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Walter & Group...
[GH] Let's review some answers to Dennis' questions on the caster :
From Mark Milkovitch :
Gordy/Dennis,
Can we determine (in a 2 hour lesson) how our student will learn ?
Frequently we can. Before we determine how they learn, it is important to confirm that what the student is trying to learn matches what the instructor is trying to teach. After a number of less than stellar instructional sessions, it occurred to me that the students might believe that wide wristy loops and continuous rod motion are what good fly casting is all about. Now I often begin sessions by demonstrating wide vs. narrow loops and almost continuous rod motion vs. a discontinuous “stroke, stop, wait”. When asked which they believe constitutes “good” fly casting, beginning and self taught students invariably pick wide loops and continuous rod motion. Once my students and I agree on what it is we are trying to accomplish, it is much easier to determine which kind of sensory pathway helps them get there faster and easier.
When we teach groups, we ordinarily use the entire variety of learning modalities to insure that we are reaching all the students. With a single student, if we start that way and through a process of elimination get rid of the paths that don’t seem to work we can rather quickly narrow things down to the most likely effective pathway. That said, when we reach a learning road block it can be a tough call. I have a long term student who is the most visually oriented learner I have ever seen so my first inclination is to come up with alternative ways to “show” her something. None the less, with the double haul it was the “feeling” of the line pulling her hand back to the reel on the “give back” that worked. The dominant learning strategy doesn’t always work.
Learning Method Favorite Example:
Kinesthesia (feeling) : This goes hand in glove with Dennis’ suggestion that students close their eyes to feel the tug of the line when it straightens. I ask students to relax their grip on the rod and close their eyes. On the back cast I want them to feel the rod grip gently rock back in their hand before they feel the line tug. Although the elapsed time between the rock back and the tug differ slightly depending on line speed and cast length, it is an early warning that the time to begin the stroke is near. By the time you feel the tug, you are too late.
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[GH] Mark,
You have introduced the topic of understanding students' perceptions. This is why we need to gain feedback from them as we teach .... involve them in the discussion process early in the game.
The more time and the more sessions I have with a student, the more I learn about the way he/she learns best. It often isn't obvious to me right away. Often, the student doesn't really know when asked. As Dennis pointed out, we gain clues by the way the student speaks about the casting experiences . Statements like, "I don't see what you mean", "Tell me what I'm doing wrong", "The cast didn't feel right" , "Now I understand".
There is a fifth way in which some of us learn . I call it, "sleeping on it". I'll sometimes be concerned enough about a casting fault of my own. I literally think deeply on how to solve it as I fall asleep .... often actually dreaming about it. Somehow, when I awaken I solve the problem during my morning revery. One specific example was the occasional back cast "tick" which plagued me on my distance cast. Neither Tom White or I could solve this during the afternoon. After "sleeping on it" I easily identified the cause and eliminated the problem the next day. It was this which prompted me to write the article, THE ELUSIVE TICK for the loop, some years back.
During my years as a surgeon, I'd do that as I planned a complex operation to be performed the following day. For me it worked !
I think "casting by feel" is an important concept. I recall seeing my student dramatically improve during a lesson one evening. As darkness began to fall, I was afraid we' d have to call of the rest of the lesson. This student kept casting as I watched him "self teach" by feel. His casting became smoother and his loops improved with no input from me. I let him cast to his hearts content.
To my surprise, his improvement was retained on the following day.
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[GH] From Bill Kiester :
Gordy,
Attached is a paper I am working on to submit for publication in the 'Loop'. It describes a variation on Soon Lee's approach to teaching novices. If I was faced with Dennis' caster I would use this approach. While you can pickup a lot of individual faults it appears to me that this guy doesn't know what he really needs to do. I think that he needs to be run through the basics and have specific problems which persist after that process addressed individually.
Bill Keister
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[GH] Bill,
I purposely omitted your attachment, because I didn't want to dilute its impact when it is published in the LOOP. It is well thought out and deserves to be read by all.
Suffice it to say, here, that in this paper you discuss a teaching method which I agree is valuable ... that of teaching by having the student cast with a horizontal rod plane along a rope stretched out on the ground. The student can see what is going on right in front of him as he feels the rod load and its effect on the line.
I first learned this from Lefty Kreh and have used it (as well as modifications of this technique) with great success.
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From Ckling Ling. Highlights in red are mine :
Hi Dennis and Gordy,
This student has so many faults to rectify that it will take many hours to go through one by one. I agree that we should use all our senses and cognition in learning but in the limited amount of time my main concern is for him to feel, see and do a good cast.
To have control of the cast we fix the length of line and firm up his wrist which will enable him to appreciate the loading and unloading of the rod tip. I will still start him of casting sidearm off the water, no jargons or terminologies. From this position he can see and feel what a good loop is. What I will ask him to do is lay the line straight in front of him, pull the line back and squeeze to a stop, say look you have made a loop! Have him make the loops both back and front each time laying down the line after each stroke. Once he has the knack I will get him to pull the rod tip through a bigger or smaller arc to show it's effect on loop size. Also will get him to aim at a target front and back to appreciate tracking. If he still has difficulty appreciating the loading and unloading I will hold the rod handle above his hand(with his permission) and do the cast with him.
By now he is ready to go on water for the PULD( pick up and lay down).I will explain to him that the PULD is to get the line airborne from a single back and forward cast. Lay the line straight in front of him with the rod tip touching the water, tell him this is to ensure there is no slack in the line when he start the cast.
Explain to him that he has to lift/peel the line smoothly off the water until the leader and squeeze to a stop. Show him ripping line off the water and lifting too slowly.( next is from Peter Hayes) How fast do you lift off the water? See the triangle of meniscus between the line and the water as I lift up smoothly, I want you to lift up smoothly and maintain this triangle of meniscus until end of fly line and squeeze to a stop. The lifting meniscus sorts out his trajectory and the squeeze his speed up and stop/power snap. Have him turn his head back slightly so he can see the loop unfolding to time the forward cast, line is J shape almost fully open, now pull forward/down and squeeze to a stop, see loop and follow through. Do as many times as necessary until he perfects it.
If he asks for a next session then I might start to introduce essentials and reason for them.
Sorry no off the wall ideas.
Regards
Ling
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[GH] Ling.
You have presented three teaching ploys in your message. Great !
I first came across the term, "squeeze to a stop" as I watched while Floyd Franke used it to have his student make a smoother casting stroke. Now I use it to help with that problem. It is a teaching word-picture which, I think, helps bridge the gap between auditory learning and the FEEL of casting.
The use of this term and concept also helps me with accuracy casting.
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