Lefty's stab move....casting

[ducksterman]

I don't know if Lefty Kreh still talks about his stab move in the back cast but in one of his first videos that I have he does.

I don't see it in Mel Krieger's ,Tom White's, or Joan Wulff's...and it seems to me it's more than just a matter of style.

Does it relate to the power snap...drift...???? Is it good or bad...a thing of the past or what?...Some thing to try and do?

[Gramps]

I like power naps. Perks me right up.

[J Castwell]

I use it on the forward cast. It loads the rod deeper and faster in the stroke for distance contests.

[ducksterman]

I like power naps. Perks me right up.

Damn spell check did too

[dudley]

Duckster, You really like to stir the pot, don't you?

Yes, Lefty still advocates the "stab" as does many other east coast saltwater casters
Ed Jaworowski, Mark Sedotti, Lou Tabory and probably many others all teach this style
The purpose being that that the longer the rod moves through the air, the more it helps to make the cast.
This is only needed for long and difficult casts.
What makes it controversial (at least on FAOL) is that in order to do this, and keep the rod/reel on plane, you must rotate the reel out from the body.
To do this is a big time no-no according to certain former FFF casting columnist

[FK]

Lefty, Ed and Mark do not call it the "Stab", that was used by Lefty years ago and he told me the term confused his students. It is still the same efficient style of casting that has been arround since the early 1970's.

I use this style for almost all of my fly casting with wind and heavy flies. Try it with a 3wt or 4wt and weighted flys. It is also very efficent for longer distances.

This is an interesting technique that is very different than the "Straight Line Path of the Rod Tip" that so many have preached for years.

Stand at 45 degrees to the target, with RH caster, the left foot is forward, back cast slightly side arm or about 45 degrees, the back cast ends with a sharp speed up and stop, shoot line on the back cast, the forward cast begins very slowly with a gradual acceleration to the final presentation. The final speed up and stop can be at 11:00 o'clock to horizontal at 9:00 o'clock just be certain you have a quick and short speed up and stop. The forward cast can be side arm or vertical over the casters shoulder, they all work fine. The only straight line path in this style is the caster's hand,,,,the hand travel back to front should be straight line,,,,not the rod tip.

Regards,
FK

[Jeremy]

The only straight line path in this style is the caster's hand,,,,the hand travel back to front should be straight line,,,,not the rod tip.

This is true. I struggled with this for some time.

Jeremy.

[J Castwell]

I do not twist my reel out. It goes up and over the top on the back cast, then is straight forward as the rod makes its front stroke. The stab/turn starts very early on the forward movement. Not an easy thing to learn and do, but the sooner the rod is stabbed the deeper it loads.

[Kent]

JC, you ignored the rod-tip path question.'

(Did you not want to be argumentative and tell them that it is the foundation of a good standard cast? And that one of the reasons for the effectiveness of the stab, aka thrust, is that the thrust actually straightens the path of the rod tip?)

[J Castwell]

I ignored the question because I am a coward!