05-06-2009, 12:44 PM
The fact is, too, that you don't even need a rod to cast far. Numerous competition casters show off all the time, casting an entire line without a rod.
But so what? Distance casting is interesting, but has little to do with fishing. And the mechanics of it are not always transferable.
The real problem is that distance casting often discourages newbies. I was giving a presentation at a club, one time, and they were having casting practice before the meeting.
One beginner was telling me that he wanted to go on the club's next outing, but was reluctant to do so because he couldn't cast far.
"You mean like this," I said, and casually shot about 70 feet of line out. "Yeah, I'd be embarrased," he said, "because I can't do that."
I quickly set him straight. First of all, I noted, nobody in that group would ever do or say anything that wasn't supportive. But, more to the point, most trout are caught at 20 feet or less.
"Even if you could cast that far," I said, "what would you do if a fish took your fly way out there?"
Fortunately, he took my advice, went on the outing, and had a great time. But how many others get discouraged by the long-casting show-offs, and drop away from the sport?
When I'm teaching newbies my goal is to get them to make a perfectly executed forward cast of about 20 feet or so. Once they can do that consistently they can learn any part of our sport---including long distance casting if that's their thing.
But, as with anything else, you have to walk before you can run.
Brook
[signature]
But so what? Distance casting is interesting, but has little to do with fishing. And the mechanics of it are not always transferable.
The real problem is that distance casting often discourages newbies. I was giving a presentation at a club, one time, and they were having casting practice before the meeting.
One beginner was telling me that he wanted to go on the club's next outing, but was reluctant to do so because he couldn't cast far.
"You mean like this," I said, and casually shot about 70 feet of line out. "Yeah, I'd be embarrased," he said, "because I can't do that."
I quickly set him straight. First of all, I noted, nobody in that group would ever do or say anything that wasn't supportive. But, more to the point, most trout are caught at 20 feet or less.
"Even if you could cast that far," I said, "what would you do if a fish took your fly way out there?"
Fortunately, he took my advice, went on the outing, and had a great time. But how many others get discouraged by the long-casting show-offs, and drop away from the sport?
When I'm teaching newbies my goal is to get them to make a perfectly executed forward cast of about 20 feet or so. Once they can do that consistently they can learn any part of our sport---including long distance casting if that's their thing.
But, as with anything else, you have to walk before you can run.
Brook
[signature]