If there is one absolute in flycasting, it is this: the cast begins the moment you move the rod tip and ends the moment the line completely lands on the water. And even this one absolute is not completely without condition because sometimes your fly hooks a tree. So let's have some funky definitions:

Cast: [proposed] an aerial repositioning of the fly which begins the moment the rod tip is moved and completes the moment the line lands on the water (unless prematurely concluded by the hooking of a tree or sheep).

You see it's hard to define what you mean, and I just know that definition is going to create a 60-page argument over on the Board.

Concept

I've decided to open a new section within the Sexyloops' flycasting section. I'm calling it “Concept”. It's a little different to the other stuff because this is about how I understand flycasting right now, today. Not last year or the year before. Some of it is going to be wrong. That's how this thing works. I know quite a bit of what I've written about flycasting in the past has been wrong, and I've rewritten the Manual several times – although not for about two years and so that's way out of date.

There comes a point as an instructor when you stop looking at structure and start concentrating on flow. I'd like to stop dismantling things for a bit and look at the complete cast.

Henry Lowe's a pretty interesting guy. Before I became a flycasting instructor dude I took lessons from Henry. Since then we've taught together, fished together (Henry's an excellent stillwater angler – one of the best in fact) and he's an all-round good sort. The thing that impressed me most about Henry is that after I learned something from Mel Krieger, I took it to Henry and he immediately adapted to it. I hope that I'm open to life-long learning – because that's what it's all about, right?

Anyway, Henry said something to me once, over a couple of pints, after a day on Hanningfield. He said: “Paul, this is how I see flycasting: all the casts blend together. You start with a Roll Cast, add a little bit of power to the backcast, and end up with a Jump Roll. Add a little more and you have the Belgian Cast. Straighten up the backcast and you have your Overhead Cast. Change angles on the Dynamic Roll and you have your Single Spey. Your round, I believe.”

And you know what? He's right. It's all one.

Bill Gammel's another interesting guy. I've known Bill a couple of years and in that time he's managed to completely changed the way I teach. Bill has a technique of analysing flycasting that is incredibly effective. He calls it the 5-essentials. It goes thus:

[1] straight line path of rod tip which is an action and result of
[2] proper power application
[3] proper casting arc
[4] proper timing
[5] elimination of slack line.

There is no more powerful tool than this. Bill has perhaps the finest flycasting mind I know, but his Redfish are smaller. Anyway I don't want to talk about Bill. So let's talk about Rick Hartman:

Rick's quite a long caster. In fact as far as 5-weights go, Rick's the longest caster in the world. He guides down in Texas and has a very small penis apparently. Rick has also come up with something quite brilliant, also by complete mistake:

There is one essential:
[1] proper power application.

Now he's actually quite right; all of Bill's essentials can be whittled down to Rick's one essential. Of course that won't help you, but there you go.

I see Bill's Essentials as a filter. I told this to Bill and he thought I was really clever, although he didn't say so. Take any straight line cast, slap on the 5-essentials filter and you can deconstruct and fix it.

The really neat thing about Bill's 5-essentials is this: if you were ever to achieve a perfectly linear path of the rod tip, in-line with a perfectly straight flyline, which is Bill's optimum configuration, the line would pile up into the rod tip. Isn't that great? In fact you know when you're getting pretty close because the line does clip the rod tip. I just love that.

The Big Picture

This is how I look at casting, you know, the big picture: we accelerate the line and the closer the tip travels to a straight line path during the acceleration (and deceleration), the tighter the loop. We can accelerate the line once in a “cast” [see above], or many times, and we accelerate the line directly with the rod tip and with hauling.

That was simple. Ok I made it simple, but it is an accurate representation of what's going on.

Let's have some more terms:

Loop Straight Position [LSP]: the point when the loop straightens
Rod Straight Position [RSP]: the point when the rod is straight

(RSP is most often used to specify the precise point when the rod passes through its straight position which coincides with maximum tip speed: the rod unloads at the end of the cast, passes through RSP and continues on to maximum tip deflection, and then recovers. The loop begins to form at RSP, which is why it's such a useful term)

By the way I'm talking about a concept here, I'm not trying to make bulletproof definitions. First you have to understand what it is that you want to define, and let's face it, after you've understood it, you don't need definitions.

A Casting Model

This is the model I use:

In any cast, both back and forward casts begin and end when the end of the line either stops or changes direction. In an overhead cast this normally occurs at Loop Straight Position. For me, this is the most logical point of reference to take. It makes sense that each cast finishes when the loop straightens, or stops, independent of the caster's actions.

Our most efficient casts begin at Loop Straight Position. I consider the casting stroke to begin from this point forward. Creep, drift and aerial mends all occur toward the end of the stroke – not at the beginning – after the loop has formed and while it is still unrolling. If you take this “structure” and apply it to the overhead cast you get:

Complete Casting Stroke [back or forward]: the complete path the hand moves from LSP to LSP.

Within this stroke you have:

Casting Arc or Rod Arc: The arc the rod rotates through from LSP to RSP
Stroke Length: the distance the hand moves from LSP to RSP
Drift: Rod movement that increases stroke length and/or widens casting arc [as the loop is unrolling]
Creep: Rod movement that decreases stroke length and/or narrows casting arc [as the loop is unrolling]

You will notice that this means that creep is not necessarily a fault since there are times when the caster may wish to narrow his or her casting arc on the subsequent stroke. Creep is often considered a fault because it can result in a tail. This tail however, is not a direct result of creep; the tail occurs when the casting arc has become too small for the bend in the rod, which is independent of creep.

Even Bill agrees with me on that and the only time we've agreed on anything is when Bill said he thought Rick was an ass.

I think it's important to understand something: this model is just that: a model. In the same way that Bill's 5-essentials are a filter so is this. The wonderfully clear cut Loop Straight Position, which is the logical point to separate the overhead cast into back and forward components, is in reality not nearly so clear cut. Even creep moves the line forward and if you move the line you give it energy. And just think about the roll cast...

Henry will be pleased.

Bring it…

OK now I've written this I'm going to have to argue it out on the Board, and then I'll change it. This is page one of three and the other two have yet to be written – just wait 'til you see what I have to say about presentation casts (Carlos).

I think I'm trying to say that a Roll Cast, is an inefficient Overhead Cast, is a Cast and our definitions and the way in which we separate these casts are simply instructor's tools.

I need sharp tools and in order to keep my tools sharp I'm placing a filter between the cast and myself in the same way that I've called Bill's Essentials a filter.

That was interesting, wasn't it?
Paul