|
Today was one of those perfectly glorious days when it really
seems like spring. This afternoon my husband JC was seen
gathering up a fly rod and reel which were 'waiting' on the
kitchen table. Seems he anticipated that I just might decide
enough of work, let's go get an ice cream cone.
An ice cream cone here is a major adventure. The place where
we go isn't that far, about 8 miles, but it is a National
Historical Landmark. The whole town. It's Port Gamble,
Washington. The ice cream is in what used to be the 'company
store', now a neat gift shop with a little café. There is a
sea-shell museum upstairs on the open balcony, and downstairs
is a serious historical museum.
Instead of boring cases of stuff, the museum is about the origins
of the town, including the Captain's cabin of the ship which
discovered the region, the ship creaks and the horizon changes
through the porthole. Rooms are set up displaying the various
lifestyles of that time period. If you are on the west coast
of Washington it's worth seeing.
We got our ice cream, wandered around the park for a bit, and
then drove a few blocks to one of the 'village greens' and the
fly rod and reel were set up for some casting practice. JC was
also experimenting with adding an extra stripping guide and he
wanted to see if it would make a difference in how the rod
cast - or if it would be easier to throw more line.
In fact, many of the casting tournaments across the world are
the result of people wanting to improve their FISHING. That's
what accuracy contests are all about. Distance casting probably
doesn't seem to fit into the fishing part as easily, until you
consider that by learning the reasons why a rod works the way
it does, (the mechanics) and why fly lines or shooting lines
behave the way they do, it does indeed translate into easier
and more functional casting for FISHING. Not just for
long-line saltwater casting either.
We will have both an accuracy and distance competition (ACA
sanctioned) at the 2002 Fish-In
at the Delaware River Club, Hancock NY on Saturday July 27th.
Everyone of course is invited to attend, participate or just
watch. It's a very neat, interesting thing to do - or watch.
You can learn a lot about your own casting there too.
So JC was casting very well today - I think the longest cast,
with my 6 wt, 9ft. Burkheimer rod was 124 feet - but that's
not an 'official' measurement. I didn't come close. I am
fighting the rod, hitting the forward stroke too hard, punching
it, causing tailing loops - but the back cast was great.
Terrific line speed, the line was just zinging. Stay tuned.
I'm working on it, and as soon as my shoulder quits howling
I'll be back practicing. (And yes you're right, if I had been
practicing earlier this spring, I wouldn't be hurting now.)
And in case you wondered, yes, you bet I'll be competing. ~ LadyFisher
If you would like to comment on this or any other article please feel free to
post your views on the FAOL Bulletin Board!
|
