Sage casting analyzer

JC, and others,

I am happy to see that the project put together by Noel Perkins and Bruce Richards has continued its development, and is now recognized by Sage as a valuable enough teaching tool to roll it out in numbers, allowing access to it by a vast number of interested anglers.

I was exposed to this project when it was still in its early days, first at the 2001 FFF national conclave in Livingston, through additional correspondence with Bruce and another play with it at the 2003 Denver FTD show.

Here are two pictures of the 2001 event, which has me casting the gyro rod as available then, and an example of the casting stroke graph:
http://www.danica.com/flytier/temp7/Untitled48.jpg
http://www.danica.com/flytier/temp7/Untitled49.jpg

The value as a teaching tool, when put to good use, is just enormous. I am as excited, or more so, now about the Sage initiative as I was when I first encountered this ground breaking project.

I look forward to seeing it, and have another set of graphs plotted, next week in Denver ;-)

Cheers,
Hans W


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=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

Here, btw, is a copy of my 2001 post to this forum on the subject:

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During the recently held FFF Conclave (Livingston, MT, August 2001) there was a program/session called:

Computer Simulated Fly Casting and a Device to Analyze the Casting Stroke - Bruce Richards and Noel Perkins.

(To place the speakers: Bruce Richards is working for SciAng in developing flylines/tapers and a member of the FFF Casting Certification program Board of Govenors, Noel Perkins, the engineer, is less familiar to me.)

While I was unable to attend the session as I was demo tying at the show that same afternoon, I did take part in some experiments held outside the complex later that afternoon. Facinating! ;-)

While the project is still in its early days, here is a general description of what was/is in place at the moment.

A small/light sensor is mounted on the rod, just below the reel. The purpose of the sensor is to register changes in rod angle over time.
Being small/light it does not influence or hinder the caster in the slightest. A known amount of line is outside the tip guide. While the caster makes a series of false casts, part of the sequence is recorded on a laptop and saved in Excel. One can subsequently plot the data in a graph for analysis.

Some twenty people took part in the experiment, many of whom are high profile casters/instructors, such as Mel Krieger, Joan Wulff, Bruce Richards, Tim Rajeff, etc., as well as some lesser mortals such as myself ;-)

While the ultimate aim of the project is to plot rod tip movement (a next step), even this first step yields some very interesting and informative results. Clearly seen on the graphs is:

- How each caster applies power over timeline.
- How well the stop is executed on both forward and back cast.
- Whether same amount of power is applied during both casts.
- How well the caster manages to reduce/avoid rod occillation.
- Whether the caster introduces unwanted 'creep' between casts, and if so when and how much.
- Demonstrate cause of any tailing loops.
- Etc etc.

Some people I have talked to were somewhat sceptical, or even downright negative "Casting should never be reduced to an exact science...", but I believe that this project may offer wonderful opportunities to both students and teachers of flyscasting. Even in its current, very early stage, so much information can be gleaned from the data.

One of the real eye openers for me was the confirmation/visualization that while two very competent casters, such as Mel Krieger and Tim Rajeff, but with vastly different styles of casting, both will load the rod in an almost identical manner, with their graphs being very closely matched.

But also that a distinct 'alternative' cast, such as Mel Krieger executing the so-called Belgian cast, will show up very different on the back cast stroke and identical to the 'normal' cast graph for the forward cast.

Regards,
Hans W


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=== You have a friend in Low Places ===
http://www.danica.com/flytier

I have enough trouble with computers now as it is. If I have to attach my casting stroke to one I will end my days noodling for catfish!

This is all I need. A machine to graph out everything that is wrong with my cast. I would be the first to to have everything wrong and nothing right.

I think I need to go hide on a pond.

Rick

i understand it prints out:

YOU NEED A $700 ROD.

is that true?

The rod one uses for the 'test' is provided, you don't have to buy one...they hope eventually to be able to use any rod and have it work.

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana">quote:</font><HR>i understand it prints out:
YOU NEED A $700 ROD.

is that true?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I certainly hope so and a whole lot more. That way I'll have scientific proof to show my wife why I need a high-end graphite or bamboo rod.

Hans, very informative. Thank you!

[This message has been edited by TyroneFly (edited 06 September 2005).]