Re: Need to learn this...
Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 7:23 am
Three arms and two brains? That's the Zaphod Beeblebrox cast.
Two more bits of the jigsaw puzzle (possible repetition warning, I haven't trawled the whole thread to check): during the scary bit of the cast, with the line running over your thumb ( or, more safely, a "ring" made between forefinger and thumb), imagine a triangle of reel, butt ring and thumb. It is vital to keep the reel lying in the plane of this triangle; if it drops below, a turn or two will jump the side of the drum, and the ensuing slack will burger the cast.
But - and I got this from Alan Roe himself - as the running loop shrinks from a triangle to a straight line, and the time comes to get your thumb out of the way altogether, if you twist your rod-hand wrist so the reel-handles point downwards, then any naughty loops that you haven't quite managed to control will fall off the side, which is less likely to ruin the cast than if they fall around the back of the reel - as will happen with handles up. And was happening a lot to me, until I attended one of his teach-ins. Hugely recommended.
Alan Roe describes the power-stroke of the cast as "Drawing the curtains". He has, of course, nailed it.
The fact that I am frequently to be found unpicking a bird's nest is entirely down to my lack of practice, and a braking-thumb that seems to need to learn everything from scratch each time out.
That reminds me - as long as enough line remains on your reel (and there's no shame in carrying a new spool, just in case), you will improve as the session progresses, so don't try to reach that chub lie on the far bank as soon as you sit down; go for the roach nearer the middle until you've got it all flowing smoothly (by which time the chub will have written you off as some sort of garden gnome with a twitch) and just feed the chub-line sparingly. As the sun drops, sneak 'em a baited rig they really weren't expecting... this tactic assumes a shortage of suitable swims, of course; on un-crowded waters, just rove!
Apologies for waffling.
Two more bits of the jigsaw puzzle (possible repetition warning, I haven't trawled the whole thread to check): during the scary bit of the cast, with the line running over your thumb ( or, more safely, a "ring" made between forefinger and thumb), imagine a triangle of reel, butt ring and thumb. It is vital to keep the reel lying in the plane of this triangle; if it drops below, a turn or two will jump the side of the drum, and the ensuing slack will burger the cast.
But - and I got this from Alan Roe himself - as the running loop shrinks from a triangle to a straight line, and the time comes to get your thumb out of the way altogether, if you twist your rod-hand wrist so the reel-handles point downwards, then any naughty loops that you haven't quite managed to control will fall off the side, which is less likely to ruin the cast than if they fall around the back of the reel - as will happen with handles up. And was happening a lot to me, until I attended one of his teach-ins. Hugely recommended.
Alan Roe describes the power-stroke of the cast as "Drawing the curtains". He has, of course, nailed it.
The fact that I am frequently to be found unpicking a bird's nest is entirely down to my lack of practice, and a braking-thumb that seems to need to learn everything from scratch each time out.
That reminds me - as long as enough line remains on your reel (and there's no shame in carrying a new spool, just in case), you will improve as the session progresses, so don't try to reach that chub lie on the far bank as soon as you sit down; go for the roach nearer the middle until you've got it all flowing smoothly (by which time the chub will have written you off as some sort of garden gnome with a twitch) and just feed the chub-line sparingly. As the sun drops, sneak 'em a baited rig they really weren't expecting... this tactic assumes a shortage of suitable swims, of course; on un-crowded waters, just rove!
Apologies for waffling.
