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Walter & Group...
[GH] From Bob Stouffer on the "parachute cast":
Dr. Gordy
I understand a Parachute cast as a horizontally projected cast downstream with a high, slow, "reach-up" which places the fly back towards you by "Parachuting" gently on a straight leader and tippet. The fisher then follows the fly in the current by matching the speed of the water and maintaining a relatively straight line.
I realize that any attempt at manufacturing an unambiguous lexicon of presentation casts and mends is nearly impossible. I will bet you that if you aligned twenty seasoned MCI's and asked them to do a series of ten different slack-line presentations, by name, that you would see an unexpected variety of completely different casts all responding to the same name.
Thankfully, we do not do this with food.
Bob Stouffer
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[GH] Bob,
Seems that any cast which results in the fly rising, or not, then hovering prior to falling has been called a "parachute cast" by someone ! Many ways of doing this, as you know.
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[GH] Bob Hansell replies to my message in "Slack line presentations 7" :
Thanks Gordy, much appreciated.
I never thought of the wedge type cast to create a slack line presentation and will go out after work today to give it a try.
We did have a debate around here about the strict definition of a mend. The clarification of rod fade helps.
We were using the concept of a mend is a repositioning of the rod after the cast is made (after loop formation) with the focus on rod fade versus the “pull down” . So naturally, we tried to get a slack line presentation using a pile cast while trying to keep the rod still after the cast in the high position (as best we could). Most of the time the fly and leader fell behind the fly line except with a wind aide which at 25’ or more pulled out the slack.
It was fun because we were all determined that we could make this work somehow. But it was never a repeatable performance. Also we tried to compare the rod pull down to the “pull back” on an over powered curve cast or the concept of opening up a loop by “controlling the bottom leg”. Both were considered “mends” because of the manipulation of the rod after the loop was formed. The rod fade was compared to the ‘follow through” of a normal vertical cast. Mental gymnastics to be sure, but it could lead to a deeper understanding. So, my key takeaway here is rod fade is not a mend because it is not a “purposeful manipulation” of the line after the cast. Do you agree?
What I love about casting, fishing, golf and many of my individual pursuits is the constant learning opportunities encountered. The difference between those and my work is being right is not as critical!
Thanks for pushing me to think more on this specific topic.
Bob
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[GH] Bob,
I agree.
Let me know how you fared after you try these casts.
One can make this as easy or as complicated as he wishes.....................
The description of a MEND which I favor is: " Manipulation and/or alteration of the position of the fly line after loop formation."
I left mention of the rod out of it.
This can be accomplished with no movement of the rod at all ..... as with a check haul or pull back of the line.
With the Pile cast, I think it could go either way. If the caster aggressively drops the rod in such a way as to pull the line down, then I suppose this could be considered a mend. If he uses a "rod fade" (Mac Brown's term) to lower the rod at the same speed as the already falling line or slower, then it wouldn't actually alter the line position, so I'd not consider it a mend; rather a followthrough. Mac used the term, "negative force" in describing rod fade. *
If the caster drops the rod tip, he is more likely to pull the line down because of the arc created. He's less likely to do that if he slowly lowers the entire rod.
If you actually do make a "reach down mend" as you drop the rod tip, then timing becomes an issue, as described by Jason Borger: " If you reach immediately after the forward cast is finished, then the entire line will be mended..... If you wait until most of the line has fallen to the water, then only a small portion near the rod tip wil vary in its course.......In essence, all you are doing is inserting a Pause Module between the cast and the mend....." **
* CASTING ANGLES, by Mac Brown, 1997, First Edition, p. 42, Text & Fig. 2.9.
** Jason Borger's NATURE OF FLY CASTING.... by Jason Borger, 2001, pp. 88-89.
Gordy
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[GH] From Gary Davison (Co-chair of the Ol Al CCI Study Group) speaks to those of us who mentor and/or otherwise help budding CCI Candidates :
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