Answer to Guy's question

I have a question for the MCCI’s out there who test.

I was working with a CCI candidate last week who has a pretty good fundamental cast. He has 30 years of self taught casting behind him. When he took my workshop last spring he was pushing all of the time and getting resultant tails. We worked that out at the time (he was able to make adjustments easily) and he had been practicing about 10 hours a week when he came back for a pre-test run through.

Again I felt that his casting was more than sufficient to pass the performance test. There was one stylistic thing though, that I had to warn him about. His rod casting plane was about 30 degrees from vertical, but his line plane was nearly 40 degrees from vertical. In other words his line plane did not match his rod plane during his normal cast. He had parallel loops and good control, it just didn’t look right. He was also perfectly capable of throwing a vertical loop over a vertical rod plane and adjust to other angles from there.

What suggestions or comments would you have for this person regarding the line and rod planes being out of synch.

Guy Manning

FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor

Moderator FFFCCI Yahoo Group

www.castflys.net

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Now for Jim Valle's thoughtful and detailed answer :-

Gordy and Group,

Out of plane Tracking error. Regardless of the rod plane the alignment of the rod plane Will be the same unless the caster is causing the rod tip and line to do otherwise. Sometimes this is done intentionally. In addition to the over the tip more traditional style, there are some neat casts that can be made by causing the loop to be right or left of the tip, and of course under the tip. Guy’s concern about “it just doesn’t look right” is key and something all instructors especially masters should be aware of. What it looks like to the student! ( OR, since the MCI exam is being discussed lately, to the MCI Examiner who is judging whether or not this candidate is a good instructor of both students and other instructors)

I have come across this with some really advanced casters, folks who are great fishermen, can muscle the distance and catch fish, but not with the ease and finesse they see in other casters. “They make it look so easy” type thing. My focus would be on the wrist and back cast. I have come across students who have developed a very subtle wrist flick or rod tip flick that in effect throws the backcast a little curve. This usually diminishes their forward cast efficiency so they add muscle. I usually explain it by using the forward cast simple wrist flip curve cast … “ If I wanted to throw a simple curve cast I would just flip or twist my wrist at the end of the forward cast, It works and is easy…..That’s what you are doing on your backcast… throwing a little curve… and instead of coming forward with a straight line efficiency you are coming forward from a backcast that is off to one side” …

Then there is the “align your thumb, rod tip and line as you make the back cast … we want the line over the rod tip … no matter what rod plane…at least for now”

These little nuances are well engrained in the casters muscles and are extremely hard to detect, they are quick little twitches in the overall stroke and like a permanent marker they aren’t going to be removed easily. Use Bruce Richard’s six step method, You have identified the line problem, now start by watching the rod tip for a little jerk or movement to the side (change your position from side to behind and in front of the caster) and then as work your way down you get down to the hand rod connection… watch closely and take your time … you will see a twist, a hick-up in the smoothness of the cast as it passes the caster and transitions to the stop… watch the power snap … does it stay perfectly in plane… watch the wrist does it change plane … something is making the rod tip move below the SLP … you will find it ….

Some suggested methods of solving this problem….

Do some horizontal casting

Exaggerate the off plane by making spey under the tip casts

Do some elliptical casts to loosen the student up

I will add … ask your student If he has ever been hooked….I have found this can be a “self preservation instinct cast” and the caster is using this as a method of keeping the fly away from his body… they throw it out to the safe side… a hook can be a powerful teacher to the sub-conscious…

This may not be considered a fault for a fisherman, it could be considered a style, although I believe it will prove to be less efficient except in special or certain under the branch type casts etc. However for a Casting Instructor to demonstrate all casts this way I would consider this a Fault.

Hope this helps,

Jim

Jim.... I agree.

First, for our new members.

Tracking: Alignment of the rod leg and the fly leg of the loop from side to side.

In the event that the back cast is out of tracking plane by virtue of curving around behind the caster, however, I'd find that unacceptable. That often occurs with a caster who casts with the casting arm up and extended. To an observer or examiner standing off to the side, it can be hard to see except for the subtle timing problem which occurs as the caster uses up more energy than needed for the ensuing forward stroke to take out the slack which this large horizontal loop yields. This may shorten that effective stroke length enough to yield a tail, too. Often, "it just doesn't look right."

(See p. 30 of Joan Wulff's Fly Casting Techniques.)

To diagnose this and other tracking errors, I find it best to stand (or even lie down) well in front of the caster. Even better if you can be up in a tree or balcony above the caster.

"CURES"

I like Jim's suggestions for solving this problem. I particularly like his horizontal ground casting method. Some others :-

One way I try to handle this is to have the caster WATCH THE BACK CAST ALL THE WAY TO LOOP UNFURLING while aiming it at a distant object behind which is aligned with him and the forward target. (Could be a cloud, the tip of a light pole, a window on a building, a mountain tip, etc, etc.)

Another trick well known to seasoned instructors is to have the student use a vertical rod plane while attempting to cast between two buildings or other obstructions which are only about 3 feet apart or less. In a pinch, two trees will do.

One other: Have the caster cast while observing a gutter line or electric line nearby while trying to keep the loop legs parallel with the line.

Yet another in the bag of tricks. Have the student understand what he/she is doing. Demo it. Then have the caster purposely do it, make it more and more off track, and then return to the way of doing it with the fault AND THEN KEEP GOING WITH THE VERY MOVE WHICH MADE THE EXAGGERATED TRACKING PROBLEM WORSE until casting with good SLP of the rod tip.

Gordy

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SEVERAL ANSWERS SO FAR ON WHAT AFTER MASTER CERT. ? However, I'm not hearing one thing that I seek. Answers in the next message.

Gordy