Last night in the chat room people were talking about casting distances. This prompted my interest in looking up the results of ‘distance casting’ events. So I did. Bear in mind that the following measurement are based on One Handed casting using special lines that conform to the contest rules but are not the normal lines you’d use on the stream/river.
I did not write down the names of the contests. I looked at the results of 7 contests. Some were indoor and some outdoor therefore, on average, wind did not play a role.
Here are the winning and 2nd place lengths, in feet (rounded off), of casts in the men’s ‘A’ Division:
99, 99, 98, 94, 98, 119, 98, 113, 108, 106, 80, 99, 92, 98, 97, 99, 100, 99, 90, 117, 109, 113, 102, 97, 96, 95, 99, 96, 96, 111, 115(dq’d -oob).
The average 1st or 2nd place casts works out to be 101 feet.
Apparently the results of these contests indicate otherwise. The longest winning cast I read was at the 2002 contest in Salt Lake City. Jim Gundenson cast 111’3" for first place. Tim Rajeff had a cast of 115’ but it was out of bounds. Maybe the results of some more recent contests have longer casts.
I think the difference you notice is because of the equipment being used. As I read the requirements about equipment, the events Jim spoke about use 9’, 10 weight rods and about 25 feet of line backed by light mono. The equipment in the events I listed is more like you’d actually fish. 9’, 5 weight rods but the lines are still somewhat custom made(within certain guidelines). Regardless of the equipment, those guys are great casters. My point was that casting events like those do not relate to casting while fishing or even on the lawn, unless you practice with a competition level set-up.
JC do they have one handed casting contests where you have to use just regular lines that are used in actual fishing or do all contests have the special gear . I think with regular gear the average cast would go down just a little .
I believe the results Allan quoted were from the ISE Shows. The rods used are ALL stock factory rods, 9ft. 5 weight, actually ones lent to the event by rod companies attending the shows.
The leaders are ALL the same, and are not special, the lines are ALL 5 wt, weight forward. JC did manage one of these a few years ago in Seattle, the lines were not all from the same company, but they did have to be the ‘standard’ 5 wt forward. The person casting picked one of the rods ‘in the barrel’ and cast. No one was allowed to bring their own rod.
The ACA is actually considering adding this kind of an event to their competitions as well since it is more of a ‘fishing’ event than some they have.
[This message has been edited by LadyFisher (edited 20 November 2005).]
Thanks LF . I hope they do add the new category . It seems a little closer to what the average guy can relate to . At least with 118 as a good chance to win I’m already 1/2 way there . lol
And Tuber , you might want to release the hand brake next time you go for the record .
[This message has been edited by Gnu Bee Flyer (edited 20 November 2005).]
I’m not sure where this would qualify, but there is an Arkansas casting games. Andrew Colley of Little Rock with a TCR 9’ 5WT and an XXD line had a cast of 122’. Me… if I need 100’, I sneak up 50’ and throw downhill and wait for a heck of a tail wind.
Mike
There is no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm.
Andrew threw 120+ at the Denver ISE show this year as well but his casts were all out of bounds. Trying to hit an 8 foot lane at 100 feet is pretty easy. Trying to hit it at 120 gets a little more difficult. Since Andrew carries in excess of 95 feet of line you’d think he’d just lay it down in the lane to get a cast that qualifies.
Rick Hartman is constantly talking about practice casts that are going 130+. It is just really difficult to hit that skinny lane once you get that far out. The tip and the line have to be tracking “perfectly” to hit that small of a target at that distance.
The other distances that you see with the ACA are with a shooting head. Also they can pretty much just throw it in a direction down range. There is no real casting lane in the ACA.
WOW!!! 115 ft. If I could cast that far I could stand about 85 ft away from the river, still hit my fish and not get wet. I remember a story about a red fishing guide taking one of those distance casters out once. He told the guide not to worry that if he spotted the fish he could cast a 100’ to hit them. The guide said great, when I see one I will back off 90’ so you can hit them.
Marco You do all the fun stuff . lets see root canal or go flycasting , root canal or go flycasting , what to do , what to do , and you chose … ta da , root canal . Interesting choice . LOL
I have had two root canals and they aren’t funny till much much later . I sympathise
I could be wrong , It seems unlikely , but I suppose it could happen.
Hello All,
One thing you may want to keep in mind, everybody can manage a 100+ cast, every once in a while. But people who can CONSISTENTLY throw at that range are few and far between.
I think that it is important to remember that distance casting is a component of our sport. Much like fly tying. It is not required to go fishing but helps pass the time when you are not fishing.
Thanks,
Paul Johnson
Team Sage