TCXs in the Mist

TCXs in the Mist

Tracy&James | Sunday, 21 March 2021

A few years ago I tested a number of rods to see which I cast a MED #5 line furthest with. I think this coincided with a change in the BFCC rules to allow for any 9ft rod to be used in the trout distance event, rather than one with ‘5’ written on it somewhere. If I recall correctly I used rods rated as #5, #7, #10 and #12 and the maximum distance I cast was in the same order as the rod ratings, i.e. the single longest cast was with the #12. Ultimately I ended up using the #10 rod for the trout distance event because I really hated how the #12 rod felt with the #5 MED line. I should point out that at the time of these tests I only ever practiced #5 distance on a rod rated as #5, namely the much talked about TCR #5.

Unfortunately some time back I suffered a computer crash and lost the data I had on this test.  As an aside, I’d recommend that you don’t save any important data in a windows ‘profile’ – and have a back-up of anything that is precious to you.  The only record I have of the test is therefore a post on the old board where I just listed the longest cast with each rod.  After the test I obviously decided that the longest single cast maybe wasn’t the best indicator of which outfit was best for me, otherwise I’d have ended up using the #12, so my decision was based on something else.

As such, I decided I should repeat the test and I finally got round to doing that this week.  It should be remembered though that in the intervening years the bulk of my trout distance casting practice has been done with a rod rated #10, so the situation isn’t quite the same as last time when it was the first time I’d ever put a #5 line through my #12 rod (not that I used a #12 rod this time – I still feel I have to look after my elbow a bit).

The rods I chose for the repeated test were conveniently all from the same range, the TCX #5, TCX #7 and the TCX #10.   The line was a close-to-retirement MED #5 that I did my best to slick up, however once the running line turns dark (from cracking) it’s always going to feel a bit rough.  After a couple of warm-up casts with each outfit I proceeded to measure ten casts, although I did discard any that were significantly impeded by line tangles or me stepping on the line etc.  Now this wouldn’t be a distance casting article from me without my usual excuses about the weather – 100% humidity (casting just below a very low cloud base) and a very light wind that came and went.  I know air density reduces slightly with increasing humidity (and should reduce drag) but anyone who monitors their casting a lot absolutely knows that there is a punishing effect on distance, Paul’s PULD distance in Malaysia being an extreme example of this.

The chart below shows all the casts that I measured, i.e. 10 with each rod, obviously where it appears there are less data points it just means there were duplicate measurements as I measured to the nearest 10cm.  As with last week’s FP, these casts are a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly, but I didn’t exclude any casts other than for the reasons previously mentioned.

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From a purely subjective point of view I did feel that I didn’t cast the #7 rod as well as I could (this is actually my favourite fishing rod as it’s what I use when flats fishing, so has accounted for many great fish and memories). Whether this was because the light breeze dropped away or I just tensed-up a bit I don’t know.  There’s always going to be issues trying to do this type of test outside though.

The results are also tabulated below.

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I’m not going to draw many conclusions other than to say that the results were probably in line with my original test as I remember it.  It probably came as no surprise to see that the outfit I’ve been using in practice and competition for the last few years is the one that I produced the longest casts and the highest average with.  As such, I don’t feel the need to change anything just yet – I simply need to practice more so I can hit that elusive (for me) 40m mark in a competition.

Have a great week,

James.

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