Answers to Quiz / Mac Brown

Here's a little Quiz. Try to come up with two answers for each question if and as warrented.....a BRIEF one and a more detailed one (More detail only if you think it's needed.) :-

4.) What are some of the, "duties" of the line hand ?storage, acceleration ...Yes. Might add, control of slack, retrieve, strip strike (if indicated) (As a salt water fisherman, I might have forgotten line storage despite the fact that my father taught me a neat way of palming the line many years ago.)

5.) Describe the "duty" of the rod hand.- pilot rod ...Yes. (I like that term and will use it.) Another correct ans. might be, "executes the mechanics of the cast".....but yours is a lot better ! (I can learn too.)

6.) Your beginning student tells you that he is about to buy a fly rod for casting practice He wants to know what to look for. What do you teach him ? medium ...Yes

7.) This student wants to know what determines the size of the casting loop. What do you tell him ? arc, stroke Technically, Yes...because those determine the path of the rod tip. I'd prefer this ans., "Path of the rod tip". (If asked to expand, THEN we could get in to how that is determined by the stroke and arc. If asked for more, we could get into the idea of unloading the rod with the tip stopping well below the oncoming line for a controlled wide loop or with the tip just a tiny bit below the oncoming line for a tight loop.)

8.) How do you describe to a student the application of power for a medium distance cast ? flick tip ....Well that would work for good casters. I'd reserve that flick for the short cast, however, for most casters. I think my answer would be, "mid-rod loading" for the medium cast ( as opposed to, "tip-loading" for the short cast, and "deep rod loading" or, "butt loading" for the distance cast. )

To expand, I'd get into the concept of SMOOTH, UNINTERRUPTED ACCELERATION TO A STOP. ("Start slow and end fast.")

9.) Try to define a "SPEY CAST". art ....Sure is ! However a formal answer might be, " A live line, change of direction, areolized roll type elliptical cast." (Covers the waterfront !!!!!) Some examiners won't accept a definition which fails to include the idea that it is a change of direction cast. (This despite the so-called, "Forward Spey" which many prefer to call a, "Switch cast") I used the term, "roll type" because some Spey casting authors have argued that a Spey cast is not a roll cast.....differences of opinion.

10.) To what general classification of casts does this SPEY CAST belong ? constant tension ....Yes. I think the term, "elliptical" would be OK, too. I suspect that, "change of direction" would also be correct.

11.) What is meant by the term, "ROD PLANE" ? airspace rod uses ....Hadn't thought of it that way...though true. Most go by, "The orientation of the rod from vertical to horizontal on either side of the caster".

12.) Your more advanced student wants to know when, if ever, he should change rod planes between the back cast and the forward cast. What do you tell him ? yes, style points ....OK. You are sure to be asked to expand on that answer. That might include things like, "when elliptical casting as with a strong wind from the casting hand side" and other examples. Ok to note that MOST casters change rod planes however slightly as they cast, anyway.

13.) Another student wants to know if all rods advertised as made of, "ultra high modulus" graphite fibers are stiff rods. What do you tell him ? no .....Yes. If asked to expand, I'd say, " Stiffness is largely a function of the DESIGN of the rod as well as the modulus of its fibers."

14.) How does a, "MEND" differ from a, "CAST" ? after rsp .....Yes. It's what you do after the cast. If asked to expand, I'd consider this: "It's repositioning the line in the air or on the water after the cast."

15.) Your student is confused. She wants to know if the term, "TRACKING" means the same thing as, "SLP". What do you teach her ?different planes .....Yes. If asked to expand, I'd say that SLP refers to the straight line path of the rod tip in ALL PLANES, whereas the common use of the term, "tracking" is to refer to the path of the rod tip with respect to the right or left of center.