Walter & Group......
This one should be carefully studied and digested by all ! It includes an attachment in which Bruce Richards comments on the 1993 Kyte-Moran study of "Good vs. Elite Casters" in the light of the more advanced fly casting study techniques of today. Thanks goes to David Lambert (MCCI) for providing us with it.
A LOT of information, here. :-
Gordy:
Thought you and possibly the group might find interesting this exchange
I had with Bruce regarding comparing results from the Kyte-Moran Study
vs his Casting Analyzer.
A recent casting group thread regarding the early-90s research and
subsequent Fly Fisherman article by Kyte and Moran got me wondering
whether the conclusions drawn from this study (made with now 15-year-old
technology) were supported by newer studies conducted with newer testing
instruments (e.g.: Casting Analyzer) and more sophisticated analyzing
software. I emailed Bruce Richards and posed that question to him
Do the results new and old support each other? Any revelations,
surprises, or negations?
Below Bruce's reply: (Note his remarks follow asterisks. Also sent as
attachment. Feel free to remove any personal stuff if you like. D )
> >>>David . . .
Now, that Kyte-Moran article, which I still consider to
be the best casting
article written to date....... Our study of thousands of casts using the
analyzer supports most of their observations and conclusions. We have a
couple of minor areas of disagreement in areas where more accurate
measurement of rod movement than they had available are required. Because
they couldn't make these measurements, in a couple areas, long held
misperceptions clouded their view of what was really happening, but I'd say
that 95% of their work is right on the money. I've made some comments after
each point giving our perspective on each..... But truly a great article,
one that most didn't pay enough attention to at the time, in my
opinion.....
Looking forward to seeing you again somewhere David, hopefully there will
be time for some fishing, and/or scotch!
Regards,
Bruce
SUMMARY OF PAPER BY AL KYTE AND GARY MORAN, Entitled: GOING FOR
DISTANCE..GOOD VS. ELITE CASTERS
From: /Fly Fisherman……May 1993/
(This study compared "GOOD" distance casters with "ELITE" (best)
distance casters from a video analysis of the world’s best casters where
the video was warped down and comparisons to elite vs good casters were
drawn and measured. This based on video analysis by an professor of
education and a bio-mechanics professor.)
*/****Bruce Richard’s comments/*
Question: What do the elite casters do to achieve greater distance with
the overhead cast.?
Answers:-
1.The elite casters straightened the back cast line more completely….and
did so with noticeably smaller loops.
****This straighter line is a result of a straighter tip path, which
comes from constant acceleration, which is the key thing we measure.
2.They stopped the rod more abruptly on the backcast.
*****We measure the "stop" very accurately, and the best casters have
great stops.
3.They bent the rod tip back farther on the backcast.
*****This also comes from a straight line, straight tip path, and
constant acceleration. We also measure this rod bend indirectly by
looking at how much the rod rebounds after the stop. Great casters have
higher rebound percentages.
4.They moved the rod tip through a more straight path during the loading
phase.
5.They achieved maximum rod bend just before the stop on the forward cast.
*****True, but all casts, good or bad, achieve max rod bend just before
the stop.
6.Their rod hands moved in a slightly downward path.
*****We don’t measure this but I don’t consider it to be critical to any
cast, it is more a matter of style and cast trajectory than anything else.
7.Their most common error was to apply power too soon. (ie. They applied
their maximum force too early in the stroke.)
*****I would disagree with this, doubt it is what really happened. In
nearly 100% of casts we have analyzed that weren’t quite perfect, the
reason was that rod rotation started too soon and too slowly. This
"early rotation" raises the rod tip and shortens the arc and makes it
difficult to make a great cast. This early, slow rotation is necessarily
followed by much faster rotation, which is almost certainly what they
saw when assuming "They applied their maximum force too early in the
stroke". It can appear that power is applied too early, but in reality,
this power is always preceeded by subtle, slow rotation that is the real
cause of the problem.
8.Elite casters "imparted more bend in the rod, and did so with better
timing."
*****More bend for the power applied, very true. Again, benefits of a
straight line from straight tip path, and very constant acceleration. We
accurately measure both rod arc and "smoothness" of acceleration, these
two things together determine tip path. Timing is a natural, instinctive
thing that most casters acquire once they are beyond the beginners stage.
9.They had a low release angle averaging only 6 degrees above the
horizontal.
****They were making long casts, varying from horizontal very much would
drive the backcast into the ground.
10.They moved the rod through a wider angle.
******More rod bend requires a wider rod arc to maintain a straight tip
path tip path. Again, we directly measure both rod arc and rod angular
acceleration, and indirectly, rod bend.
11.They did this by allowing the rod to drift back and down "….an
additional 10 to 15 degrees after the stop of the backcast."
*****Classic drift, which we see in all top casters and is directly
measured, at least the most important rotational part.
12.Their stroke length was greater. (Stroke length defined as "The
distance the casters hand moves the rod butt toward the target.")
******The rotational aspect of the cast is much more important than hand
translation, but top casters use every motion they have to optimize the
cast. In this case, the elite casters added more hand translation to
allow a longer "drag", further straightening the line before the stroke
to improve efficiency and improve the following loop.
13.They used the longer casting strokes and wider casting arcs IN THE
SAME AMOUNT OF TIME and so achieved greater line speed….and the same
level of force and rod tip speed over a greater distance, yielding a
total application of force which was greater.
*****With the equipment they used to measure all this it would have been
very difficult to make the above statement with scientific accuracy, but
it is almost certainly true. We can precisely measure acceleration, peak
rod speed, casting arc, etc., but don’t measure the length of the hand
motion. Since that is a relatively slow motion compared to rod rotation,
it is easy to see, and adds relatively little to the cast.
14.Elite casters made greater use of their body mass and musculature
than did the good casters.
*****This comes from training and practice, as with any good athlete.
15."The most effective haulers pulled the line back a greater distance
primarily during the final, accelerated stages of loading. Thus they
stopped the haul and released the line farther back, as well."
******As you know, we’ve also developed a "haul analyzer" and have been
able to do some preliminary studies of hauling. We know that the best
casters haul longer, and that they stop hauling right at rod straight
position when the loop forms. Haul speed directly matches rod speed.
16.They combined styles…."They moved the elbow out to the side of the
body during the backcast which opened the way for inward rotation of the
shoulder. Then they moved the elbow ahead of the shoulder during the
forward cast, which enabled them to use a strong elbow extension as well.
******The analyzer measures rod motion only and we can’t draw any
conclusions about caster style from analyzer charts. But, from examining
thousands of casts now we know that regardless of style, top casters
move the rod the same. When making the same cast, there is little
difference in Lefty’s chart, and Joan’s. Their bodies move quite
differently, but the rod doesn’t. There is a significant difference in
hand/rod translation, but since the same cast can be made with this
difference it is obviously not a critical motion, but more a matter of
casting style.
17.They used an "educated wrist motion during the final acceleration of
the stroke, "averaging 45 degrees; 10 degrees more fore the elite group.
******This goes with their observation of a wider casting arc for elite
casters.
18.In most cases, the final 20 to 30 degrees of wrist action quickly
tilted the butt of the rod forward, just prior to the stop. (What I’d
call a "wrist flip.")
****Al and Gary weren’t able to measure actual rod angular acceleration
so had to base this comment on visual observation. Especially in the
early 90’s it was widely believed that rod acceleration was slow at
first, fast later, which is what this implies. We now know that,
although it may look like acceleration is slow at first, fast later, the
best casters accelerate the rod at a very constant rate throughout the
stroke.
19.With the best casts, the rod butt stopped ABRUPTLY so the butt of the
rod moved hardly 1 degree. The less successful casters couldn’t hold the
rod as steady.
****** We see the same thing, the best casters have the quickest stops.
We accurately measure both acceleration and deceleration of the rod.>>>>>>>
Bruce
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ATT00009.doc
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