Grips-practice / Practicing loop control / More on practice

During casting practice whether with one handed or two handed rods, one of the biggest problems we enconter is FATIGUE. This is particularly true of Master candidates practicing endlessly for their exams.

Fatigue can be due to many factors including the use of more energy than required for the tasks. A very important one is the way we hold our rods. Nothing can produce fatigue, joint pain, and faults more than the "death grip" on the cork.

I've placed two attachments. One many of you have seen before .... it's the super light so-called ROMAN MOSER GRIP first taught to me by Jeff Barefoot. Periodically going to this helps reinforce the concept of a light grip with brief increase only during max loading.

Try this ! Only the thumb and a finger of each hand holding the lower corks.

Squeezing/choking the heck out of the grips is a common fault that leads to fatigue and casting faults.

I placed some "vet"wrap on the handles as a reminder ------ light grip, minimize effort, squeeze/release at the stop.

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We've discussed casting with tight loops a great deal in the past. This morning, I lifted this passage by Bruce Richards from Al Crise's Group discussion :

I see the key statement in this message as: MATCH THE ROD ARC TO THE ROD BEND.

This will result in the rod tip unloading just a small distance below the oncoming line for the ultimate achievment of a tight loop as it begins to form at RSP. (Rod Straight Position)

By using increased rod arc for the rod bend, we get a wide loop. By selectively increasing rod arc relative to rod bend at either the start or end of the cast, we can produce a wide loop with the fly leg up high and the rod leg fairly straight or a concrolled wide loop with the fly leg straight and the rod leg low in that order as we wish.

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One method of reducing fatigue when practicing single handed casting.... especially with distance practice:

Make your distance cast. Then place your rod beneath your casting arm (armpit) and use a two handed strip. If you do this between casts, you'll save a lot of energy and hand/arm tireing.

Simply holding your rod in one hand for an hour at a time can yield enough muscle fatigue to affect your casting.

We advise our students to practice in intervals of half an hour or less ..... more frequent shorter practice intervals are much better than the long sessions. HOWEVER, I know our Master candidates don't do that !

(For that very reason, when I'm staked out in my skiff waiting for tarpon to appear, I have the skiff tethered to my bow line and cast from the stern. I have a net over the engine to collect the fly line. Then I put my rod on the push-pole platform positioning it and the line & fly so I can grasp it at an instant and make my cast. Also, staking out or anchoring from the bow, I don't have wave-slap on my transom. )

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I'm fortunate to have several groups that meet regularly for casting lesson and for casting games.

I also have to practice my self- so here are some 'time saving props' and targets I've come up with.

Walmart $9 yellow garden hose/ ace hardware clear plastic tube @1/2 inch (fits in side hose snug)

Cut the hose to make rings in lengths that fit your purpose and write on the hose the size ring it makes.Use the clear tube to fit the two ends together. I write with marker where on the measuring tape they go for my masters practicing so I don't have to refer to the study guide.

I use the back of vinyl signs that I have been collecting from old event sales from our dealership.

They roll up to store, they are water proof, there are metal eyelets to pin down with 'U' tent pins and they are easy to write on....for example;

Draw the bow of the boat shape and then put 9-12 and 3 clock positions then I use a radio controlled car to have them practice spotting and quick casting to fish.

Draw 3 rings at different angles and distances then number them so the caster has to change angle and distance for each pickup and lay down cast.

Draw parallel lines 10 then 20 inches apart as lanes, and have a 20inch ring at the end as the target.

Make the casts between the lines to the target and then outside the lines to the target.

These are easy to set up and quick to take down so doing an event gets easier each time.

One other thing that is useful is a bag of closed eye screws and 2ft pieces of rope. I keep 10 of each in a bag in my instructor bag to teach knots to a class.

I enjoy coming up with new things and I think the classes do too.

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