Normal fly casting 101

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Date: September 12, 2006 at 11:28:36
From: ken, [pool-70-109-205-73.prov.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Normal fly casting 101

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Date: June 02, 2006 at 21:23:48
From: ken, [pool-70-109-209-62.prvdri.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Simple fishing casting

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Date: June 02, 2006 at 21:03:21
From: ken, [pool-70-109-209-62.prvdri.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Re: Simple fishing casting

Rods can cast a great variety of line weights.
You can adjust your casting to compensate for the variation in line weights.
You can cast an 8 weight rod with a 4 wight line by using line speed to increase the torque through the increased velocity of the line which increases the impact of the weight of the line on the rod. Similar to a high velocity tiny bullet.

You can also cast an 8 weight rod by increasing the length of the 4 weight line until there is fifty two feet of line out past the tip. That will weigh 210 grains I believe which is equal in grains to an 8 weight line. 4 grains per foot x 52 =208 grains.
The numbers may be wrong but the principle is correct.

Originally the standard was for a line to have all of its grain weight in the first thirty feet of line so that the angler could load the rod with the line with thirty feet of line off the tip because this made for easy fishing casting. You could cast both short and long.
With the stiffer and stiffer graphite in modern rods this standard was discarded as the measure of line to rod as the norm.

Now manufacturers use any length of line that they wish to designate a rods line weight.

That 8 weight we were talking about could be labeled a 4 weight if 52 feet were the length that was used to measure the grain weight load on the rod.

Going back to the standard of thirty feet of line for all rods is something that is necessary for the manufactures to do if there is ever going to be a return to order.

Many nine weight rods are measured with enormous quantities of line off the tip and they may be nine weights if the working line off the tip is fifty or more feet which is fine for tournament casting but not fine for fishing casting where you must load you rod for both short medium and long casts.

Tournament casting is for long casts only.
For short casts the idea of high line speed and double hauls for short casting has replaced the idea of grain weight loading the rod.

The added torque from line speed (double hauls tight loops etc.) has become the norm in discussions of fishing casting.
It simply is a poor substitute for grain weight in practical fishing situations.

Three or four back-casts to generate the line speed to cast fifty feet is irksome.

What the rod tune ups are all about is finding out what line weight your rod will load with at practical fishing lengths. A beneficial side effect is that when your rod is fully loaded with the correct grain weight it will cast long distances with one back-cast with no added line speed. This result is a pleasurable casting experience.

Any one can cast this way both short and long and anywhere in the middle easily.

You do not have to be a casting athlete to make good casts.

You can still add to your castiing all the enhancements of line speed and double hauls and tight loops and any thing else that you may wish but if you have a grain weight that loads your rod correctly you will never lose your ability to cast long or short at will if you do not use those enhancements.

That is the traditional method and it is based on practical fly casting norms.

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