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Walter & Group ...
[GH] Our answers came in ! Here are a few to consider. Interesting to see the various ways of accommodating to rod/line mis match as well as the words used to communicate to a student ! :-
Lewis Hinks did, indeed, answer my questions yesterday. I am remiss in not having seen his message.
1. My fly rod is labeled #6. My fly line came in a box labeled, WF 3 F. I'm having trouble casting to a target 45' away. What changes should I make in my casting ?
Treat it as if you are casting a short line. The much lighter 3wt line will feel like a very short cast with the heavier 5 wt. Mostly tip casting for this. (I did not have a 6wt, so I put a 3wt line on a 7wt rod for testing)
[GH] For greater distance, you will probably find it best to carry more line out of the rod tip than you would with the heavier # 6 line. Rule of thumb is that for about each 5'-6' of line beyond the first 30' that you are adding one additional line rating. So if you carry 45' of line as you false cast..... you are already casting a 6 wt. line ! Carrying 50' has you casting a 7 wt. line.
2. I'm using my father's fly rod rated at #5. I only have one fly line which is labeled, WF 9 F. I was able to cast OK with my old fly line which was a WF 5 F, but now I'm having trouble making the 65' distance I used to make. How can I adjust my casting to do better ?
Treat this as if you were casting a much longer line. The much heavier 9wt will feel like a long cast with a 5wt line. Increase the casting stroke length and slow the timing down. As you approach 65ft, even add a haul.
[GH] .... Be careful not to carry more of this line than you can false cast and still maintain good loop control, however.
Lewis
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[GH]
Lewis,
Agree. I added some comments.
The fact that you actually went out and cast these mismatched outfits makes your answers all the more valuable.
Gordy
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Craig Buckbee comes in with another useful approach :-
1. My fly rod is labeled #6. My fly line came in a box labeled, WF 3 F. I'm having trouble casting to a target 45' away. What changes should I make in my casting ?
try adding more Z I P to the end of your stroke... during the Power-snap... make it snappier. your casting tempo need not speed up, but you need to add speed to the cast. the speed happens at the end of the stroke.
keep the tip on as straight a path as possible. think about hitting the tip of the rod with the fly line.
more:
- that line's very light weight makes it difficult to get a useful bend/load in that weight rod, BUT the tip of the rod will allow for some bend with such a light line.
- this is an ideal application for a double-haul. a haul adds speed.
- i might add that once acclimated to this outfit you will be able to throw some nice tight loops.
2. I'm using my father's fly rod rated at #5. I only have one fly line which is labeled, WF 9 F. I was able to cast OK with my old fly line which was a WF 5 F, but now I'm having trouble making the 65' distance I used to make. How can I adjust my casting to do better ?
do the opposite of the above scenario...
when casting this outfit think : "Slow + Sling". make a looong smooth loading move with less punch at the end during the "power-snap" (the "speed up + stop") part of the stroke.
do not drive this rod into a fast deep bend with such a heavy line, you will get a collapsed rod... too much bend, uncontrolled.
a gentler stroke, with a longer than normal loading move as well as a wider (convex) tip path is best for such an unbalanced outfit.
the caster should keep a section of the head inside the tip when false casting (also keep false casts to a minimum). meaning the extra weight of the 9 line on a 5 rod could be mitigated some by using only part of the line's head to load the rod.
try 20 ft of line out of the tip, perhaps less and see if that helps.
also, i would like to say that my take on the sections of a rod, and what their jobs are, is
heavily influenced and informed by Al Buhr's booklet "How to Design Fly Lines", specifically
pages 12 - 13.
craig
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[GH] Craig,
I like your teaching "word pictures". Great for getting into student's brains!
When the caster false casts with only 10' of the head of that #9 line out of the rod tip, he is casting about the same weight as he would with 30' of a # 5 line. With 20' of line, he's casting the equivalent of 30' of # 7 line, which is likely to be well in range. (Most casters can handle a # 7 line on a modern 5 wt. rod.)
Boils down to loading the rod so there is sufficient match between the rod bend and the casting arc to yield a reasonably straight line path of the rod tip.
Gordy
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From Lou Bruno :
1. My fly rod is labeled #6. My fly line came in a box labeled, WF 3 F. I'm having trouble casting to a target 45' away. What changes should I make in my casting ?
In order to load the rod we would need adequate weight, so I would lengthen my casting stroke and apply greater acceleration over that length. Also, I might increase the length of fly line I have extended past the tip, giving more weight, and then perform a check cast.
2. I'm using my father's fly rod rated at #5. I only have one fly line which is labeled, WF 9 F. I was able to cast OK with my old fly line which was a WF 5 F, but now I'm having trouble making the 65' distance I used to make. How can I adjust my casting to do better ? "
Not necessarily casting to the 65’ distance just better. I would shorten my casting stroke length, a longer stroke length would increase the rod load, also keep my acceleration to a minimum. I would increase my trajectory; the heavier line will fall faster.
Lou
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[GH] Lou ... That one made me think. Seems to me that the increased stroke length would only increase rod load and bend the rod more with greater application of force. Rather than relating application of power (and, therefore rod bend) to stroke length, I'd prefer to relate it to the casting arc since it is with the rotation yielding the casting arc where most of the power is applied.
Again .... Matching the rod bend to the casting arc = straight path of the rod tip = more efficient small loops.
Will the "heavier" line really fall faster ? I'm going to make the assumption that the lines are of the same density. If so, and they were simply dropped from a height, I think they would land at just about the same time. (I don't think the tiny bit of increased air resistance to the thicker line would make much difference.)
When casting lines of the same density, they may well fall at nearly the same rate...... but the one which is traveling at the greatest velocity will go farther before landing.
I do agree with your change of trajectory.
Gordy
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[GH] From Tony Loader :
1. My fly rod is labeled #6. My fly line came in a box labeled, WF 3 F. I'm having trouble casting to a target 45' away. What changes should I make in my casting ?
Reduce arc, shorten stroke, speed up tempo, tilt trajectory more downward in front.
2. I'm using my father's fly rod rated at #5. I only have one fly line which is labeled, WF 9 F. I was able to cast OK with my old fly line which was a WF 5 F, but now I'm having trouble making the 65' distance I used to make. How can I adjust my casting to do better ?
Widen arc, lengthen stroke, slow tempo, tilt trajectory more upward in front.
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[GH] Tony,
Good "short answers". Straight to the point.
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