Glasgow Casting Club

[Brian Mcg]

Thanks Brian - interesting to hear. Looking forward to getting my hands on one in a month 

I could be annoying and say an overhead cast is also the repositioning of line prior to a forward cast.

To me a spey is a cast used to change direction that involves a d-loop and an anchor on the water. (Unless of course you want to include a switch cast as a spey cast which blows that definition out the water :lol: ) Ah but who cares, it's a grey area!

Yes Scott you could say that. But If I asked you to demonstrate a Spey cast???


Brian

[Wildfisher]

do you guys ever actually  just go fishing?  :lol:

[scotty9]

do you guys ever actually  just go fishing?  :lol:

I hike up the mountains into perfectly clear water, stalk very large trout then I stop. I crouch beside the bank, keeping out of sight of the fish. I then start to analyse the situation, I see where he's lying, I see what water currents are at play. I work out exactly how I need to approach it. I then take the rod in my and think for a minute. Upon realising I can't get the right name for the cast, I stand up and go off in search of grass to have a cast and think about it. It just didn't feel right.  :lol:

Brian, I'd ask what the definition of the spey cast was in the given situation  :makefun

Sorry - I'm clutching at any distraction to get me away from exam revision, I have two tomorrow  6 hours of bloody exams on a saturday. Then another the following saturday!

[Wildfisher]

I hike up the mountains into perfectly clear water, stalk very large trout then I stop. I crouch beside the bank, keeping out of sight of the fish. I then start to analyse the situation, I see where he's lying, I see what water currents are at play. I work out exactly how I need to approach it. I then take the rod in my and think for a minute. Upon realising I can't get the right name for the cast, I stand up and go off in search of grass to have a cast and think about it. It just didn't feel right.  :lol:

It's you own fault for going fishing with Alan.  :lol:

[Malcolm]

Good to meet you again Brian.

I wish there was a generic name for rolls, switches, pokes and speys etc. To me it seems you could stand in the middle of a river and by positioning or repositioning the loops you can cast anywhere in the circle around you. Nothing very clever is involved but there are probably a dozen different names for the casts. I syarted a thread on this last year I think.

There's also different names for the same cast. Last night I spent most of my time practising very touchy-feely left and right hooks on a cast variously known as the "low spey", "pendulum spey" and by the Italians as the "totally under tip roll" (really slips off the tongue that does). They're all the same!

[Brian Mcg]

I hike up the mountains into perfectly clear water, stalk very large trout then I stop. I crouch beside the bank, keeping out of sight of the fish. I then start to analyse the situation, I see where he's lying, I see what water currents are at play. I work out exactly how I need to approach it. I then take the rod in my and think for a minute. Upon realising I can't get the right name for the cast, I stand up and go off in search of grass to have a cast and think about it. It just didn't feel right.  :lol:

Brian, I'd ask what the definition of the spey cast was in the given situation  :makefun

Sorry - I'm clutching at any distraction to get me away from exam revision, I have two tomorrow  6 hours of bloody exams on a saturday. Then another the following saturday!

Hi Scott, when mucking about at the side of the pond I asked Allan how he does a Single Spey. Thats all. There is no hidden trick question. I like Single hand Spey Casting and the different ways other people execute the cast so I can Learn from it. Most of my Fishing is Rivers and I spend nearly every day on them,so use these casts alot.


Brian

[scotty9]

No need to justify yourself Brian! I just like being difficult!  :lol:

I too use spey casts all the time regardless of whether I'm on a river or loch, I don't think it actually matters. I'm generally not fishing a downstream swing so when I'm using speys on the river fishing upstream it's for the same kind of things as I would on stillwater - changing direction if you see a fish, management of slack line, easy pickups, doing it for fun and so on!

And you're right, you learn loads from other people - it's a great thing about this sport. I learned a huge stack of brilliant tips and tricks in Melbourne at the sexyloops meet and picked up a whole stack more fishing with Paul for a week - was bloody great. The secret is the more people you can talk to about it, the better you get - through knowledge and application. Reason why casting clubs are great actually.

[Brian Mcg]

the first thing i try to assertain is why the question is asked in the first place, helps me work out the right answer rather than the first answer, im still trying to work out what the point was :lol:

the squigley line cast was a snake roll, it is a recognised cast, lets me cast at any angle and get a reposition very straight to my target, the snake roll is interesting in that its entirely continuous, this means you can have line speed before the line touches the water for an extra boost in the out going cast, its a very easy cast do learn or do if you can make a D loop.

all these casts and traditional speys are just repositionings of the line, the roll off the water is pretty much the same for all, i like the micheal mauri idea of understanding how the components of the cast work then doing it your own way, the only right or wrong is a tidy anchor, d loop and a decent loop,

i just tried out a loomis NRX, 740 quid i think the guy said but i wasnt listening, tried the zenith sintrix last night, the nrx bends further down the blank, muscle cars both in a 5 weight, interesting that most of the new uber expensive rods bend further past the tip, smooth is the new stiff.

Alan there was no point,it was a general question to see how you teach the SINGLE SPEY not the snake roll.
Don't look for thing's that aren't there.
Some times when Instructors get together they seem to think the other is trying to catch them out,not in this case it was just a question on teaching a cast. Honest. I also asked Malcolm a few Questions on why he did certain things. Do you have a complex :shock:
I enjoyed the night but as you say we could have went to the Pub but you would have argued which one so to save an argument I never went

[Teither]

. Do you have a complex

Brian,
        He has ... and it's a very complex complex ! ! I've previously advised him re the capacity of NHS to help but he just ignores all counsel he gets !  :lol: I now do believe he just enjoys being a difficult wee rascal ! Last week his theory was that tight loops are crap and you cast better and further with wide loops !! 
        Anyway, I went to fish a wee reservoir today. I'd one tailing loop right at the start of the day and a couple of catches in the long grass. Then I remembered to focus on " Cast high " and thereafter cast my LPXe 9/5 consistently well all day, at least until a herd of coos, calves and Tyson the bull appeared ! That ended my day! I hooked and lost two [ fish ] and had several other offers. That's a first class performance for me !  Thanks again Brian.
T

[Malcolm]

should add, some of the guys said your spey delivery could use some work :lol:

Well it certainly wasn't me and as Brian is a much better spey caster than most it's only true insofar as all our deliveries can do with improvement.

I think I would reverse the way that casting is often taught by focusing on results first. Goal driven casting if you like.
Results being distance, accuracy and managing the presentation to the trout in any conditions. This last may mean you have to use a spey with an aerial mend but it is not the goal. The goal is getting the fly to the trout in a way that the trout will accept. It may mean that you need to get rid of a tailing loop as it snags the fly. However if someone is better at all three than you are then that person is a better caster. No ifs or buts.

In order to achieve those results you may have to focus on particular aspects - like line speed or loop control but if you are achieving the results then overly concerning oneself with form is plain daft. In my opinion of course.

This is the way performance sportsmen think and the approach advocated by one of the greatest thinkers about athletics in modern times: Michael Johnson - who still holds the world 400m record. His thinking can be simply summarised -

1. What do I want to achieve 
2. How do I get there

So look at a practical example: you want to achieve a 50 ft back hand roll cast with your 8ft 4 weight which is something most of the experienced casters there last night can do.

How do you get there: line speed obviously. So how do you get that: forming a nice D loop and developing a sense of where the anchor must be placed. Have the correct length of line beyond the tip, hauling at the right time, putting in a power snap (never heard of that until Brian said I was doing it!). None of these is a goal in itself but rather the building block towards the goal. That is the kind of thinking that appeals to me.