Tricks to help teach the "stop"

My attachment on the "ROSE OF LEARY" didn't go through. I'll try to add it to this message. G.

To teach the "stop", we have had many suggestions to which I'll add as we summarize :

1. Instructor standing directly in front of the caster (or behind for back cast stops.) ( Frank Harford)

3. Teaching loop control including the "stop" by horizontal "ground casting" (Gary Davison)

4. Hands-On by the instructor as the student casts. ( Misako Ishimura & Floyd Franke)

5. Have the student try to hit the tip of the rod with the line (I learned that one from Lefty Kreh)

6. Pantomime with the index finger as the student does it with the instructor. (Tom White used that method effectively.)

7. Have the student cast with a "yarn rod" as the stroke and stop are taught. (Works partly because the movements can be done slowly and the entire rod and line are near eye level ..)

8. Teaching the "stop" by having the student GO INTO REVERSE at the end of the stroke.

9. Have the student throw water at a target on an outside wall using a wet paint brush or toilet brush. Paint works even better because it's dramatic. (Lefty)

11. Lightly stick some wet chewing gum on the tip of the fly rod and have the student deliver it to a target. (I found that the deep cap from my wife's lipstick worked even better.)

12. Teach GRIP PRESSURE and appropriate BODILY TENSION to help achieve a good "stop". (Peter Minnick)

13. Teach the student to finish the stroke with the rod pointed at a suitably located object in the background while casting in a horizontal plane. (Tony Loader.)

14. Teach the "SQUEEZE-TO-A-STOP" as the butt section of the rod approaches 90 degrees with respect to the target. (Floyd Franke)

15. Use a mirror to the side of the casting student. The student uses a fly rod handle with a short segment of the butt section shaft (Made by saving broken rods.). A mirror is placed to one side. The student can see the hand/rod , wrist and elbow movements as he/she pantomimes a cast. Instant feedback is achieved once the student has a grasp of the objectives. (Joan Wulff)

16. The rare intellectual student may get the idea of trying to make the rod stop a short distance from the oncoming line once this is explained; especially if the explanation is accompanied by pantomime and/or diagrams.

This helps load our bag of tricks to handle a specific problem. A good Master, will have several possible solutions or "cures" for each common problem. The very best experienced teachers, will be able to craft new solutions to new and sometimes bizarre problems as they emerge.

You can cast the tight loop by moving your rod tip in the SLP adjusting the loading action and the rod stops with the softer rod tip even the wrist is bending upward when your stroke?s speed is fast. But there are many limitations in this kind of casts.

Before you ask them to change their casting style, you make sure that they know what is happening with their casts.

First make the video of their casting. Or ask them to cast slow to fast watching their lines during the cast. Then you ask them cast gradually from vertical to horizontal with the at least 6 full casts. So hopefully they see their line movement better. Make sure that they observe it well when they cast slow and fast, short distance and long distance, and horizontally.

Now you show them what they are doing exactly in the same way from the begging to the end, vertically to horizontally. Ask them see the line movement and your wrist and the angle of the rod bottom and your lower arm especially when you stop the rod in your back cast.

After they agree that you have casted in the same manner, change your position to be near them. Stand next to them and face in the same way. Then repeat the horizontal cast explaining what is happening to the loop and rod tip when you were casting by bending your wrist upward. And change to the proper casting style. Again explain and show what have changed by not bending the wrist upward.

Show them not only changing the wrist actions but also with a shorter and a longer line out side of the rod tip. Explain what your hand action, especially your grip. Most of these casters don?t grip the rod softly. They don?t know how effective just squeezing the rod at the stop and how important to releasing it right after.

Next they usually don?t know how to move their lower arm during the casting. So you need to explain and show them how to move their lower arm. I see some anglers harmed their wrist by bending it so hard in downward. So it may be better to add that when you bend your wrist downward, use the lower arm part to stop bending wrist too much at the forward stop.

Now you ask them a couple questions. See how far they understand and how eager they want to change their casting style.

Have them cast without bending their wrist upward adding lower arm movement more. You need to separate them to concentrate their own casting, especially if they are tight friends and wife and husband couple.

Hopefully the next session will be their AHAA moment. Ask specific changes during his casting. One to one base. If he does not mind it, cast with him. You may need to ask him, just hold the rod soft and have you cast with your hand covering his casting hand. Tell that you want him to feel and observe your casting action.

Then ask him to cast without taking out your hand. You can add some little action to his hand and arm to being help his casting. Not only casting with them, explaining what you want him to change or what is happening during the casting together.

If the caster did not change his wrist upward after all of these, tell him that you are going to put your hand where you want him to stop his rod at the back cast. So he needs cast slow with soft grip then stop when his rod touches my hand. Tell him in advance that you want him stop there and make the front cast not stopping the fouls castings. Usually this location is shorter than he used to stop in the back so that you can stop his wrist opening to upward in the back cast. It is a good idea to ask him cast short distance in front of his face, too.

Even so, he could not change, ask him to move rod hands without the rod as if he is casting. Have him stop at the back cast stop position after a couple strokes. Then we examine together the shape his wrist. I bet that his wrist is bending upward. Finally he realize that he is not trying to make his wrist straight. So he will pay attention only on his wrist without the rod.

Have him to do at least 5 times without the rod and not seeing the wrist bending upward at the end of stop. He gets finally how to move without bending upward. Next you help him to move his casting arm without the rod. After seeing his better casting strokes without the rod, then give his rod back to his hand.

Have your students cast vertical, side and horizontal ways, fast and slow, and short distance and long distance according the casting practice for achieving these changes.

It is very difficult to change their casting style, especially after the long time fishing in that style. When they did not know what their wrist action effects the line formation and what kind of disadvantages they are getting just because of it, you may not be able to change them. When they recognized deeper, they may be willingly to change. When they cast some nice lines after the successful changes, finally they want to change and practice more. Sometime it may be better for them to reach to or hit upon the right changes rather than telling them what to do. So give them time to observe what they are doing clearly and ask some questions to them in the right moments. They started to think about their casting as a physic subject. Once they know how their body parts? movement effects to the casting, they may be able to find out the solution by themselves. These changes are supposed to good for their body. They should be easier and not give any pressure to his body part. Once they experienced nice feeling by casting beautiful line with the easy movement of the body by changing a few small parts, they will be glad to spend time with you more. Now you can show them how to practice.

Grab some short poll and perform casting stroke watching your wrist and the angle of lower side of poll and the lower arm.

Move the rod tip differently focusing with each body parts (thumb finger, two little fingers, wrist, lower arm, elbow, shoulder, and hip) movement separately during the casts. )

Cast the different size and shape of the loop with changing the movement of the different parts of your body.

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From Don Pendleton.... a variation on a theme discussed by Gary Davison in a prior message. (The highlighting is his.):

My friend and mentor Jim Rogers (MCCI) in Missouri once told me to pay careful attention to where a student was focusing their eyes. For instance I'm working with a beginner trying to grasp the basic essentials. If they are just watching the forward cast lay out you have to direct their attention to their problem area, maybe it's back cast speed, maybe it's stop or whatever. Jim was a huge believer in making his student visually focus on all parts of the casting. Back cast, tip flex, loop control, stop position are several of the things that Jim demands his learning student to watch everything when he is working with them. They do learn quicker when they focus on it.

I've tried something with that real tough beginner this summer that seems to help. For instance not stopping, too much stroke length, SLP. They are making a non loop for several reasons. That person has never looked at their back cast and has no idea what is happening to their back cast that adds up to a poor forward cast.

With 30 ft. of line, I set out two cones to the side maybe 3-4 apart, making a horizontal cast I show them to stop the rod at the top of the cone on each end of the casting stroke. I get down on my knees and have the student stand behind me, above and behind me they have the perfect perspective. Much better than standing anywhere else. I make a forward cast and a back cast showing them all the essentials done right. I always prove to them that this little horizontal stroke from cone to cone, just using tip flex is exactly the same motions as I go angled 45, straight up vertical and across body. The student takes the rod and we work on the horizontal first. Now he starts making nice loops, good stops, enough speed, understands SLP so far so good! As they get it I gradually start to work their rod inclination up. AS SOON AS THEY STOP WATCHING THE BACK CAST THEY WILL LOSE IT EVERY TIME! Encourage them to watch again, KA-BOOM there's that nice cast again! I know everybody insists that all kinds of bad problems come from watching a back cast, but none of them are difficult to over come if the student knows where to look.