The, "other" hand

A comment I'd like to offer here relating to question # 4 dealing with the duties of the line hand. Not to be overlooked in the role of the line hand with a two-handed rod which is used to fling the rod around.

It may also be stated that the line hand has a lot to do with overall control because failure to move it at all could result in slack line between both hands thus diminishing overall control.

Two ways of looking at the use of the, "other" hand with 2 handed casting. First of all, can we still call this the, "line hand" ?....It doesn't handle the line at all, you see. Second, the use of the LOWER hand on the two handed rod is felt by some (but not all) experts in the field to sometimes mimick the effect of the haul with a single handed rod. Since there is not universal agreement on that, I suggest you may not wish to enter the topic on an exam.

Your second sentence gets to the heart of good basic casting and line control. In a perfect world of casting, the student would develop such good control with the rod hand that all but long distance casts would be made with the non-dominent hand in his trouser pocket......because he'd reach the point of having no slack to speak of. Once able to do that, the haul could be added...not to control slack, but to increase loop/line speed and secondarily increase rod load as well as reducing the need for energy expended by the rod arm.

You are right in that failure to move the line hand at all could result in loss of energy by, "sliding" and might introduce some slack. That won't happen if, 1. The line is clamped to the rod cork by a finger of the rod hand, or 2. The line hand follows the motion of the rod hand closely.

When coaching students to do loops of all sorts, I prefer to have them use ONLY the rod hand. Not enough to simply tell them not to haul. In this way, I can see them develop much better control as they practice. This is why many if not most of us wait until a good foundation stroke is learned before introducing the haul.

Having said all that, I realize that there are myriad circumstances which arise in the real world of fishing which do make it easier to move the line hand with respect to the rod hand however slightly to help maintain the needed tension to handle wind shifts and other situations. When fishing, even if no haul is needed, it's usually a good idea for the angler to hold the line in the line hand even if that hand moves in concert with the rod hand. That way, this hand is ready to handle unexpected slack, to perform a, "check haul" if needed, and to stay in contact with the line for an early retrieve, to control line released on a shoot, etc.