods

My brother Nigel and I have spent many years studying the history and practical operation of traditional fly-casting methods.

Our work has included the Welsh Throw, the Metropolitan Cast and established Scottish casting traditions.

We have approached these methods through a combination of historical sources, practical reconstruction and on-water experimentation.

My personal experience of learning the Welsh Throw from older Welsh anglers in the 1970s has been particularly valuable.

It provided a practical connection with a traditional method that might otherwise be understood only through written descriptions.

Our investigations into the Metropolitan Cast have sought to understand both its historical relationship with the Welsh Throw and the distinctive movements involved in its execution.

We have also continued to explore how those movements can be used in modern fishing conditions.

The coastal experience that began on Anglesey in 2009 is an important part of that work.

It showed us that the Metropolitan Cast's progressive repositioning movements could be highly effective when dealing with moving anchors in surf and tidal water.

Our 2025 Metropolitan Cast Demonstration

In 2025, Celtic Fly Casts produced a video demonstrating the Metropolitan Cast and its progressive waterborne repositioning movements.

The demonstration shows how successive controlled movements can be used to adjust the position of the line before the final delivery.

It provides a dated visual record of our practical work with this historical casting method.

The video is particularly useful because the Metropolitan Cast is best understood through movement.

Written descriptions can explain the principles, but seeing the line repositioned through a succession of controlled actions helps make the method much clearer.

The Metropolitan Cast demonstrated by Celtic Fly Casts, 2025.

The Metropolitan Cast, Metropolitan Straight Cast

Historical terminology is important when discussing traditional casting methods.

Fitzgibbon's 1850 work refers to the Metropolitan Straight Cast.

The name Metropolitan Cast provides a useful modern way of referring to the technique and its historical development.

The shortened term Metrocast may also appear in contemporary discussions.

However, it is important to distinguish between historical names and modern explanatory language.

Expressions such as progressive line repositioning, successive waterborne resets, moving anchor and 180-degree alignment describe the mechanics in terms familiar to modern casters.

They should not be mistaken for terminology necessarily used by Fitzgibbon or other nineteenth-century writers.

The historical identity of the Metropolitan Cast rests upon the documentary evidence and the casting tradition it describes, not upon the modern vocabulary used to explain it.

The Metropolitan Cast and Scottish Spey Casting

The Metropolitan Cast shares certain practical characteristics with other waterborne casting methods, including techniques associated with modern Spey casting.

Both may involve waterborne anchors, line repositioning and directional changes.

However, similarities in casting mechanics do not automatically establish a common historical origin.

The historical account discussed here connects the Metropolitan Cast with the Welsh Throw and the subsequent adaptations made by Metropolitan anglers.

It does not establish that the Metropolitan Cast originated as a Scottish Spey Cast.

At Celtic Fly Casts, we recognise the importance of traditional Scottish casting methods and their place in fly-fishing history.

Our interest is in preserving the historical distinctions between different traditions.

The Welsh Throw, Metropolitan Cast and Scottish casting methods each deserve to be examined on their own evidence.

Using accurate historical names helps preserve that understanding.

Preserving the History and Practical Value of the Metropolitan Cast

The Metropolitan Cast deserves greater recognition within the history of fly casting.

Its relationship with the Welsh Throw illustrates how an established regional casting technique could be learned, adapted and developed by anglers fishing in different circumstances.

Fitzgibbon's 1850 account provides an important historical foundation for examining that relationship.

The Welsh Throw's place as the earlier tradition should not be overlooked when discussing the origins of the Metropolitan Cast.

At Celtic Fly Casts, our continuing research and practical demonstrations have been directed towards understanding and preserving these methods.

Our experience using the Metropolitan Cast with double-handed fly rods in the surf and estuaries of Anglesey from 2009 has also shown its continuing relevance.

Its ability to reposition the line progressively, respond to a moving waterborne anchor, restore line tension and re-establish the 180-degree alignment makes it an adaptable and effective casting method.

The Metropolitan Cast is more than a historical curiosity. It is a practical casting technique with roots in an earlier Welsh tradition and principles that remain valuable to modern fly anglers.

Steven Pugh Founder of Celtic Fly Casts