Glasgow Casting Club

[scotty9]

Aerial mends and single handed spey casting are what's needed to look cool  :

John - if accuracy is what you're after, forget about hauling! Keep the variables minimised and therefore what can go wrong to a minimum! Hauling helps greatly with line control but I don't haul for accuracy.First time I tried casting at targets I was hauling, it was terrible....

[scotty9]

Usually when we cast the line goes in a straight line, assuming everything went properly during the cast!  :lol: I know you fish on rivers so drag is the obvious enemy, aerial mends are just you changing the shape of the line in the air after the forward stop. Movements of the rod tip after the stop, to create slack line. Also great for casting around obstacles! A wiggle cast (making a series of wiggles) is actually a series of aerial mends. You probably use aerial mends already - if you lower the rod tip before everything has straightened to pile the leader a bit, in theory that's a mend!

You should come down, you won't embarrass yourself. I think you would be really surprised about the informal nature. You get what you want out of it, no-ones going to say anything about your casting. Everyone is there for the same thing!

Hope that helps a bit, or have I made things worse?  :lol:

[paulr]

Ocht, someday I'll maybe come down to Glasgow and embarrass myself.  :lol:

John

Aye do that John, we can go to the Casting Club, slag them all off, tangle up their fancy gear, fish the kelvin,then go to the pub 

[scotty9]

Once I've finished untangling my gear, can I come along?  :lol:

[Malcolm]

Thanks Scotty

It's funny that I don't really know the right questions to ask, shows how little I know. Sometimes I struggle with the terminology you guys use too - for example, I don't have a clue what an aerial mend is or why you would want to use it.

Ocht, someday I'll maybe come down to Glasgow and embarrass myself.  :lol:

John

John,

I was in exactly the same position never having had a lesson, I didn't have a clue about terminology (and still don't). It's a great way to learn new things and a great place to work out ideas. Sometimes just a word can trigger a whole new thought process. Alex showed me how to do aerial mends with the rod in an upright position - before that I could only throw curves with the rod parallel to the water. Alan gave me an idea about how to present the fly at long distance. In fact I have been helped by most of the regulars in one way or another. Well worth coming through for.

Malcolm

[paulr]

Once I've finished untangling my gear, can I come along?  :lol:

Of course, but you'd better bring ID for the pub  :wink:

[Wildfisher]

First time I tried casting at targets I was hauling, it was terrible....

The main problem I have with casting at targets on the grass is it encourages me to follow through on the forward  cast - i.e. point the rod at the target  opening up the loop. This is a problem many self taught caster have, I see it often,  and it's hard to overcome. It can make for splashy  presentation on water. This is  not just a problem I have with targets on grass, I have seen it discussed on Sexyloops too. It's just something to be aware of.

[scotty9]

Interesting Fred, I know exactly the problem you describe. I discussed this at length with Andrew Toft, when false casting you stop the rod very positively, sending a tight loop at the target. Now if you deliver that cast, it generally crashes into the ground rather than turning over. Some people do crash the fly in accuracy but obviously that's useless for fishing!

He says to rotate the rod slightly further on the delivery forward cast to prevent this - works for me too. I would have thought that by opening the loop you prevent the line crashing into the ground? Do you mean following through without making a positive stop? Or after the stop?

[Wildfisher]

Do you mean following through without making a positive stop?

yes, or better - stopping when  pointed at the target - i.e. using a much wider arc in the delivery phase. A 40 year habit that is hard to break. Alex gets onto  me about it all the time.   :lol:

[scotty9]

Aha! Got you now. Try casting at a target 20'  and see what you're arm wants you to do. I bet everybody trying this for the first time will lunge their arm forward. The stop is so crucial, especially with less than a metre of fly line outside the tip. It's a worthwhile exercise actually!