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January 26th, 1998
Elbow Bending
Alright you 'would-be' long liners, listen up. This is not for the
close range guys. Not for the spring-creek'ers. This should put ten
more feet on your forward cast.
A fair share of fly fishers have heard the term, 'bending your
elbow.' It usually has some connection with activity held until the
fishing is over for the day. I want to use the term to help you
remember how to make a longer forward cast.
How could you not continue reading from here on? OK. I have
your attention now? Remember, 'bending your elbow,' may be for
after fishing; but raising your elbow is for making a longer cast.
Here's how it works.
After the stop on your back-cast, raise your elbow one inch.
Sounds easy, right? Not at first. This one takes some practice. It
becomes just another element in the long string of events required
to make a good back-cast. Don't forget, the better IT is, the better
the forward cast is too.
What happens when you raise your casting elbow is this. You
tip the rod (after the stop) slightly more back. Several things
happen. It gets your fly rod out of the way of the fly line, removes
a lot of the slack from the line, gives you a straight pull when you
come forward, and loads the butt section of the rod as well. Not
too bad a string of improvements for just raising an elbow.
So the next time you are out and practicing, and I know you do
practice, after the stop, and ONLY after the stop, raise your
casting elbow, wait for the line to roll out behind, and you will come
forward on a tight line, not a bunch of slack. Don't forget too, this
is just one of the elements, there are more. ~ JC
Till next week, remember ...
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