Carol Northcut | Wednesday, 22 March 2023
A very generous friend sent me three used fly lines, including a 6 wt. Lumiline (I’ve wanted an intermediate line for quite some time and heard this was a good one), a 7 wt. MED (remember mine was eaten by a vicious vacuum cleaner?), and a well-used 8# bone fish line. I am very grateful for this generosity. I’ll use the bone fish line for the experiment where you take an old 8 wt. line, cut it down to 40’, and then add a length of 30# mono as the “running line.” It will serve as a tool to help me get the feel of a high-and-hot pickup backcast, and the feel of casting with an overhang. Another friend gave me the idea for this experiment and will give me tips as I work on it.
To help me switch up the lines, my husband got an SARegulator Spool line winder. The shop guy said he prefers the Regulator over the shop’s spooling machine. Tonight, I’m sitting in my messy corner of the room above the garage, learning how to use the nifty tool. It’s cheaper than a new reel and should prove to be well worth the investment. BTW, it’s a different shop than where I had my bad experience.
To make things even better, I now have my first student in thearea. He is an angler who wants to get his CI. Although I’m not an MCI, it will be a great way to gain experience via helping another through the CI journey. I will work with the candidate for free because (a) I’m green in this arena, (b) I will learn a lot,and (c) so much has been given to me. My mentor generously offered to be the southern cross for me, providing direction, and I’m sure the members of the SL Board will generously offer their advice as well -- before spinning off into tangents. LOL.
The world of fly casting in FFI and SL is a wonderful world to fall into, full of generous people. There’s no place like it. The generosity of others this week has made up for the churl I encountered last week. Thanks to all of you.