Tracy&James | Wednesday, 1 October 2025
This is going to be a very quick FP as we've just got back from casting practice on our usual field. Our usual field is right by Tracy's parents house, so popping out to do a bit of fluff chucking also means that we get 'chores' to do – sorting out IT issues etc. This has it's advantages mind you, as such chores usually are rewarded with wine, however tonight (as I write) I passed on the offer of a red.
We have three casting weekends on the trot coming up. This Saturday is the season finale for the BFCC. If anyone is in the Essex area there will be a full day of tuition on offer for a very meagre price. The forecast at the moment (it seems to change every time I check) is for a strong wind, so if you want to hone your skills so you can shape loops to combat tough conditions then this day is for you. On the competition side of things there will be a shoot-out for the BFCC championship. Anyone can turn up and enter – just set a decent score in all seven disciplines (accuracy, #5 trout distance, #7 trout distance, ST27, T38, S55 salmon overhead and T120) and it could be your name going on the trophy. Hopefully the wind won't be too bad for the trout distance events, although I don't suppose we'll be complaining about it with the heavier outfits. The inaugural seniors championship (65 and over) will also be decided. This is currently being led by Mike Heritage who has said that this will be his last year competing at BFCC events. His lead is not unsurmountable though, so as with the overall championship, it's all still to cast for.
The weekend after, Tracy, myself and Steve from Celestial Fly Lines have been invited to give a distance casting demonstration at the GAIA annual meeting in Derbyshire. That was what I was practising for today; my demo 'small steps to big distances'. The thought of doing a demo is much more nerve wracking than any casting competition – I hope the prospect of talking at the same time as casting doesn't see me crumble into a tailing mess. I should be ok, my practice today was seeing how much power I could take out and still hit 130ft.
Then on the third weekend, Tracy and myself are travelling to the fly fishing show in Argentat, France to compete in the competitions there. One is an indoor invite event, and the other is an outdoor open event where casters are paired up and the winner progresses. This knock-out format is really great for both the competitors and the spectators (who can actually follow what's going on for once). The indoor event is pretty cool also as you cast to a pumping sound track. This year the competitors are going to be allowed to pick an individual track rather than all casting to the same tune as last year. I fear I'm going to be putting a disproportionate amount of thought into picking my casting music – I may even have to trial it to make sure I cast sufficiently well with it.
Hope you're having a great week,
James.