J. Castwell
December 15th, 1997

Tear Yer Shorts?

Webster's New World Dictionary: casting; to put, deposit, or throw with force or violence; fling; hurl ... to give vent to...

Now I have a problem. For years I have tried to make my casts smoooooth. I've spent hours and hours practicing the rhythm of the mid-range cast. Over and over, until the front and back loop were as close to perfect and equal as possible. Obviously I have been doing it all wrong!

One of my first clues was watching the 'Greats" at a sportsmen's show. These were the 'biggies,' the ones who write books, make videos, give classes and performances. These are the ones I should try to be like. No matter how hard I have tried to make my fly-casting smooooth, I have had this nagging suspicion that the real good guys don't cast that way.

The show opened my eyes! Out of ALL of the fly-casters there was only ONE who did cast very smooooth; ok, smoooothly. The rest of the fly-casters would get a darn nice rhythm going, make sure they had good control of the line length, the shape of their front and back loops, and then WHAM; make the final heave to the front with enough force and violence to tear their shorts!

Now, the single fact that the only fly-caster who did not cast that way won the distance event should not be considered. He was only one out of about fifty. I have, since then, started to put a lot of violence and force into my fly-casting. Fifty to one; ya can't go against the odds, right?

So far the results are not too encouraging. A lot of tailing-loops out in front, my distance seems to have fallen off, but I have not broken any fly rods; yet. I feel that if I just keep giving my final forward cast that every-last-all-I've-got-punch, I too may do well in one of those distance casting contests. It is hard to break the habit of making a cast smooooth, but I will keep at it.

The fellow who did win wasn't as fortunate as I am. He must have never seen how the 'big-guys' fling their guts out on the last cast. He didn't know any better. I wonder how much better he would have been if he, like me now, would learn to when making that last forward pitch, "tear-'yer-shorts"! I am glad that it is too cold out now to practice and I can sit at this computer and write this for you. The tennis elbow-brace and the hernia belt are not much of a problem as long as I am sitting down. ~ JC

Till next week, remember ...

Keepest Thynne Baakast Upeth

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