Drift

This Message from Al Crise (MCCI). Note my comments in his text in BOLD CAPS :-

Let's look at this DRIFT a little more. When we make the back cast the line is about 12 foot off the ground above our heads in an over head cast. The 9 ft rod + the height of your hand. This flight path is not flat. It travels downward due to gravity. So we get a loop that might be 8 to 10 feet off the ground as it fully unloads.

So where did the rod stop? some where maybe 11-10 foot off the ground. As we make the forward stroke the line is being pulled UP and over that 12 foot high point of the plane or flight path.

OF COURSE, THESE HEIGHTS WILL BE STYLE DEPENDENT ... MUCH LOWER, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN USING A LOW ELBOW/OFF HORIZONTAL ROD PLANE STYLE. AS YOU POINT OUT, GRAVITY DOES HAVE AN EFFECT TO SOME EXTENT EVEN THOUGH THE LOOP IS STILL UNROLLING AND TRAVELING BACK (THOUGH NOT NEARLY AS PROFOUND AN EFFECT AS IT DOES ONCE THE LOOP HAS FULLY STRAIGHTENED.) THE HEIGHT OF THE LOOP WILL BE DEPENDENT, TOO, ON THE TRAJECTORY OF YOUR BACK CAST.

Now if we set the back loop in motion (with a good stop) at 12 feet high. DRIFT the rod back and a little lower we now can pick up the flight path of the loop. I ask the student to point the tip of the rod at the LOOP After the stop. Doing this drifts the rod back. What this does to the rod load is all 'good' We get much deeper rod loading due to the Rotation started with the tip lower.

YES......POINTING THE ROD TIP BACK TOWARD THE APEX OF THE LOOP AND THEN LITERALLY MOVING IT BACK IN THE DIRECTION OF THE UNROLLING LOOP WORKS WELL WHATEVER ITS HEIGHT.

Now lets look at that cast where we are shooting line into the back cast. Right off we have a longer line.

Longer line longer stroke. What would be easier than just DRIFTing back to gain the needed stroke distance.

AGREE .... MOVING IT BACK IN THE DIRECTION OF THE CENTER OF THE UNROLLING LOOP IS THE WAY I LOOK AT DRIFTING BACK. WORKS FINE EVEN WHEN SHOOTING LINE BACK BEFORE THE FORWARD DELIVERY STROKE.

One more item to look at. We all have a body position that is our strongest. Maybe a little off shoulder. Elbow forward, or elbow open. Arm off to the side like a quarterback. or tennis player. What ever is your strongest style. You now can reset your arm to this position. BUT Avoid creeping but DRIFTing . Troy Miller once said that this in not creeping but just getting set for the forward cast.

THIS IS WHAT IS MEANT BY REPOSITIONING THE HAND AND ARM FOR THE NEXT (FORWARD) STROKE. THE DRIFT MOVE CAN ALLOW FOR THIS IN ADDITION TO INCREASING THE AVAILABLE STROKE LENGTH, ROD ARC AND TIP TRAVEL FOR THIS NEXT STROKE. TROY IS CORRECT ... THIS IS NOT CREEP.

DRIFT IS THE ANTITHESIS OF CREEP .... CAN SERVE AS ONE CURE FOR IT. (TO BE SURE, ONE CAN DRIFT AND THEN CREEP BUT THIS IS A RARE EVENT.)

THE CASTER CAN, AS AN ALTERNATIVE, BRING THE ROD TIP WAY BACK AND THEN STOP IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE AVAILABLE STROKE LENGTH FOR THE NEXT (FORWARD) CAST. (A TECHNIQUE OFTEN USED BY LEFTY) AN EXAGGERATION OF THIS IS THE SO-CALLED, "LEFTY STAB" WHERE THE TIP IS LITERALLY THRUST BACK TO A STOP. (A BACK CAST VARIATION OF HIS, "WIND CAST" CALLED THE "THRUST CAST" BY BORGER AND ORIGINALLY BORN AS THE, "STORM CAST" OF CHARLES RITZ' HL/HS TECHNIQUE.)

So my mantra of "Point the rod tip at the loop after the stop" will keep you drifting in the right direction.

AGREE ! BETTER YET, "MOVE THE ROD TIP IN THE DIRECTION OF THE UNROLLING BACK CAST LOOP...."

Allen R. Crise
FFF-Master Casting Instructor
FFF-SOC VP Education
FWFF Chairman Education
GCC Casting Chairman. http://www.gulfcoastfff.org/
Hawk Ridge Fly Fishing School