Lube for reel drags

To Gordy,

Where can you get Lubrimatic, LMX Red reel grease and Glide fly line cleaner, and why do you wax the inside of your spool with the 3M Ultra Marine paste wax? Do you wax the entire inside of the spool , or just the walls? Surely you don't wax the hub of the spool?

Don

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Al ....and Don: I get the reel grease right at our local hardware store. Some tackle shops carry it. The material called, GLIDE is available at most fly shops.

I use the 3-M wax strictly as a protection against salt intrusion into the backing. It is NOT necessary to use it on reels which are used strictly in fresh waters. Yes, I DO wax the entire surface of the spool in contact with the backing, including the arbor. This means that I have to be very careful to make several tight turns with the double line from a Bimini twist before completing my version of the so-called arbor knot so it won't slip. Another way of doing this, is to tightly wind a few turns of monofiliment on the arbor, knot it, then knot it it to the double line from the backing Bimini. For this I sometimes use a double uni knot. .............. Gordy

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Hi Gordy;

This a very interesting question. I find that my mends will vary with the speed of various current conditions. In a fast moving current I commonly use a long cast with as many wiggles in the line as I can get from where the line hits the water to the very end. On slower currents I use a shorter cast and put the wiggles on the second half of the line to the end where the leader and line meet.

robert

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Robert: Yes. The wiggle mend and wiggle cast are generally used when fishing downstream. We might have a fast current at the anglers feet in which case one might want the curves near the caster .... or we might have slow current near the angler and faster current out farther in which case, we might want to have the slack curves farther out........... Gordy

Gordon Hill <masterstudy@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Robert & Group......

Question from Gary Eaton:-

Gordy,

This is aligned with what I have learned. While we are on this topic.

Wide wiggles - How wide for MCCI?

Narrow wiggles - How wide for MCCI?

When the test says "45 feet" am I correct in assuming that is the length to cast and that the actual layout will be much shorter due to the wiggles?

If not, it will need to be longer than the distance cast to reach 45 feet with all of those wide wiggles.

Thanks,

Gary

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Gary...   Most examiners on MCCI exams are looking to see if the candidate has good control of the casts and mends and a firm understanding of exactly what to teach a student to make wide and narrow wiggles. His/her demonstration should yield a very obvious difference betwen the wide wiggles and the narrow ones. No specific width has been defined. I'd think the candidate would do very well with wide wiggles being roughly 4 to 6 feet wide and narrow ones about 18" wide.

The examiner might request the candidate to place the wiggles way out near the fly with the fly landing at about 45 ', and then to make a cast of about the same distance with most of the wiggles close to the caster and a straight layout from the wiggles to the fly.

The way I teach this is to have the student make the 45' cast, then wait until the fly has almost landed as the leader is about to unfurl. The rod is lowered slowly as the loop travels out. At that point, a series of side-to-side movements of the rod tip is made with the rod tip close to the water or grass. The wiggles will be close to the caster.

To make the wiggles go way out near the fly, I teach the student to make the same 45' cast, but with a higher trajectory and to make the side-to-side movements of the rod tip as soon after the stop as possible. The rod need not be dropped. To that, one can add higher loop speed and shoot the wiggles even farther.

Simple explanation:    For wiggles close in, make them LOW AND LATE.



                                    For wiggles way out there, make them HIGH AND EARLY.

                                    For wide wiggles, move the rod tip back and forth FARTHER in each direction.

                                    For narrow wiggles, move the rod tip SHORT DISTANCES in each direction.

                                    For long wiggles (or long mends) move the rod tip to either side SLOWLY.

                                    For short wiggles (or short mends) move the rod tip to either side more RAPIDLY.

All this applies to wiggle MENDS. (Because these moves are really done after the cast.)

If you wish to do these maneuvers as true CASTS, then you must do them during the cast.... BEFORE THE STOP ! I find that to be technically more demanding .

A well prepared candidate will be able to accurately place a single mend to either side around a target 35' from the caster, the fly landing about 45' out. (A true expert can shoot a single mend out to kingdom come.... but that is not required.)

Many examiners will want the candidate to be able to tell the fishing / stream circumstance requiring each one. (I've actually witnessed candidates who can do all of the above.... then blow it in not having the faintest idea of WHEN to use a wiggle cast in an actual fishing situation or the reason for it !)

Gordy