Viking Lars | Saturday, 16 July 2016
Lars is expected to invade sometime around Monday evening and I'm looking forward very much to seeing him again. He's bringing his family and a camper trailer and sleeping in the garden. This may sound a little bit unusual but it's not. For example Lee Martell, the Sexyloops rod builder, also regularly sleeps in the garden, but Lee doesn't bring a camper trailer, instead he sleeps in the trees. Lee is over this weekend actually, as are James and Tracy.
So yes, it's another casting weekend! There has been some fishing this week, a quick look up the river where I caught a pike (first cast of course), but mostly it's been a week of flycasting. As many of you will know, the World Fly Casting Championships with Fly Fishing Tackle is in Estonia next month and many of us are in training. I've been thoroughly enjoying this time - it's been a long while since I've trained up for more than a week!
Something that I do find very interesting is how the distances have lengthened over the years, and it's not an advance in fishing tackle, and it's not that we're all somehow stronger and faster, but I think it's mostly about greater understanding of what we need to accomplish, as well as the higher skill level that comes from practise. There was a time when 120ft was the mark, almost unattainable. I remember my first 120ft cast, in this garden. It was the only one of the year. The following year I threw it three times. That was twelve years ago.
After a while 120ft became expected. In two minutes of competition, assuming that conditions weren't in your face, or foggy, then low 120s was expected. Ten years ago I set the BFCC 5WT record which held until last weekend, that was 130ft 9inches. That was a huge cast back then but I wasn't at the point where I would expect to cast 130ft - unlike now. Last weekend I broke that record with 134ft. And that makes me question something: will there ever be a time when we will expect to throw 140?
OK fun day ahead! Have a great weekend
Cheers, Paul