Teaching / "STEEL'S ANGLE" - Fly fishing for panfish

Walter & Group....

From Guy Manning:

When I designed my Casting Instructors Workshop I knew I needed to use video. During the initial part of the first field session I insist (after all these are prospective instructors) that all participants get cast a number of tasks in front of the video. I have them cast at 20, 35 and 50 feet, single handed with no hauling. I also have them double haul comfortably at whatever distance they choose.

 We normally see at least some of the students doing one of three things wrong. No loop control on the closest targets (they have a 40 foot stroke, this seems to be somewhat common in shop personnel), Poor hauls and tailing loops showing up around 40 feet (usually caused by pushing the rod). We view these later in the class and also use Bruce’s Six Step Method when critiquing the casts. These results are also compared to the results we observed in the field and on the Casting Analyzer. It helps the prospective instructor put all 3 methods to use and see the commonality between them.

 Near the end of the 2 day workshop we ask them to put into practice what they have learned about resolving issues in their casts then we re-tape them and view the results. Each students get a copy of all of the students casting sent to them once I get copies made.

 Guy Manning

FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor

Moderator FFFCCI Yahoo Group

www.castflys.net

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Comment:  These are faults we all deal with.  The video technique makes them obvious to the student as well as the instructor when shown with good instructor input.

Stroke length and rod arc appropriate for a 40' cast sure won't cut it when casting to a 20' target !!!!

Gordy

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A teaching scenario from Peter Morse:

Gordy, some years ago I taught a guy how to cast and by the time he 
left me he was casting well, good loops, shooting line, smooth with 
little effort. I left him with the importance of constant practice to 
lock in what he'd learned ringing in his ears. This had been autumn. 
About six months later I got a call from him, it was spring and the 
opening of the season was imminent  - "My casting's gone to pieces, 
I've been practising hard all winter but it just gets worse and 
worse". I drove down to Sydney during his lunch break and we went to a 
nearby park and I asked him to demonstrate what he'd been doing. It 
was terrible, but clearly something else was wrong. I asked if I could 
have cast with his rod. It WAS terrible, the line was worn and rough 
and simply would not go anywhere. He'd been practising all right, on 
the road out the front of his house and the line was so badly damaged 
it went no where through the guides, and of course this had him trying 
harder, opening up his stroke and just generally flailing and making 
it even worse - and the line had also in turn damaged the guides on 
his rod. I'd brought along a rigged rod and we very quickly re-
established his cast.

It was a great lesson for me on how often poorly matched (or in this 
case damaged) tackle leads to problems, especially amongst those who 
just don't know. I had a similar situation recently with a guy who'd 
been given a rod and line. He was a friend of a friend and from our 
boat I'd been watching him try and get a good cast away to schools of 
tuna so i jumped on his boat - it was a good rod and a good line but 
it was an 8 line on a stiff 9 rod and the guy was a relative beginner 
trying to make long casts to schools of tuna in a fair wind - he 
couldn't feel anything, especially with a Clouser on the end. I stuck 
a 10 on his 9 and the lights instantly came on, you live for those 
moments. He thought it was him and had become very frustrated with 
this sport. One of the first things I'll do with a class is get 
everyone to clean their lines. Carrying a range of good lines in basic 
weights set up on reels ready to go is a good thing to do as well. It 
also gives you the option of uplining someone's rod.

Good instructors should make most rod and line combinations sing in 
tune, casting a 4 line on a 10 rod or vice versa is a cause for 
enlightenment.

Peter Morse

On fly fishing for pan fish by Bob Rumpf:

Hi Gordy & Group,

 

I believe Chase could find books on fly fishing for panfish by checking the availability of Tom Nixon's "Fly Fishing for Bass and Panfish" originally published in 1968 but available in later printings. Also not to be forgotten is our friend Frank Steel of 22 1/2 degrees (as applies to casting) fame, who wrote an interesting book entitled "Fly Fishing for Trout, Salmon, Bass and Panfish" in 1947 with no later printings. Frank Steel, interestingly enough, was the first angler to achieve a perfect score in an International casting competition, which becomes even more impressive when you consider he was an advocate of the "free wrist" grip. I would hope our group members  have not fallen into the trap of believing these type books are outdated. Fish, fortunately for us, don't read books or manufacture's hype and therefore respond to the same stimuli as they did 100 or 200 years ago. These type books are gems of valuable information. I have the Frank Steel book available and just sold my last copy of the Nixon book.

 

Regards,

 

Bob

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Bob .....   Ah.. yes.  "STEEL'S ANGLE"..... 22 1/2 degrees !

  To study Frank's logic on the "perfect" casting angle, go to: FLY FISHING for trout, salmon & panfish, by Frank Steel, 1946, pp. 25-27.

His chapter XIV, Catching Panfish with a Thermometer on Lake and Stream, p.p 176-181 is interesting.

Gordy

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