Rickard Gustafsson | Saturday, 25 April 2026
I had a practice session today. Just to check that everything was in order for tomorrow’s competition. It was hard to tell. The wind was all over the place. I could not tell which direction it was blowing, it felt like I had a head wind in both directions. On top of that I had a crosswind that showed up here and there. Then the fucking cat shows up from nowhere. It is the fucking cat because it seems to need to be walked on a leash and at the same time manages to sneak out from home and find me. Starting by just watching me and what’s going on. Then see the brightly coloured line. I don’t want to know what it will do if I let it get close to my line because my guess it is will be kind of the same thing that would happen if a pike or barracuda takes a bite of a fly line. The fluff could be acceptable to chase a bit, if practice goes well. So I just end up in a situation where I snap the line around to keep it away from the fucking cat.
After a while the owner of the cat shows up manages to catch the cat. It takes about two seconds and then the cat is back. Maybe I should bring my dog to as a cat deterrent during practice. Too bad that she is about the size of a cat. But she barks like a big dog so it could work, at least the cat lady will come looking faster for the cat when a dog starts to bark. A while after the cat is gone and some casting in the wind from all directions a group of people decides it is a good idea to sit down where a decent cast would end up. At that point I have no clue what I’m doing and what line I want to use tomorrow. So I pack up and go looking for a place where the wind will cooperate better.
On the other side of the mountain on the narrow lawn, where my casts did end up in the street when I had a session with Paul this Monday, there the wind was gone so I decide to make a few casts. Instantly I can cast again. Cast into a head wind is one thing, cast into a tail wind also, even a side wind is fine. But the hardest thing to cast into is a wind that changes along the path of the line. Or more correct, a turbulent wind is hard to cast in.
But as I mentioned, I could cast again. The same thing happened this Monday, and it has happened before. This Monday I could get to 120’ with a bit of luck. The something was going on there, pockets of side wind and up wind. When I changed location the first cast was 130’, a number of casts over 40 meter and the longest on was 42.2 meters, limited by the amount of line I had stripped of.
I usually setup my competition lines very carefully. Mono running line after the MED, a nice and slim needle knot. The line I did cast 42.2 with still has the loop left at the backing end, there are a knot or two in the mono backing. So it makes me wonder a bit how much difference it makes, if it is even measurable. Or as I guess it is just a crutch for the mind. There can be a bit of a difference how you setup the running line after your fly line, shoot some Dacron backing outside of the rod tip and you will probably be sorry, especially if you do this in a fishing situation.
And you might wonder what rod I did the 42.2 meter cast with? The HT7. The plan is to use it in the competition tomorrow. I have thought about using it before, but it is easy to get caught up in the arms race. Stiffer must be better, but I’m not totally convinced.
Another fun thing about the fucking cat. I once saw its owner walking a tree. Yes it was like in a cartoon where cat has climbed a tree while leashed and won’t come down. But that gives me an idea. Maybe I should have a leash in my casting kit so I can tie the cat up somewhere where it cannot bother me during my practice. Or could catnip work?
PoD: Screen grab of a video where I showed Nick that I can also cast backwards.