Paul Arden | Tuesday, 18 May 2021
This week I’m sharing a video with you that I made after a Zoom fly casting lesson last week. I have a bunch of these videos on my phone because normally I make them at the end of a teaching session to cover key points (that were appropriate to that particular lesson), which helps the student focus their next week of practise but also helps me to remember where we are up to! What I have found interesting, is how many of these videos I can subsequently share between students, ie I make a video for Michael one week and I share it with Richard the next.
The video in question is one such video. It covers three points – the Cradle Grip, utilising the haul in two distinct planes and in particular dealing with how to make a forward cast haul (in this video) and finally, twisting the forearm/wrist while hauling. This final technique is a curiosity in itself, because it was one of this things I did but didn’t know. It was shown to me, that I doing this on video, five years ago and subsequently I’ve played with it, developed it and have since started teaching it. It’s actually my reason for sharing this particular video with you today.
The way I look at advanced level casting coaching is that it’s mostly about giving ideas to play with and less about cloning styles/techniques on the student. Personally I really enjoy this level of teaching. By “this level” I mean guys who take their casting very seriously, many are training for certified or master certified instructor exams, others are taking their fishing/casting very seriously and then there are the competition casters where every little thing matters. I prefer teaching advanced level casting outside the constrains of the respective certifications because then I can really let go. In the case of certification preparation the scope is quite specific (focussed mostly on the exam itself – and I don’t want to confuse a candidate, just before his or her exam, by showing them half a dozen different ways to turn the rod over during the forward cast of a dynamic roll, for example!! However, outside the scope of the exam, then I’m going to teach them all!!).
So this sort of lesson is about looking at what the student is doing (in this case a truly first class flycaster by the way, throwing the 5WT MED 115’+, carry topping out at 86’, will nail the CCI and would have done so last year if it wasn’t for the pandemic – and we are now actually developing things that are of interest to him, namely his distance technique! I would like to get the carry up by about half a dozen feet and the distance through the 120s. It’s a level I’ve taught many times in the past 10-15 years. It’s a really very tidy level of casting and I remember the intense satisfaction that I had, when I finally broke through myself, like it was yesterday. From there it’s a small hop into competitive distance. When someone is consistently looking to throw into the 120s then they are truly a “distance caster”).
So it’s always about giving ideas, “things to try”, things to experiment with. In a lesson you might save someone three or more years of casting just to work something out. Not all, but most of my current students are casting every day. That’s really my niche market!!
Anyway back to the video. It teaches the “cradle grip” which you can find in the manual here https://www.sexyloops.com/flycast/competition-distance-cast/
also it mentions the importance of getting the upper arm into position, before fully accelerating the haul which comes mostly by straightening the elbow (even if you don't fully manage to do this – I struggle! – striving to keep the bend in the elbow for as long as possible always helps), and then the forearm twist that I often put in (I have many other uses for this haul twist technique by the way – but that’s another lesson!). Finally I talk about practising carry by standing on an elevated position; be that a roof top, truck top, boat roof, mountain top, up a ladder, peering over a cliff. They all work!
Drop me an email if you want to learn more about this sort of stuff and maybe book some lessons of your own. We have gone into yet another lockdown here in Malaysia (lockdown no.3 – hopefully there is no 4! Or 5 of 6 for that matter). I now doubt very much that I will have any International guests for jungle fly fishing this year. This means I will have more time for Zoom teaching and fishing myself of course, albeit invisibly. And of course this and everything else under the sun we discuss on the Board. https://www.sexyloops.co.uk/theboard/
My email is paul@sexyloops.com
Have an awesome week! :)))
Cheers, Paul