CASTING STYLES / Tails (more)

Let's have some thoughts from you on casting styles once you have digested our last message including the letter to me from Lefty. Meanwhile:

The subject of tailing loops seems almost inexhaustable .... so many thoughts; so many theories; lots of misconceptions along with physical evidence produced by those who have studied the problem in many ways including super high speed video combined with electronic monitoring.

A man contacted me last week about testing for Masters. I told him that you do some times. So I was happy to hear that you did testing with Liz. Tell Capt John Congratulations from me.

Creeping, Short stroking. the "U" shape of hand travel. Miss application of power. Most think that petty much covers it. The concaved path of the rod tip is what is happening. There is one more that can cause the rod tip to conclave. It would fall under miss application of power but not by the rod hand. Rather by the line hand. Hauling to soon. too hard can make the rod tip dip in it's path.

If the haul is started before the line has loaded the rod, or haul too hard too soon you will drag more of load into the rod.That can dip the tip in to a concaved path.

As you know, we have covered most if not all of the ways in which a tailing loops are made as we fly cast. Many word pictures can be used to describe these things. Revisiting this casting fault with different word pictures is an effective educational tool.

1.) Creep: This shortens the available stroke length, rod arc and tip travel. If it shortens them to the point that they don't match the amount of line carried, this can yield a concave rod tip path made even worse by the fact that it encourages the caster to apply a spike of power during the stroke. The tip dips down and then ends up traveling in an upward direction.

2.) Inapproprate application of power: A tail can result when the caster applies too much power during the stroke which is timed to yield enough acceleration that it cannot be maintained. The rod tip dips down as this spike of power is applied and then comes back up as the acceleration isn't maintained. This also yields a concave rod tip path with the rod tip fininshing in an upward direction. In simple language: "Hitting it too hard too soon."

3.) Too short a stroke and rod arc for the amount of line carried : This often occurs even without creep. It can result in the caster sensing that something is wrong. He/she applies a spike of power to "compensate" resulting in the rod tip dipping and then returning so that it is traveling up as the cast is completed. Another example of a concave rod tip path.

4.) Failure to dip the rod tip away from the oncoming line: If the caster makes an almost straight line path for the rod tip and then "pushes" the rod forward without dipping the tip down so that it can escape the oncoming line at the end of the cast, the line may strike the rod or the fly leg may collide with the rod leg of the loop. Lefty feels that this is a common event. ( Ref: CASTING WITH LEFTY KREH, Lefty Kreh, pp. 404-405.)

5.) Excessive pause time after the back cast: Waiting too long after the back cast loop has unfurled before making the forward stroke may result in a collision of the fly line with the rod or a collision between the fly leg and the rod leg of the loop.

Argument is made that this isn't a true tailing loop, since the fly leg doesn't necessarily cross over the rod leg. Sometimes, however, this can encourage the caster to add inappropriate power which can result in a true tail.

6.) Less than 180 degrees between the trajectory (line plane) of the back cast and that of the forward cast : If the caster makes a high back cast followed by a high or even horizontal forward cast, a tailing loop may result. Caveat: This will only occur if this is combined with a lack of change in rod planes between that of the back cast and that of the forward cast.

7.) Shoving the rod tip up into the projected path of the fly line: This almost never occurs in the real world of fly casting, even by beginners. It has appeared on CCI exams as the candidate tries to make a tail as a required demo. Examiners all agree that this method is unacceptable on an exam for the reason that it is not the way a student is likely to do it and does not indicate that the candidate understands the mechanics behind the tailing loops ordinarily encountered during fishing and casting practice.

It has been taught that the common denominator of all tailing loops is the concave rod tip path. As you can see, that isn't necessarily true as we include # 4 through # 7. It is true, however, for most tailing loops.

It has also been taught that the common denominator is inappropriate application of power. I agree that this is true of most tailing loops because it is usually responsible for the concave path of the rod tip in the first place.

As I see it, the combination of concavity of the rod tip path (during the stroke as well as between strokes (as in #6) and inappropriate application of power yields most of the tailing loops we encounter.

1.) "Band-aid" Cures: These are methods which work for the moment but don't necessarily result in an understanding off the problem by either instructor or student. They are usually administered by brief command :-

2.) Real cures: These are the ones made by well informed instructors. A simple root cause analysis is made by the instructor who uses a system such as Bruce Richards' 6 step or other good methods to define the problem in a stepwise manner. This is followed by a step by step approach as the instructor has the student change the body motion which resulted in the rod tip movement which in turn led to the tailing loop.