NEW QUESTIONS : Haul/loop TORQUE

Our Group messages to Bob Beanblossom ( bbeanblossomfff@xxxxxxxxxxx ) have been bouncing. If any of you are in contact with Bob, I'd appreciate you letting him know. (I don't have his phone number or street address.) I DO hope he's OK !

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Can a haul tighten the loop? If so, how is this effect achieved?

Experimentally it appears that I can make a tight loop without a haul and can make a tight loop travel further by adding a haul but I have difficulty understanding how hauling, in and of itself, could procure a tighter loop.

Some references below.

Regards,

Tony.

Mac Brown devotes an entire chapter in his book “Casting Angles” to loop control. On page 91, under the sub-heading “What Determines Loop Size”, he writes; “Loop size is determined by the line plane, hand-rod path, rod arc, tip-top path and vector forces acting on the loop, assuming the proper timing to load the line has been mastered. The equipment used also aids in loop control at varying distances. Rod actions, line tapers, leader construction and the type of fly used all influence the unrolling loop.” I see no specific reference to hauling as a determinant of loop size. Nor, to date, have I found any such reference in the writings of Joan Wulff, Mel Krieger, Ed Jaworowski or Gary Borger.

On the other hand…:

Macauley Lord – “The L. L. Bean Ultimate Book of Fly Fishing” page 207 – “It (hauling) actually lets you cast a tighter loop and a faster line, over more distance, all while doing less work with your rod hand.”

Jason Borger – “Nature of Fly Casting” page 213 – “Indeed line loops may even be cleaned-up and tightened via the energies of hauling”

George V. Roberts Jr. – “Master the Cast” page 121 – “The other major benefit of hauling that most fly-fishers overlook is that it allows you to form a tighter loop than you could form with the casting stroke alone…”

Al Kyte – “Orvis Guide to Better Fly Casting” page 96 – “I most often use a quick short haul to tighten up my casting loops,…”

Lefty Kreh – “Lefty Kreh’s Ultimate Guide to Fly Fishing” page 342 “First, remember that when you make a haul, you bend the rod and flex the rod tip. Now, it is important to good casting to make a very small loop. The angler who makes long and continuous hauls causes the rod to flex over a greater distance than the fly fisherman who makes a shorter haul. Remember, the shorter the haul, the shorter the distance the rod tip will flex, and the tighter the loop. Long hauls will develop wider and less efficient loops.”

Tony

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Let's see if some of you can answer Tony's question:

1.) As brief an answer as possible.

2.) An explanation.

Gordy

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A second question from Ally Gowans :-

Hi Gordy,

I have never needed to use the words “translation” and “rotation” whilst teaching although I have used the expressions “wristing” or “breaking the wrist” and I have used “arc” and the direction of the rod tip to describe what is happening. Translation and rotation occur in most casts but lots of other things that we need not highlight happen too. Fortunately the basic rule “accelerate to a stop” covers all eventualities and if students can concentrate in making straight line acceleration to a stop and keep control of the rod tip direction little else matters. Whilst these two terms are of interest to the engineering and physics graduates among us it seems to me that they cause needless confusion to others and I can’t imagine many students being other than confused by them.

So I have another subject for the group –

1.) Torque. How does this affect casting ?

2.) How can we use it ?

3.) How can we avoid it ? (the latter especially with two handed rods where it can be a problem) ..

Best wishes,

Ally Gowans

See my web sites http://www.letsflyfish.com and http://www.flyfish-scotland.com

2009 Spey Casting and Salmon Fishing Schools at The Kenmore Hotel March 20/22, April 17/19 and June 12/14. Trout fly fishing and fly casting school "Tackling Trout" at The Kenmore Hotel May 15/16/17, 2009.See my web sites for more details of schools.