Walter & Group........
I just got back after a great Conclave.
Congratulations go to Stuart Tripney for passing his MCCI exam in Livingston.
Stuart is, now, the first FFF Master in New Zealand.
Gordy
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From Server Sadiki (Engineer/physicist/CCI) : -
Personal recollections from 2006 Conclave plus Casting Physics Discussion
I had meant to write about some of the fly casting highlights I experienced at last years conclave but time does seem to fly. Highlights were numerous and now my memory may be a little sketchy. My apologies for not putting this note down earlier.
Noel Perkins presented an interesting talk on a new measurement device used to measure line haul speed. The talk was not in the published schedule so I was lucky to have noticed it announced on a handwritten board on the day of the talk. I didn't recognize any of the other people in the audience except for Bruce R. who I assume was a vital part in the effort. Also surprising is that the results presented there haven't been discussed on this board. As I recall, the data shown seemed to indicate that 5 m/s maximum haul speed was achievable, the caster on which the data is based seemed to get to maximum haul speed about or before the time of maximum rod butt angular velocity (if I'm remembering correctly, from past data of Richards/Perkins maximum rod loading seems to occur when//very slightly after rod butt angular velocity starts to decline), and the haul speed at completion of rod unloading would be at a somewhat reduced value compared to the peak. I don't recall that line haul accelerations were discussed nor were they reduced to equivalent rod butt angular accelerations (probably a meaningful conversion). My impression was that the caster had tuned the use of hauling for maximum rod loading. However, it may have seemed this way because that is what I expect the data to demonstrate.
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I had the chance to met and interact with a number of avid and accomplished casters. Bruce Richards was nice enough to provide remarks on a casting improvement which unfortunately has yet to be conquered. Among the people I met and cast with were Paul Arden, Bruce's fellow Michigander and friend Rich, Gordy Hill, Jim Lamme, Tom White, Mac Brown, Jeff Wagner, and some of the folks accompanying Paul. I was very sorry to hear about Tom White who had given me my CCI test. I took the workshop that Gordy and Jim (Valle) gave. The students separated into two groups and Jim worked with our bunch. Two interested items popped-up during the interchanges. I can’t remember how the subject came up when Jim mentioned how/when he sees fly “hovering” occurring – this was something I was curious about because I have trouble picking up a “hovering fly”. He explained how he sees it briefly during//at the end of the leader turnover and sure enough if you focus in that area the fly is observable for a very brief time. I have been told about the usefulness of this observation in accuracy casting but the direct application of “hovering” to placing a fly on a target still escapes me because the fly is a considerable distance from the target (both in forward and vertical directions) when it hovers. The other interesting thing he remarked about is a sort of combined steeple-roll cast for executing a roll cast without throwing a rearward “D”. This is a cast I sometimes play with on grass – on grass it allows one to make a roll cast without a water anchor and Jim's remarks point out that it has value in certain fishing situations. For me this cast is a hit and miss thing – and I'm not really sure what you have to do to be consistent – Ill have to ask Jim about it at this years Conclave.
For me the conclave was a real fun event and I am hoping that I get a chance to see the casters I know from past conclaves and to meet people I haven't had the privilege of meeting yet. Since Conclave 2006 questions have arisen in my mind and I wish I could remember the details of how other casters executed their casts. I hope these questions resurface when I'm at the conclave and I will be observing to gather fresh first hand observations.
Regarding casting physics, an important technical point came up in a
short discussion with Noel Perkins.
Those of you reading the boards over a period of time know that I have
discussed the notion of the “hard stop” in the past. My position is that 1) there is no hard
stop, 2) no typical advanced (or novice for that matter) caster ever attempts to
execute a hard stop, and 3) there are very good reasons hard stops donut occur
in practice and the notion represents one of the most fundamental//universal
misunderstandings in basic information on casting mechanics. I thought my extensive past discussions
had pretty much dismissed “hard stops” as a concept. Knowing that Noel's technical expertise
is not fundamentally that different from my own I wanted to talk with him about
the subject and assumed he would be in immediate agreement. I was surprised to
hear that he believed casters apply a hard stop. I doubt that Noel keeps track of the
discussions on the boards and would be aware of past discussions so I just but
the subject aside for the day. Now
however some remarks regarding casting physics and mechanics are once again
coming forth on the boards and references to hard stops are creeping in. As well other remarks regarding casting
physics/mechanics have also been brought forward. I want to address those technical aspects
of fly casting discussed that I can remember. First and foremost I will once again
address the impossibility and undesirability of a hard stop and then go on to
the other subjects regarding casting mechanics/physics. I’ll do this in a posting I am
starting to write now and it will be submitted in a day or two. I realized there isn't any need to
rehash the physical explanations of casting mechanics I have presented in the
past – a proof based on
Best regards - Server
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Comment: A lot to learn, here.
Not being a physicist, I was nonetheless interested in this business of whether or not a true, "hard stop" was really what was needed for an efficient cast.
As I see it, the term, "hard stop" is a soft term..... depends on what you mean by it.
Dean Floyd helped my make a decision about that last year when he gave a demo on just what happens in the real world when a cast is made ending with the butt section of the fly rod actually striking a metal bar for a, "brick-wall-stop". Turned out this yielded so much rod vibration, that it ruined the cast and resulted in little distance achieved along with a bizarre layout.
Putting this information together whith the findings of the Kyte- Moran study in which the very best casts were made by elite casters who had the most sudden (abrupt) stops brings me to this conclusion:
Best results are achieved with the greatest negative acceleration that the CASTER can achieve. Going beyond the ability of a human to stop the rod by adding a more abrupt stop of the butt section of the rod to absolute zero in an extremely short time as the rod strikes a stationary object causes sufficient rod vibration between the stop and RSP as to degrade the result.
To this extent, I agree with Server.
For teaching, however, the idea of the student learning to make the most abrupt stop he/she can muster seems to gain the best overall result for most straight line overhead casts.
On Server's comment re the, "hover" cast: In practical use, it is best to try to hover the fly directly over the target whether over a contrived target on grass or a trout feeding lane when fishing. This can be a problem when the wind is blowing, for obvious reasons.
Server commented on Jim Valle's modification of the STEEPLE CAST. I'll ask Jim to follow with a detailed description of this. He showed this at this past conclave at Livingston with an application that was new to us: The use of this upward thrust steeple cast as a prelude to making a distinct change of direction forward cast.
Gordy
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I was privileged to assist Dusty Sprague and Bruce Richards with their beautifuly organized Master's Prep. Workshop at the Conclave. Participants/candidates demonstrated MUCH better grasp of the scope and breadth of the study needed for MCCI certification than in previous years.
Following the classroom presentations, Dusty and Bruce demonstrated the forthcoming changes to be made with the casting requirements with particular emphasis on task revisions for the accuracy and tailing loop tasks.
Gordy