Diagnosing and correcting faults

Walter & Group...

[GH] 1 attachment with messages from Troy Miller and Rick Whorwood.

[GH] We could quote Mel Krieger from his video and call this: "Faults and Fixes" *

As a springboard for this topic, let's review this message from Peter Minnick :

Gordy... I think that 1 of the most critical aspects in teaching flycasting is the ability to see, analyze and correct casting flaws...I don't see this in any of the requirements for certification either at the CCI or MCI level...

The suggested guidelines for preparation are focused on the ability to perform specific casts, explain and demonstrate specific casts and a depth of knowledge about 5 different areas of fly fishing and casting. There is nothing about analyzing a fault in casting and coming up with a solution on a performance level. You could ask what might be the causes of a tailing loop but that wouldn't be the same as asking what is causing my loop to tail.

Any instructor, whether it be tennis,golf,skiing or fly casting is only going to be as effective as their ability to identify and correct flaws. I suggest that an analytical and remedial aspect be considered as an addition to certification..To be fair you could limit it to the principles of casting along with other violations that could be identified as common flaws...such as creeping,wristing,shocking,torqueing,etc... I think it would be easy and reasonable to come up with a number of casting flaws where a candidate would be might be asked to identify and suggest remedies for correction...In summary I believe we need some real life application to solving casting problems.

A test of teaching competency needs to include a section where an instructor intentionally does something incorrectly. The student should be expected to identify the error and suggest remedies for the error made. An instructor who cannot see what is being done incorrectly should not be certified to teach.

Peter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[GH] Peter,

I, for one, agree. Others may argue that the CCI, after passing the exam will then be expected to develop and hone that capability (Subject for later debate). That is exactly what you did !

As you point out, it doesn't appear on the CCI exams at the present time, although it may in future renditions.

On the MCI exam, we expect that to be covered as the examiners purposely make faulty casts and ask the candidate to describe the fault(s) and one or more corrections. The method of doing that is usually also questioned.

Ally Gowans takes this a step further as he starts his casting instruction with information which allows his student to be aware of his own faults with a basic understanding of how to correct them.

This is a passage from one of his messages:

"We each do things differently. I expect even a beginner after an hour or so to be able to identify most of their problems (which at that stage are usually fairly simple).

Eg. Rod tip travels downwards during a back cast. Incorrect acceleration. Incorrect de-acceleration. Undesirable loop size. Timing issues etc.

I tell them early on that I want them to recognise if something is not right and when that occurs I will ask what caused it. If they don’t know I tell them what I saw and usually they will make the correct call. If not I will explain further.

The reason is that when they are on their own I want them to be able to cure problems and I am happier if they go away with a good understanding of good and bad and various fixes than I would be if they cast perfectly and don’t know why or how to fix the inevitable problems."

Rather than starting debate on that issue, let's keep all this in mind as we tackle specific casting problems and faults and the numerous choices we may have to correct them.

We'll develop our teaching, "BAG OF TRICKS"

LET'S START WITH THIS ONE:

Your new student casts with big poorly controlled loops. Her back cast loops strike the ground with each attempt.

1. Likely diagnosis?

2. Corrections?

With your answers and suggestions, we'll construct a list of the many ways this fault can be corrected.

* FLYCASTING FAULTS & FIXES a Detailed Look at Flycasting Problems and Their Solutions, By Mel Krieger, DVD video, Krieger Enterprises, inc., 790 27th Ave., San Francisco, CA, 94121. ISBN: 0-944169-10-4

Gordy