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Gordy,
Great topic. My take on feel.
When teaching fly casting I inject a lot of "Did you feel that" when the caster has provided the correct casting substance into a cast so they can imprint and hopefully remember the feeling.
This re-enforcement is needed at all levels of teaching in my opinion.
As a Spey Caster we often refer to the subject of feel in other terms. Feeling the cast to me is feeling the rhythm of the cast being made. I try to use this analogy as much as possible.
Mainly because there are many different cast being made by my students especially in Spey, and the type of cast being made has its own rhythm or feel in my opinion. Which will need to be implemented based on the students own unique abilities and character.
Their rhythm can be fast, medium, or slow which is in their (Style) as long as the substance is good.
I just came across an example in my last event on the Llano River. I was teaching basic Spey casting to two young ladies on the river bank. One of the ladies had a history of not enjoy single hand casting at all. Had no desire to learn the casting.
But when she saw the Spey Casting a light bulb went off, she was intrigued by the movements and the smooth flowing rhythm of the cast.
Her back ground was in Dance and Ballet, so this type of activity of a smooth, flowing event for her was something she could enjoy and implement.
She took to Spey Casting like ducks to water, and enjoyed every second of the lesson. Her fast advancement was due to her ability to feel the cast and the rhythm needed to execute the cast correctly.
I hope these casts will flow over and help her in her single hand casting in the future.
Many call it the Waltz! Smooth flowing movements like gliding on air with good timing!
This I put down to feeling the cast being executed in my opinion!
Different casts require different rhythm and feel based on the rhythm of the caster. We can only obtain this rhythm and feel by executing the casts as individuals.
It comes to some of us easily, and others not so easy, but most of us will get there with "Extreme" Constructive Practice!
PS: Liked Dennis's advise at making the cast in different positions for all the reasons he stated. Each situation and position will change the feel and rhythm needed for the cast due to conditions!
Enjoy feeling the rhythms.
Gary
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[GH] Gary,
Agree.
Reminds me of a Conclave workshop Dennis Grant, Jim Valle and I gave a few years ago when we demonstrated what we called our "Jazz Section". It was Jim's idea to add a big of levity to our course entitled, DIFFICULT CASTS TO DIFFICULT PLACES.
We lined up so close, back to back, as to almost touch one another, Dennis as the tallest in the rear, me as the shortest in front. We, then, performed synchronized casting with practiced cadence and a rhythm which allowed us to demo timing with no glitches. Sure was FUN! The class love it. Of course, we couldn't see one another's loops unfurling, so success was accomplished mainly by a sense of feel.
As you may know, Joan Wulff was a young dance instructor. (She was dance teacher to my grand niece, years ago) We get a bit of the flavor of her dance experience in her writings and teachings as she writes:
"Is That Dancin' ? As a dancing teacher for twelve years, I taught a lot of "steps" to would-be dancers. There's a world of difference between the two (steps and dancing), just as there is between between mechanics and fly casting. "Mechanics" is a word at odds with the beautiful form and feeling of fly casting and, once you learn what the mechanics are, you can forget the word, but you mustn't forget the immutable laws of physics.
Good mechanics will bring to life the rod's individual action and the interaction between rod and line. You'll soon be making casting moves that flow into another as you use speed and strength in just the right proportions - dashed by precise touches of crispness and delicacy. Your arm and body can move with grace, the muscles contracting and relaxing in the lovely cadence of the casts.........................." *
This helps explain why Joan's casting is sheer poetry in motion.
I'm aware that some fly casting instructors have used music as they teach casting with the value of both hearing and feeling.
Perhaps we'll be fortunate enough to hear from some of them.
* Joan Wulff's FLY CASTING TECHNIQUES, by Joan Wulff, 1987, p.49.
Gordy
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