A Little Kiss
By Captain Paul Darby (QRRFISH1), Shalimar, FL
If you're having trouble allowing yourself to be seen
in public with your current fly rod handling technique,
perhaps you need a little kiss to get your thinking
straightened out. No, not a big wet one, but some
K.I.S.S. (keep it super simple) definitions to
work with.
There are three main ones that pretty much cover the
spectrum of what it takes to operate a fly rod efficiently.
The first is "Control." I define control as to restrict
or cause movement along a desired path or plane.
Second: Power, force applied to either line or rod and
combinations of the two.
Third: Balance, balance is to balance power with control
to perform a task.
That is the three main legs that will support your understanding
of the operation of the fly rod. Take away any one leg and
your efforts will be frustrating. Some examples to illustrate
this point would be:
Griping the rod. How you grip the rod, thumb on the top of
the rod (as it is extended in front of you), greatest control
over the broadest range of applications and rod weights. Goes
directly to control.
The double haul or drawing the line with the off hand to
add energy to the line directly goes to power. The cursed
tailing loop is one of the most glaring examples of being
out of balance. But more on that later.
The next thing that needs to be defined is the fly rod
itself.
In its most baseline, functional tool definition it is little
more than a lever. A lever with which we draw a long
flexible weight thru the air. Attached to this weight
are a leader and a fly. This definition is where the
fly rod and conventional tackle begin to differ, with
a fly lever you draw the line thru the air with the
leader and fly trailing behind. You're allowed one
'duh' at this time.
So where is all this going? Control central, the mind.
The mind controls the hand, hand controls the drip, grip
is attached to the lever and so on. You can fill in the
rest on your own. So ok what is it I'm supposed to take
control of?
The formation of the loop, that you will use to project
the line to a given point, in a decided manner. There
is only one grip on a fly rod, guess who gets to make
all the decisions. (Holding up a mirror here so you
can get the true picture.) Yup, that's you you're
looking at. You're in charge now, not some lofty
guru, touting the style of the day.
The first most important thing to learn about operating
a fly rod is to control the formation of the loop. It's
an active decision making process that you alone control.
Causing a loop to form and controlling the formation of
the loop are two very different concepts. While causing
a loop to form is a mindless act; the deliberate formation
of the loop is a very desirable accomplishment.
Show me a person that doesn't think that forming the
proper loop at the proper time is an accomplishment,
and I'll show you a person that has never worked in
the textile industry.
Gotcha, I just love doing that. ~ Capt. Paul
Have a question? Email me!
captpaul462@aol.com
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