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Walter & Group...
[GH] Jeff Wagner now comes in with some explanations and answers :
Gordy,
Very interesting dialogue on all of this. I will try to make this e-mail short and concise but it is amazing how much has been discussed about one photo.
I was impressed with how much those that commented tried to glean from the photo. I was also surprised that the first response was not a series of questions. My caution is to make sure we don't go to far. Keep in mind that this is only one point in time as the loop is unrolling. As teachers and observers of the sport we need to know as much about what is occurring as possible. Diagnosing an entire casters casting from any one photo is like trying to understand a political speech hearing only one sentence (I have a hard enough time when listening to the whole thing).
While we may be able to safely assume some generalities about the completion of this back cast looking at the loop and the next forward cast and even build a mental picture of what will happen, this poses some risks. While we can predict with some certainty events based on observed data (loop shape in one photo) we cannot as easily predict those things that are stylistic in nature such as drift, body position, even rod position at the end of the stroke, etc, etc.
That being said here is my take:
1. vertical stance - the distance cast was to be made into a very narrow casting lane (I believe around 4' wide) with a swirling 10 mph wind. In order to do this effectively the distance cast became an accuracy cast and needed to take that form and function. The vertical casting allowed the caster to keep the line leader and fly within this narrow casting lane and have the most control over the cast. The cast measured 99'. Not a terribly long cast, but it was the longest of the competition and given the circumstances was acceptable.
2. Loop shape - yes the loop has two distinct points indicating a two part stop. This was a by product of the very short and vertical casting stroke required to make the cast in order to achieve the stroke length necessary. As Server noted this does reduce some of the energy of the cast. However, had we shown the loop as it terminates you would have seen those two bends disappear and form into one as the loop would continue to unroll and the line would be straight behind the caster. If this were not the case you would not see the next forward motion with the straight line as the back cast with the two part stop if allowed to digress would have lost energy and possibly touched the ground, most likely introducing slack and causing an ineffective forward stroke. Of course there is opportunity to improve this aspect by trying to increase the effective stroke length in the vertical orientation, although, as Lefty points out the overall benefit of this might be limited given the number of times this tactic might be used.
3. Leader - simply stated the leader was too short, but we had no option. In this competition the caster is only allowed to bring the rod and the reel with line, leader, and fly (yarn) are provided. The very short leader acts as a kite tail that is much to short and flips in a number of directions as it travels through the air (thank you Gordy for the analogy). In this instance it is not the best indicator of what is happening in the cast. Had we used a longer leader I would suspect from previous experience that would have stabilized and would have become a much more fluid continuation of the end of the fly line.and would have stabilized its flight.
4. Stance - I may depart from the common thinking in this regard. I view the body position as a by product of style.
If the goal is achieve the longest cast possibly in a 4' wide lane with a 10mph cross wind whatever you need to do to achieve that is style as long as you accomplish your goal.
That may sound somewhat relativistic but rather than getting into all of the principles and such I would narrow it down into one principle and do in much of my teaching 'fly line follows the path of the rod tip'. While this is too elementary and over simplified for some I believe it to be the essence and genesis of many of our conversations.
to further expand whether a side arm cast or a vertical cast works for a caster is of a little consequence. It is the outcome that matters. In this instance the most appropriate cast for this caster was the vertical cast. Lets give another example. If the goal is to make a 40' straight line cast with leader straightening completely to a target with controlled narrow loops. i can do it a number of ways: wrist only, arm, only, shoulder only, using the whole body, vertical, sidearm, cross body, seated, standing, short stroke, long stroke, and with a number of combinations of the above, etc, etc. The point is the style piece SHOULD not be a piece of the formula, it can be effectively removed. When it becomes a limiting factor (causes the desired outcome to fail) then it impacts the substance (fly line follows the path of the rod) and then it needs to be changed. (I believe I wrote an article for the loop on this a few years back)
Now, none of this is meant to disregard the issue of efficiency. While we can make that 40' cast a hundred ways there would be a more efficient method, that is to say a method that would be easier on bones, joints, with little impact and using the least amount of energy. That would be a whole new discussion.
Anyway, that is probably enough for one post. Please let me know what other comments/questions you may have.
Jeff Wagner
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