In fly casting, a tight loop needs a solid anchor to form and to propagate. Graeme Hird’s video is a simple demonstration of this principle.
Notice that, after a loop forms, the rod leg becomes anchored due to a still rod tip. The loop continues to propagate until the entire fly line straightens out.
In the second part of the video, when the rod tip moves forward with the line (after the loop has formed), the loop collapses and the line doesn’t straighten out.
Notice that, despite the rod tip speed being faster in the moving-anchor scenario, the velocity of the fly leg of the line appears higher when the line is solidly anchored. The non-moving anchor seems to conserve the energy of the system better than the moving anchor, and thus, prevents the fly leg from decelerating as quickly.
A similar phenomenon occurs when we practice roll casting in grass: the moving anchor makes our loop anemic. When I watch Aitor Coteron Agorria’s video, energy seems to be lost by the moving of the anchor and the fly looping up into the air.
Although energy to move the “dead line” is similar to the energy to try to move the solid anchor, the energy is conserved better in the latter scenario so that more energy remains to propagate the loop and to move the yarn. Regardless of the physics, the anchored roll cast has a tighter loop that travels faster and farther.
Hopefully, we can agree that a non-moving anchor is crucial for the formation and propagation of a tight loop. How or why is a matter for the physicists to argue. However, I wonder whether the explanation is like the mechanics of a whip. Look at April Choi’s loop: it looks like a closed loop in fly casting! The big difference is that the diameter and mass of a fly line isn’t decreasing except at the front taper. If nothing else, Destin Sandlin creates an interesting video!
When we move our rod tip shortly after forming the loop – drift, if you will – we are effectively moving our anchor, and we lose energy. The consequence isn’t catastrophic: our loop won’t suddenly collapse because the loss of energy is typically small. But fly line velocity won’t be as high as it could have been, and the cast won’t go as far as it could have gone.
I cringe every time I look at my back cast photo for the blog. You can see that my haul hasn’t returned completely to the reel and the line between my hand and the rod is under tension. I am prolonging the time that my anchor is moving – not due to my rod tip moving – but by letting line out too slowly with a late return of the haul.
I should change the picture. I haven’t because I don’t want people to think or to expect that my mechanics are perfect. My casting will always be a work in progress. Yet, I also don’t want people to think that a slow return of the haul is good mechanics. It isn’t. The return of the haul must be faster than the shooting of the line. It should be the only moment when I don’t feel any tension.
If we need to reposition the rod to elongate a stroke, it must be done quickly and nimbly *while* we dampen the rod. It is the only way to minimize the loss of energy from a moving anchor. At first, most people won’t notice the repositioning and dampening done by a caster like Chris Korich. I didn’t.
Most people mistake his quick motion after he stops the rod as part of the stroke. That’s how quickly this part of the cast must be completed. The word “drift” does not convey the proper intent. We must think of a better word, and we must teach this concept better.
In my next post, I will break down Chris’ stroke and identify his repositioning/dampening motion.