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Walter & Group...
[GH] From Lefty Kreh :
Gordy
Having the proper amount of line out to load the rod aids greatly when teaching. One thing that might help blind people to learn to cast is something I have been doing for years when night fishing either on the coast or for freshwater trout.
For example when striped bass fishing at night in the surf it is most efficient to pick up the proper amount of line to make one backcast and shoot the line but in some cases stripers will follow the fly almost within spitting distance in the dark. I place a nail knot at the point where the proper amount of line is outside the rod tip and one where only a few feet of line is outside the tip. Use 10 pound-test monofilament and pull it well into the coating. When retrieving in total darkness you feel that knot, which has no effect on the cast. This might be useful for blind people learning to cast.
Lefty
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[GH] Lefty,
Great suggestion ! Timely, too. Happens, I have one of the lines you designed on the desk in front of my nose. It's the LEFTY KREH DISTANCE TAPER (TEENY PROFESSIONAL SERIES) made with a "bump" in the line coating.
You and I are both old enough to remember a line which I think SA may have come out with after you came up with that idea back in the 60's, I think. They called it the "Telecast" line.
I learned the nail knot trick from you ... only I use 4 lb. mono which most people can feel OK.
One use for that is to find the max amount of line a caster can carry with good loop control, then use the knot to mark that spot. Not only can he feel it on the retrieve, but if he doesn't and goes past it, it will "click" in the guides as he false casts and slips line thus giving both a "feel" and a "sound" as a guide.
Of course, the "knot bump" can be placed at the desired pick-up point or the point of recommended line carry..... or both.
Works much better than marking the line with permanent marker. (That's useless at night anyway.)
I think most blind people have heightened sensitivity to help them when they can't see. Should work well !
Gordy
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[GH] From Tom Scheer :
Gordy (et al)
I met a delightful wounded warrior, through Project healing Waters Fly Fishing (Cincinnati) who had, but then lost sight. He may be an anomaly in this discussion due to his inherent athleticism.
Jack has been fishing for a very long time. He thought learning fly fishing seemed interesting.
Bottom line,dries and emergers are likely beyond his abilities. Streamers are not.
He learned to form a loop very quickly when I utilized the kinesthetic approach when helping him.
Loss of sight is said to allow compensatory gains from the other senses. Jack very quickly demonstrated support for that concept.
After asking his permission to put my hand on his rod, I placed my hand, above his, on the rod.
I asked him to feel what I was doing with the rod, to "ride along" as I controlled the rod tip path.
Then I asked him to do the cast, and I would "ride along". As I "rode along" I asked him to notice when he felt residence from me during his actions. I then cast with him "riding along". Until he got it.
The result was, of all the vets( and other students I have attempted to assist), Jack has the best application of energy, stops, arc length, shooting line skill and concept of pause duration of any student I have worked with.
It goes away, of course, since he does not practice, but he quickly regains control when we do our fishing outings during the season in Ohio.
It was a challenge for him to determine when to lift his line from the water to cast again.
Gordy solved that in an earlier discussion. When Jack feels the 5x mono knotted
around the fly line 20 feet from the rod tip while stripping it in, he knows to it is time to lift the line smoothly from the water, accelerate to the back cast stop, accelerate smoothly to the front cast stop, then deliver the fly by dropping it to the surface.
jack is a veteran in our Cincinnati PHW group who knows when some one is present but
cannot see well enough to identify a face.
Using the kinesthetic teaching approach resulted in very nice loops in a short time.Jack is limited to streamer fishing, but has had good fun catching bass in the pond where we hold our outings. When stripping the line in, per an earlier discussion here, Jack feels the 5x tippet knotted around the fly line at 20 feet out of the rod tip, and knows to pick up and cast again.
Thanks Gordy and Bruce Richards for sharing the gems that worked with Jack.
Regards,
Tom
R Thomas Scheer DDS(ret)
Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor
Contact, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing VHMC Cincinnati
513 317-4996
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[GH] Tom,
Lefty gets the credit for the "bump" and "knot" ideas. I learned it from him a long time ago. All I did was to use it and help spread the word.
Gordy
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[GH] A suggestion from Jim Bass :
Gordy I think this would take a little or a lot of training. If anyone has a contact with the school for the blind in their area that might help some of us get started. I will look in the DFW area.
Best,
Jim
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