Acceleration is a vector quantity, which means that it possesses an additive nature. When we pull on the fly line to accelerate it during the forward cast, that acceleration is added to the acceleration of the fly line generated by moving the fly rod.
One reason for needing a sound stroke before learning to haul is that, I believe, casting mechanics should not change whether a haul is present or not. Moreover, by the time we can form a tight loop for a 40-foot target using a weight-forward line, we understand when the application of hard acceleration creates the tightest loop, and perhaps more importantly, we have developed the muscle strength to “get the bend out of the rod” quickly.
At the beginning of the loading move, my hands act in unison – as one unit. The haul from the previous back cast is finished. Otherwise, any returning of the haul (which feeds line backwards or introduces slack) prevents the rod from loading, making the move to get the bend out of the rod less effective.
Through most of the loading move, the distance between my hands does not change. I am not pulling in any line or letting any out. The only object or force accelerating the fly line during this period is the rod.
In my initial draft, I wrote that my haul starts with the power snap: when the rod feels bent with high line-tension.
Chris disagreed. I don’t think that he disagrees with the latter part. The rod should feel loaded and we should feel high line-tension when we start to haul. But, Chris thinks that his haul starts at the end of the loading move.
At first, I wondered if we simply disagreed on the wording: What’s the difference between the end of the loading move and the beginning of the power snap? I chuckled as I finished the question.
If we took videos of the best casters, Chris contends, We would see that the distance between the haul-hand and the rod-hand starts to increase just before the power snap: a pre-haul of an inch or two so that the haul can really accelerate the line during the power snap. This would allow for a blending of acceleration.
After varying the timing of my haul over the last few weeks, I think that Chris is right. The acceleration of the haul is smooth, and it feels unhurried when I start at the end of the loading move. When I start the haul with the power snap, it feels rushed and the acceleration has to start suddenly since I have little time to complete the haul.
When we ponder the best time to start a haul, we should ask ourselves, What would happen if acceleration were added at various points in the stroke? Since the fly line is being accelerated throughout the cast, the haul can conceivably start at any time. As in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to all choices. And typically, all options are not equally good.
I think that the best time to haul on the front cast is when the rod is loaded: additional acceleration won’t cause a tailing loop readily, and the mechanics/timing of the stroke (without a haul) – that I have practiced and refined – don’t need to be altered.
Although it’s impossible to start the haul at the same moment in every cast, moving forward, I will try to start my haul at the end of the loading move – and not the beginning of the power snap. I think that Chris just taught me… one more thing.
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