Fly line for teaching, practice & testing / "STYLE"

 

Walter & Group...

One more message before I leave...................

 

On fly lines for practice, teaching and testing:

I talked with Bruce Richards a few minutes ago.  He informed me that the SA  Expert Distance Line (Competition model) IS available  in sizes 5, 6 & 7 in blaze orange.  It's a 120' line.

For registered FFF Instructors, the company offers this line at approximately a 50% price reduction.

Bruce has just retired from SA.  He'll let us know who to contact there to get these lines.  For those of you who need them sooner, he told me to have you contact him directly  (Bruce Richards' new email adddress:  bwrflylines@xxxxxxxxxxx  ..)

Gordy

 

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                                                                               STYLE

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This was one of few early mornings, lately, that the tarpon didn't show up.

As dawn broke, I sat staked out at "ambush".  The weather was perfect. Having invoked the dictum, "see-no-tarpon-catch-no-tarpon" I had given up making blind casts and resolved to enjoy my pristine surroundings.

I watched the various waterfowl as they flew about, sometimes sweeping down or diving to feed. 

 

Each specie of bird had a different way of flying..... plovers and sandpipers beat their wings so rapidly it was hard to see them.  Cormorants had a distinct slower cadence to their wing movements.  The Osprey in the distance had its own wing motion pattern.  Frigate birds glided overhead on the air currents with scarcely a wing movement.  Pelicans were able to glide for almost a hundred yards at a time no more than a few feet above the water.  Each flew according to the dictates of it's anatomy.

Each bird changed its way of flying dramatically as it tried to feed, then returned to its default style.

 

                                                               Suddenly it struck me.

 

THIS WAS MOTHER NATURE'S WAY OF DEMONSTRATING STYLE !  All flight styles were uniquely efficient, undoubtedly using the principles and essentials of flying.   Each style changed to suit the circumstance of the moment.

 

                                                                Same with fly casting !

Gordy

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From Michael Gallert (Re. Style):

Gordy,

I forward this to you only because of Bruce's well penned letter to curb a landslide blog that was off the rails. I was not sure if you were a subscriber to Guys board. 

 

Hi all,

I received this from Bruce Richards. He is not back on the group yet but wanted to input this in regard to the topic.

Regarding Style in instructing and testing:

I understand there has been a heated discussion lately regarding casting style in testing and instruction, and it was started as a result of the recent Masters test workshop that was recently held at the Conclave in Loveland. That workshop was very good and will result in significant improvements in testing consistency.

We have never advocated one casting style over another and I can't envision that changing. If a particular style gets the job done, it is a valid style. However, as instructors, communication with students is key to our success. We communicate mainly through audible, visual and kinesthetic means. Being clear and precise in each method is very important obviously. We discussed that issue at length during the workshop and I believe that the opinion was unanimous that it is important that a student be able to clearly see demonstration casts to get the most benefit. This means that loops that are thrown sidearm are less effective as teaching demonstrations than those thrown more vertically. The same holds for demonstration loops thrown during an instructor exam. An examiner needs to clearly see the loops thrown, and needs to know that the candidate can make demonstration casts that are visible to a student. What casting style is used to make demo casts is the casters choice, as long as the loops are visible to student, or examiner.

Yes, that may mean that some casters who personally prefer a significantly sidearm style will have to elevate the rod more than is their usual style when doing some demonstrationg casts, or when testing, but only to the extent necessary to make loops clearly visible to observers. Good instructors know to exaggerate the good and bad attributes of demonstration loops (size, speed, shape, etc.), and loop attitude should be included. Certainly any caster skilled enough to be an FFF instructor should have no trouble casting in any plane, it is a task on both tests.

So, we are not attempting to make any change in our long standing philosophy of not teaching casting style. We are simply requiring that demonstration casts made during testing must be visible to examiners, both for loop analysis and to demonstrate good demonstration technique used with students. Most, if not all, of us have required this since day one, no change......

Hopefully this will clear up this issue, please let me know if concerns remain.

Regards,

Bruce Richards

FFF CICP