Holding line for distance casting

Walter & Group.........

From Bob Rumph:

Hi Gordy & Group,

 

I can understand why a candidate may be asked to demonstrate how to shoot line with control, which is usually best accomplished using the method you described and long taught by Lefty. But when it comes to making a distance cast that does not have to be overly accurate, I would not even consider holding the line. No matter how well a distance cast is progressing, it is still a delicate thing, ergo I cannot see any purpose to impeding it in any way.

 

Bob Rumpf

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From Paul Ardin:

I do exactly the same things as you Gordy, with one exception. Instead of reaching for the stripping guide I reach for a position from which I can make my fastest haul. For me that means keeping my hauling hand on that side of the body and not crossing my central line.

 

Cheers, Paul

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Paul....

I take care not to crossover, as well.  Should have mentioned that.  On the final delivery cast, I'm not thinking of a haul except in the instance of an occasional check haul for super rapid turnover.

 

Gordy

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From Lou Bruno:

Gordy,

I keep the line pinched between my thumb and index finger when fishing, and distance casting. I have spent most of my working career working as a machinist, so my hands aren’t in the best of shape. So it just feels more comfortable for me holding the line that way. When casting for distance I also let the line go to eliminate any friction.  When I do lose the line I quickly grab the line behind the stripping guide.

 Lou

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Carl....

 

Gary Eaton asked me if you meant holding lengths or coils of line in hand above the water or ground as you cast.

 

Gordy

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Yes that is what I meant . Holding coils in hand or techniques for a similar situation .

 

I have seen things such as holding some of the line in your mouth as a technique.

 

Thanks Gordy for clarifying that.

 

 

Carl Z

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COMMENTS:      Now we're talking about something different.  Holding loops or coils of line above the water or ground to be released on the shoot of the delivery cast.

 

I know of no one who does it better than Joan Wulff.  She holds a series of line loops in her line hand.  The first is the longest, the last the shortest.   She calls the first long loop, "one for the river" as she lets it drift downstream.  The others are held aloft over the water.  The base of each loop is held in orderly fashion in her hand so they can be released as she make her presentation cast.  Since her, "river loop" is first to coil and last to shoot, the momentum of the shot mass of the remainder of the line easily plucks this one from the surface of the water.

 

This is clearly shown in her, "FLY CASTING TECHNIQUES", pp. 117-120.

 

Of course, there are other ways of doing this.  As Carl said, one can hold one or more coils in the mouth.  Lefty shows a way of tucking a coil or two beneath his belt. (Tom White used to do it that way on occasion.)  A belt hook has been marketed for this purpose.

 

My father (Pop Hill) taught me to palm the entire line as it is retrieved when streamer fishing or after a dead drift.  This takes practice. I retrieve slowly with my line hand, turning it and placing one, "S" coil after another against one another in my hand.  I release the tight coils as I make my cast.  He called it, "palming the line".  Only works for short casts on the stream because I can hold only so much line this way. I, once, showed this to Tom White ..... with his big skilled hands, he was able to palm about 60' of line !

 

 

Notes on coiling line without holding it:-

 

Stripping baskets have been used for years.  Many different sizes, shapes / configurations.  Best one I ever had was one made for me by Ed Jaworowski..... had holes to drain surf water, and spikes of heavy mono attached to its bottom.

 

On a skiff, I prefer to stand near the aft end of the forward casting deck when windy, and direct my line down and back so it lands on the main deck.  This helps prevent the wind from blowing it into the water.  In high winds, I place my left foot on the edge and use my left leg as a sort of line guide.

 

Various baskets/buckets, etc. have been used in which one can coil retrieved line.  One commercially available model is called the, "Line Tamer".  Laurence Baggett has a spring loaded basket which can collapse for storage beneath his forward hatch.

 

Lefty demonstrated a neat trick at our course in N.J. this spring.  He showed that if you lay the line on the grass or deck in criss-crossed elipses instead of circular coils, you could place the entire line on the ground and then shoot it out with much less likelihood of tangling.

 

In doing demos on grass, I use a damp bath towel upon which I coil my line.  (I recommend using something like that for candidates who are being tested, too. )

 

Gordy