Gordy and all,
I'm am always a bit surprised at what a heated and technical topic the overpowered curve cast as it relates to the MCI test can become. I look at this task, and many tasks on the CI and MCI test for that matter, as a demonstration of competence and control over the cause/effect relationship between rod tip path and the resulting line path/behavior. Knowing this cause/effect relationship is essential when tasked with correcting casting faults which is part of our job.
To clarify, I do not see task 5 as a suggested way to TEACH an overpowered curve cast, or the best possible way to make one, nor do I think the test is worded as such. In my view, this task is asking the caster to demonstrate how the line's path will follow the rod tip to the farthest point that it traveled before it stopped and headed back toward RSP. I believe this is an important casting principle more than simply "trick cast". Let's look at how a thorough understanding of this principle can be applied to other areas of casting and fault correction. I'll use a page from my own journey as the example, me being the student.
When I passed my CI exam in Somerset, NJ several years ago, Jim Valle was one of my examiners. While my test was a pretty clean pass, there are always some things to improve and Jim had noticed something when I made my distance casts during the test that he wanted me to be aware of. After the test, we made our way back onto the course and he had me cast to the far cones again. Even though I could consistently make the distance, what he had seen was a pretty significant and defined dip in the bottom/rod leg of my loop on the back cast. I had enough line speed and tension in the back cast so the dip would pull straight and disappear before I started my forward cast, but it was causing me to cast a lot harder than necessary (i.e. inefficiently). He called my attention to it while I cast, then had me stand at several different vantage points while he made the cast and on command perfectly duplicated the EXACT shape of my back cast loop with the identical dip in it. Jim explained and demonstrated how I was overpowering my back cast causing the rod tip to overflex after the stop even though my casting arc was appropriate. The line was following the dip that the rod tip took resulting in the dip in my backcast loop. I had never noticed this before and had therefore learned to compensate for it, but Jim spotted it immediately and with a very clear explanation and demonstration he showed me how to correct my fault. Needless to say, I was very impressed at how easily he had pinpointed and duplicated the problem, and how simple it was to fix. After correcting this fault and with a bit of practice, I was able to add significant distance to my cast with a significant decrease in effort and I learned an important lesson in efficiency.
A few years later when I had gotten serious about preparing for a Master Test, the above experience came rushing back to me the moment I figured out how to make the "overpowered curve cast". The exact same principle that had caused the dip in my back cast was at work here, only now I was controlling it and using it to bring about a desired result. I realized that understanding and controlling this principle was how Jim had duplicated my back cast loop the very first time he tried and how important it was to my learning that his demonstration matched his explanation. This is, after all, why we do this, right?
In summary, I wouldn't teach a student to make the overpowered curve cast for practical fishing purposes in one single, rigid, pure way (absent pull-backs, mends, etc.) any more than I would teach someone to fish all day with 30' of line outside the rod tip using the rod hand only with the line pinched to the cork. I don't believe that is what this task is about. As instructors, we practice these things and are tested on them to demonstrate and maintain a thorough understanding of the relationship between rod tip path and line path/behavior. If we are putting the understanding of the principles that govern this relationship to use on a regular basis while teaching fly casting we should be able to adapt quickly to the myriad variables that are our students. I think the oral portion of the test helps determine our ability to do so. Framing the performance test to these variables would not be possible nor practical. I believe simple is better.
- Dan Davala
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