SSSPP - I first heard this from Randi Swisher several years ago when
he was at Sage. Its still on their website under Casting Tips:
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Howdy Gordy
Here are my Essentials of
the Fly Cast
Essentials of
Fly Casting
1. The elimination of SLACK LINE is the most efficient
manner in which to cast a fly line.
2. Proper ACCELERATION of power applied
to the fly rod at the correct time controls rod loading. Done most often
with the Rotation of the rod at the grip or ARC. *
3. The size of the CASTING STROKE is generally determined
by the length of the line to be cast.
4. There must be a PAUSE that may vary in duration at the
end
of each back cast and forward cast stop.
5. There must be a STOP at the end
of the stroke in both directions.
6. Efficient loop formation requires the caster to move
the rod in a STRAIGHT
LINE PATH to the target. The
first 5 Essentials
Are the building blocks of number 6.
*I call this the Power Arc. The power or force applied
to the drag of the fly line, loading the rod.
·
Allen R. Crise
FFF-Master
Casting Instructor
FFF-SOC VP Education http://forums.southerncouncilfff.org/
Hawk Ridge Flycasting
School
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Comment: All should note the PRINCIPLES of fly casting as
outlined by Lefty Kreh (CASTING WITH LEFTY KREH, pp. 12 -
18.)
Some have
been confused over which "religion" to follow.... ???? Lefty's principles .....
or the ????? Essentials of fly casting as taught by most FFF instructors.
Let's see how they relate :-
1.) "You must get the fly line
moving before you can make a back or forward cast." (eleminate slack.)
2.) "Once the line is
moving, the only way to load the rod is to move the casting hand at an ever
increasing speed and then bring it to a quick stop." (This fits very well with what Bruce Richards and physicist Noel
Perkins noted with their finding of smooth constant acceleration
for efficient casts.)
3.) "The line will go in the
direction the rod tip speeds up and stops- more specifically, it goes in the
direction that the rod tip straightens when the rod hand
stops."
(I'm happy that
Lefty added the last phrase. This is consistant with the physics evidence
that the rod reaches RSP a fraction of a second after the hand
stops. (About 0.1 Sec.). This is the point at which the fly line
starts to overtake the rod tlp as the loop begins to form. Rod movement after
this is made during counterflex. It will alter the position of the rod leg
of the loop, but not the fly leg .... and it WILL NOT CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF
THE CAST.)
4.) "The longer the distance the
rod travels on the back and forward casting strokes, the less effort is required
to make the cast."
(The caster will
feel that he is using less effort, because even though the total expenditure of
energy may be the same, the effort at any one point in the stroke is less since
this expended energy is spread out over a greater distance. This also is
more likely to result in smooth application of power.)
I think I can see
why Lefty didn't include the need for a straight line path of the rod tip as a
principal. This is an essential for one family of casts... the so-called,
"straight line overhead casts with a tight loop". So many casts are
purposely made with a convex rod tip path (for weighted flies, etc.) or a curved
rod tip path (curve and hook casts.)
I submit we are all
really talking about the same elephant !
Gordy