Hope the guy doesn’t mind but I hijacked a post on another site because it is interesting. The rods were 9’, 5 weights of a few manufacturers with lines that were 125 feet in length.
The question was about the results of recent competitive distance casting contests using a one handed fly rod:
"Here are the results for the men from the first four ISE Best of the West casting contests I added Phoenix just in case you didn’t get it on the other site.
Los Angeles, California
1st place: Ian Walker, Huntington Beach, CA: 105’ 7"
2nd place: Joe Libeu: 101’ 1"
3rd place: Bob Middo: 100’ 10"
There’s a fly shop down here in Tampa where a couple of the guys throw 100 ft with either hand. They are more than likely using a WF or even a shooting head line but impressive to me none the less.
Joan hasn’t competed in any of the distance stuff in many, many years. Age does take it’s toll, but for Joan, she has remarried and really isn’t doing the show circuit at all.
Lefty just celebrated his 80th birthday, and while he is a terrific caster, I don’t think he has competed in any of this kind of stuff in years (if ever).
Trust me, what you can do in your own ‘comfort zone’ is not the same as doing it under competition regulations and conditions.
[This message has been edited by LadyFisher (edited 27 February 2005).]
Howdy
I am a rookie…wannabe if you will in fly fishing. I have boaf a dandy spring creek close to home and 50 trout lakes nearby. This string almost seems geared toward contests. I am interested in the distance to fish our lakes. The local people use float tubes or pontoon boats on the lakes. They say cast out as far as you can, count down and fish. So…I ask about the shooting head’s and stuff and they don’t seem to know…or just nix it. The local guru usues a 9’ - 5 wt rod with a 6wt wf sinking line. Is there room here for the shooting heads and distance stuff…or would I be better off with just what I have. A 9’ 6wt Orvis. I keep thinking of their comments about casting AS FAR OUT AS YOU CAN and then retrieve it. On a lake, not trees or obstacles…?
In addition to most types of saltwater fishing that I do, I use shooting head systems for trout and bass on lakes with streamer patterns and sometimes nymphs and poppers. I find it less effort to consistantly make long presentations with a shooting head systems. The long the cast, the longer the fly is in the water where the fish are. I do not use heads in situations where I might need to quickly pickup and re-cast since you need to retrieve all of the shooting line before making another cast. As Ladyfisher noted, less casting and more fishing.
