It seems to me that we mere mortals when casting a WF line find that when we get past about 40 ft of line aerialized …find that our cast begins to deteriorate…that would be the point at which the WF taper turns into the running line for most lines…the transfer of energy gets harder…I hope we’re in agreement so far…
Now when folks start talking about aerializing more line…and I take it to mean more than 40’ are these just the really really good casters that can do that…or am I missing something here???
Here’s an excerpt from a Lefty column that someone referenced in the overling thread that is an example…
[b]"If you switch to a lighter line, you may not have enough weight outside the rod tip to cause the rod to load or flex properly, if you hold the normal amount of line outside the rod during casting. But if you extend this lighter line about 10 feet or a little more outside the rod than you normally would for this cast under calm conditions, you can cast a greater distance into the wind. By extending the additional amount of lighter line outside the rod, you cause it to flex as if you were false casting the normal length of the recommended line size.
Since the rod is now flexing properly, it will deliver tight loops, but the lighter line is thinner. This means that there will be less air resistance encountered on the cast."[/b]
I assume he’s talking well into the running line …assuming WF…maybe he means DT…I can aerialize more of that.
I don’t think he has the end of the taper in mind. Rather, what I believe he’s saying is that if 20’ (or 30’) of 6wt line will load your 6wt. rod, switching to a 5wt line on the 6wt rod may require 30’(or 40’) outside the tip to achieve the same loading. He seems to believe that the lighter, and thus thinner line will go through the wind better.
ducksterman there are a few factors that come into play here, casting with an overhang (running line out of the tip ring can be problematic for lots of folks. This is were form and mechanics become critical e.i a very well timed haul, drift, delayed rotation… I can deal with 10-15’ of overhang on a good day while others can handle much more. the other way around this is to switch to a longer bellied line (many of the saltwater (bonefish, redfish) tapers have longer bellies as do the high end distance casting lines like SA XXD, or rio outcast. with practice and good mechanics it is not that hard to arialize 50-55’ with a standard 5wf line.
This is a good point no matter what is writen on the rod, some sticks balance and perform better uplined/downlined. That said with a reasonably balanced outfit increasing carry (arialization) into the overhang (running line) will require ajusting your stroke and adding a good haul ( the haul should complete just as you reach your positive stop). This will give you the needed increase in line speed/momentum to carry into the running line. also remember that with the additional carry you must allow for the xtra time required to turn over and extend ( esp on the backcast) for me i add a drift after the stop (moving upwards and back as I rotate) you need to have a good stop for this to work and it may feel funny at first as you become aware of just how long the it take for the backcast to turn over. by doing this you will have repositioned your body for a more comfortable/powerfull forward cast.
The diagram below shows what darryl was talking about
The long distance casting stroke with a haul contains nearly twice the energy as a normal stroke. The haul starts and finishes as darryl stated. Note that body movement is required as well as wrist rotation. Tailing loops are common and it is best to cant the rod slightly sideways so the line will miss the rod. Remember, there is a ton of line back there. Double haul in both directions until the final release and shoot.
Magnus and I have been having quite a little discussion on this over on Sexyloops. I don’t pretend to understand and I am looking forward to your article.
There is so much left to understand about all this and all knowledge is golden.
