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Thread: What is the speed of the rod tip during a cast?

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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    750

    Default What is the speed of the rod tip during a cast?

    I often coach casting (FFF) and when talking to novices and encouraging them to let the rod do the work - and thereby NOT use a throwing motion (bent wrist, arm outstetched) to propel the line - I point out that with a 9ft rod in a proper cast the rod tip should travel about 12ft in a straight line.
    If that movement takes 1/10 second, the line is moving @ 80mph. Or maybe it is 1/5 second and the line is moving 40mph.
    In either case it is easy to make the point that the line will go out if it is moving that fast, and more 'oomph' is not needed.
    However I would like to be accurate and know the speed of a normal stroke for about 40' of line and Google has not provided a ready answer. Any ideas? Thanks.
    Last edited by Greg H; 05-07-2013 at 03:57 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    McMinnville, OR, USA
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    853

    Default

    I would look at it this way. If you have 40 feet of line out, the end of the line has to travel about 80ft (plus the bend of the rod), from the time you stop the forward cast until it is straight out in front of you. If that takes one second it would be going 80ft/s or 54.5 mph.

    I just realized you asked about the speed of the rod tip not the line. I'd have to think about that.
    Last edited by Jayatwork; 05-07-2013 at 05:24 PM.

  3. #3
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    Nov 2008
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    Rothschild (Wausau), Wisconsin
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    Default

    High speed 500 fps and 200 fps filming of 3 elite caster including Jason Borger showed that maximum tip speed was about 53 mph when casting 10 meters of fly line plus leader using 9 ft 5 wt fly rods. Rods were a Sage TCR, a T&T Paradigm, a Sage XP, and an Orvis Zero-G Tip Flex rod. All of the casting was performed indoors to eliminate environmental factors such as wind.
    Regards,

    Silver

    "Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought"..........Szent-Gyorgy

  4. #4
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    Jul 2001
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    fortwalton beach,florida usa
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    Frankly I think your trying to hit a target of ever changeing volicity with a single answer. How are your students to judge the speed of the tip in a novice learning situation.
    Capt. Paul Darby Dont wait to be ask, get out and teach.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    North Carolina
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    Agreed. Way too technical for novice casters. Who really cares about such nuances?
    Heck, they're just wanting to get the fly out there and hopefully hook a fish.

    Personally, I could care less about this. Maybe it's important?
    When you can arrange your affairs to go fishing, forget all the signs, homilies, advice and folklore. JUST GO.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
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    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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    Default

    “Agreed. Way too technical for novice casters.Who really cares about such nuances?

    As I mentionedoriginaly, for the novice doesn't matter if the answer is 80mph or 40mph, Ijust want to know the correct answer.
    Many students bend the wrist too far back like throwing a baseball or football,and then throw their arm far forward to put more energy into the 'cast' and really get the line out there. As weknow, the object is to use less energy and let the rod do the work. Once Ipoint out the line (because it follows the rod tip) moves at about 53mph, they understand that enoughenergy is imparted to the line with an clean, tight movement and there isplenty of velocity to launch the line without the extra 'here we go!!' effort; and they relax and cast better.
    In short; once they understand a 'normal' cast moves the line fast/hard enough,they cast better because the casting movement becomes calmer. They all drive,they understand mph, they get that a smaller simple movement of the arm issufficient. All this IMO.
    Thanks Silver Creek for the good info.


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