When I started this blog, I wanted a forum where people (basically me… until Kevin, my one and only reader, came along) could express thoughts without being disparaged – a haven where opinions could be posted safely, and hate would not be harbored or tolerated. Dissent would be encouraged if it was respectful.
After I posted my thoughts on the appropriate mass of fly reels, Kevin pointed out that some fly fishing gurus recommend heavy reels.
I would like to respond to the video.
Let me preface this post by writing that I have nothing against Mr. Galloup. When I purchased my fishing license in his store a few years ago, he was a very friendly, relatable person. I would have bought a trucker hat to support his business, but none of them looked good on me. It’s hard to make me look good. At least, my friend, Andy, bought a lot of flies. I digress.
We need to grow the sport of fly fishing, especially among women and children. When I see a female or a child at the casting pools or on the river, I give them an imaginary fist bump. It really makes me happy.
Balanced equipment is critical for these two segments to enjoy fly casting and fishing. Compared to a reel-heavy setup, a balanced outfit will provide better feel without tiring the caster as quickly. A few ounces WILL make a difference – especially if one’s arm is extended as is often the case at the beginning.
IMHO, the industry must avoid making fly fishing feel like a pissing contest. Casters should be able to buy shorter rods, smaller (diameter) handles, and lighter reels without any stigma. Equipment choices should be based on the caster’s need – not a need to feel like a man’s equal.
I was a victim of this social pressure. Before I met Chris Korich, I never considered a shorter rod. I was too ignorant and too self-conscious. The idea of buying a shorter rod was emasculating. We need to change this perception. Let our loops do the talking, not the length of our rods or the size of our reels.
For me, when a fly reel is too heavy, it makes the tip feel “airy”. I don’t feel the rod bending. What I think is happening is that the reel is pulling the butt of the rod down at the beginning of the forward cast. The reel is rotating the rod with gravity. I’m simply a bystander holding the rod.
It’s as if I am miming a stroke without a rod. I don’t feel much – just the mass of the reel pulling the rod butt down. I am not accelerating and causing the rod to bend – at least at the beginning.
If anything, when the reel is way too heavy, I am trying to prevent the rod from rotating too quickly and too early. Otherwise, the loop becomes fatter and/or my trajectory changes.
Later in the front stroke, when I start accelerating the rod, my casting muscles finally feel resistance. Combined with the movements of my joints, I think that this kinesthetic feedback is what makes me “feel” the rod bending – or not bending.
Perhaps the best way for someone to understand what I am trying to communicate is for you to cast a reel/rod/line combination that is balanced, and then cast the outfit when it is not.
Cast out to a typical distance. Check the balance of the rod. If the outfit is reel-heavy, then peel off enough fly line to lighten the reel to make the outfit balanced. Just leave the extra line on the ground. If the outfit is tip-heavy, add some mass by wrapping some mass around the spool or taping coins to the butt.
Once the outfit is balanced, cast a typical distance. Pay attention to the rod bending and the overall feel of the line loading the rod. Note the height of your loops and the trajectory of your casts.
Now, take the reel off the fly rod and put it into your pocket so that you can continue to cast (without the reel falling out). Cast without a reel attached to the rod. Pay attention to what you feel as you cast and compare what you feel to what you felt when the reel was attached.
Now attach an inappropriately heavy reel to the rod – simply as mass. Leave the original line in the rod and continue to cast the original line with the original reel in your pocket. Does it feel the same? Do your loops look the same?
I really hope that you try this experiment. Let me know what you experience and observe. If you don’t notice a difference, it’s okay!
I will end this post with a thought. I am not entirely certain what Mr. Galloup means by “line speed”. I think that he is trying to balance the force that the line exerts on the rod as the line straightens out with the force from the mass of the reel with gravity. Put in a slightly different way, he is trying to balance the inertia of the aerealized fly line with the inertia of the fly reel.
Balance means that you can change a variable on either side of a fulcrum to achieve a similar result: increase the mass on one side or decrease the mass on the other side. If the mass of the reel can be increased to achieve a specific effect, then it follows that decreasing the mass of the line (instead of increasing the mass of the reel) would have a similar consequence.
What happens when we under-line a rod? The rod doesn’t bend as much. We lose feel. It’s not as fun to cast. Doesn’t this sound like my description of an outfit with a fly reel that is too heavy?
Something to ponder.