Walter & Group.........
WE NEED SOME MORE RESPONSES TO TEACH US TRICKS FOR ACCURACY CASTING AND TEACHING ACCURACY
Here's one from a true expert, Guy Manning :-
Gordy,
I
have to say that Larry has captured pretty much the whole of technique for
accuracy to targets. These are all things that I have known in the past having
been a LBCC/ACA caster. Had I tried to put together those tips I would have
missed a few due to distance in time from them. This is a great document due to
the fact that Larry is still something of a newbie to accuracy competition and
has most of these points in the fresh part of the brain.
When
I was regularly doing tournament casting I had a slightly different approach to
estimating distance and the lay down. Everything else was the
same.
For
distance I went by feel. I would use a haul (if necessary) to get what I thought
was about the right amount of line over the target and then lock the line off
under my index finger. Like Larry mentions, I would watch the loop roll out
after the forward stop, I did not watch over the target per se. Once I felt I
was in the ball park, distance wise, I would make small adjustments by moving
back or forward while leaving the line locked off, distance adjustment were made
by moving a couple inches at a time.
Once
the distance was set I would concentrate on bisecting the target. If I had 2
consecutive casts that bisected the target I would lay down on the next, being
ready to yank the cast back quickly if things went wrong.
My
lay down is different than most on the closer targets. I make no conscious
change to the back cast and try to stop the rod just slightly lower on the
forward stroke allowing the loop to roll over just above the surface and the fly
to drop the last 3 or 4 inches. This is counter to the common lay down that
Larry describes but it is more in the spirit of the Dry Fly game, which
supposedly encourages soft lay downs. This is why there is a rule that if the
fly sinks you get penalized.
What
happens is that over time you learn to trust your instincts and hitting a
target, especially on the stream, becomes second nature and there is no mental
process to it. When I took my masters I only made two or three of false casts
over each target then put it down. There was no mental process, just instinct,
involved.
FFF
Master Certified Casting Instructor
Moderator
FFFCCI Yahoo Group
www.castflys.com
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Comment: Good advice ! Being able to do it instinctively puts one at the top of the food chain. It's when we have to TEACH it to others that breaking it down to teachable elements and small doses becomes important. For me, breaking it down also helps when I fail, because it allows me to go back to basics as I try to improve. Gordy
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Here are a few correct answers to the question :
Describe and demonstrate at least three things which should change when going from a nearby target to a distant one.
From Bill
Toone:-
1. TRAJECTORY 2. ROD/TARGET - EYE/TARGET SIGHTING TRIANGLE 3. LOOP SPEED TO ACHEIVE THE FARTHER DISTANCE
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From Eric Cook :-
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Gordy:
Short: 1. Trajectory should rise 2. Increase casting stroke length
3. Increase line speed.
Long: Loop trajectory should rise to match the new target location
which should be further away, and visually higher. The casting stroke
length should increase to achieve good tracking and increased
translational requirements. The line speed should increase to
overcome the resistances (wind and/or inherent drag) that exist in
casting a fly line over a longer distance.
Michael Jones
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I'd call all of these answers correct. Let's put them all together and add a couple more :-
1.) Stroke length (tip travel as dictated by stroke length and rod arc.)
2.) Trajectory (line plane).
3.) Rod load ( "tip casting" to close target, "mid to butt flex" for distant target.
4.) Loop speed ( Actually determined largely by rod load as well as loop size.).
5.) Timing (short cast:short pause long cast: long pause) As Larry Allen learned from Steve Rajeff, this may also include changing the relative lengths of pause between forward cast and back cast. This difference may also change when going from a short to a long target.
6.) Triangulation ( Change of angle between the eye-target line and the hand-target line )
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Now, if we want to list some things which may change as elements of casting style:-
1.) Stance (Closed stance for close target / open stance for distant target (one way of gaining a longer tip travel)).
2.) Elimination of triangulation for very close-in target. Some do very well by bringing the rod right up to the very center of the forehead in an absolutely vertical rod plane. Usually combined with closed stance and turning the bill of a cap around. This helps insure perfect tracking with the fly not likely to deviate from the hand/eye-target line which is now the same. Problem is that it does not offer a good way of judging distance.
3.) Change of rod plane ...... While most accuracy casters change rod planes to some extent when going for greater distance, this change is sometimes very slight. Joan Wulff, for example, has developed a form of, "bend back" body motion to gain greater tip travel on her back cast allowing her to maintain a vertical rod plane. Most casters don't have that agility, so they gain tip travel by increasing stroke length and rod arc as they open their stance and change to a more off-vertical rod plane. (I've been amazed at Lefty's accuracy when using an off-horizontal rod plane for distant targets.)
Other casters use a vertical rod plane for close targets, a slightly off-vertical one for medium distance targets, and a more off-vertical rod plane for distant targets the latter usually combined with an open stance.
4.) Grip Some accuracy casters use an index-finger-on-top grip for very close targets; then convert to a thumb-on-top grip or a "V" grip or extended finger (Mel Krieger) grip for more distant targets.
5.) Haul Accuracy casters may elect to use either single or double hauls when going from close to distant targets. Some will use the haul when false casting and evaluating fly position and height and then not use it for the final presentation.
Gordy