Tailing loop 3

Walter & Group...

[GH] I anticipated some lively discussion, and am not disappointed !

The attachments are Vimeo video clips made by Aitor Coteron showing tailing loops. As you watch them, try to pick out the point in time when the tail is actually formed and come to your own conclusion as to the configuration of the line at that point.

Gordy

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Tim Lawson responds to Paul Arden's comment, as well as David Lambert's photo overlay of Bruce Richards' tailing loop cast:

"Hi Gordy, the third loop isn't a tailing loop. I know we used to think it was."

Gordy,

The color photo is yet another great example of "it depends". If the caster was attempting a routine overhead cast, the photo is a great example of a tailing loop. If the caster had just executed a roll cast pick-up or Belgian cast, the photo could look similar from this angle, but would not be the result of a concave tip path.

None of this diminishes the accuracy of the aforementioned illustration in Mel's book, or the way I would accept the illustration when drawn with a pencil or laid out on the grass with a fly line. The statement "we used to think it was" is confusing at best, and inaccurate at worst.

Tim

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>From Ally Gowans:

The diagram showing Bruce’s tailing loop “tailing Bruce-loopFinal.jpg” may mislead some viewers. The “Fly Line Path” (red) is not the fly line path it is the position of the fly line at some instant presumably chosen because a tail looks evident. The ideal instant would have been at line launch and it should include the majority of the fly line because its position in relation to the rod is relevant. (I can see that was done in this instance too). Fly line paths are impossible to show clearly in a diagram.

Best regards,

Ally Gowans

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[GH] Ally,

I understand.

How would you have drawn the actual tail ?

Gordy

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More from Ally. His last paragraph was on definitions. I separated it for our next message on that topic:

Hi Gordy,

It depends! (I know that you like that answer!)

The permutations here are virtually limitless. E.g. unless otherwise defined tailing loops may be caused by a concave rod tip path but all of them are not and not all concave tip paths produce tailing loops.

How a line tails is also dependent on the line profile and its spatial disposition in relation to the rod, the caster etc.

The main reason a loop tails is that the rod tip crosses the path of the oncoming line which then collides with it (or nearly so).

A couple of examples:

In a normal overhead cast the rod tip dips below the line. A tailing loop occurs when the tip rises above the oncoming line and this can happen due to a tight grip (stop but no follow through). This is of course where Lefty gets his “lower the rod” to avoid tailing loops from.

Another common cause with beginners, even those who make lovely smooth casts is that the line is not organised behind them, the rod commences loading and as it begins to tension line suddenly the whole mass of the line is encountered and the tip is pulled downwards only to recoil upwards at some point.

There are many causes of inadvertent collisions between leader, line and fly and that is why experienced instructors with the eye to analyse are needed!

Best regards,

Ally Gowans

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