PLEASE NOTE: In order to post on the Board you need to have registered. To register please email paul@sexyloops.com including your real name and username. Registration takes less than 24hrs, unless Paul is fishing deep in the jungle!

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

Moderators: Viking Lars, Magnus

User avatar
sms
Posts: 446
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:12 pm
Answers: 0
Location: Southern Finland

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#11

Post by sms »

Rod's spring effect is fairly small, it is about the lever.
I'm here just for the chicks.

-Sakke
User avatar
sms
Posts: 446
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:12 pm
Answers: 0
Location: Southern Finland

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#12

Post by sms »

Lasse Karlsson wrote:
sms wrote:
Funny thing is that for DH spey (competition and fishing) many tend to like stiff tip bendy butt rods - including me!
But not really hexagraph stiff tip bendy butt type of rods, right ;)
Haven't cast hexagraph. But, maybe actually - thou probably a lot stiffer compared to weight.
I'm here just for the chicks.

-Sakke
Lou Bruno
Posts: 425
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:16 pm
Answers: 0

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#13

Post by Lou Bruno »

I just did a quick experiment. I took a Sage X 7wt 9ft, Sage One 5wt 9ft, TFO instructor rod 7wt 9ft, and LL BEAN streamlight 6wt 9ft. I layed out a tape to 70 ft, marked the center at 35ft. I horizontally casted all rods, making sure my yarn fly layed parallel to the tape and extending to each end. I then marked the size of my casting arc, the difference between each rod was negligible.
Lou
User avatar
Lasse Karlsson
Posts: 5757
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:40 pm
Answers: 0
Location: There, and back again
Contact:

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#14

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

Hi Lou

Yup, did you use the same line on all?
And which one did you throw the furthest with?



Cheers
Lasse
Your friendly neighbourhood flyslinger

Flycasting, so simple that instructors need to make it complicated since 1685

Got a Q++ at casting school, wearing shorts ;)
Lou Bruno
Posts: 425
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:16 pm
Answers: 0

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#15

Post by Lou Bruno »

Lasse
I did use the same line on all. Unfortunately I didn’t try distance casting...t'morrow.

I did the same experiment with a Diamondback 4wt 8ft rod. Casting arc increased significantly...about 2ft in both directions, measured along my tape.

Lou
Lou Bruno
Posts: 425
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:16 pm
Answers: 0

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#16

Post by Lou Bruno »

Oops, I used the same line for the 7wts. The others, I did not, I matched the line weight to the rod.
Lou
User avatar
James9118
Posts: 1657
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:59 pm
Answers: 0
Location: N.Wales

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#17

Post by James9118 »

Lasse Karlsson wrote: Hi James

I have a really hard time visualising this, could you clarify?

Cheers
Lasse
I think I've captured your likeness rather well :D Both rods are the same length when straight.
Lasse drawing.jpg
James
User avatar
Merlin
Posts: 2101
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 8:12 pm
Answers: 0
Location: France

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#18

Post by Merlin »

Hi James

Your scheme illustrates your assumption but if you increase the load, then the deflections differ. The tip action will become stiffer than the butt action which will deflect more for the same load, and this cannot be avoided. Tip action rods are harder springs than butt action ones.

The initial question is good but the answer is difficult, it depends of the physical capabilities of the caster. Maybe the "best" option is to use the fastest rod which one can bend sufficiently. Above that point the cast becomes tiring. Slowering/softening the action will end in a loss of performance at some stage, so there is some interval for which the difference in rod performance is not large, as demonstrated by the tests performed by Lou. On top of that hauling a soft rod is more difficult than hauling a stiff one.

I do not think that action can explain performance (distance) by itself.

Merlin
Fly rods are like women, they won't play if they're maltreated
Charles Ritz, A Flyfisher's Life
User avatar
Lasse Karlsson
Posts: 5757
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:40 pm
Answers: 0
Location: There, and back again
Contact:

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#19

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

James9118 wrote:
Lasse Karlsson wrote: Hi James

I have a really hard time visualising this, could you clarify?

Cheers
Lasse
I think I've captured your likeness rather well :D Both rods are the same length when straight.
Lasse drawing.jpg
James
Great drawing :D captured my short arms well :p

But where's my beard? And topknots gone ;)

As Merlin says, increase the loads and they will differ.


Cheers
Lasse
Your friendly neighbourhood flyslinger

Flycasting, so simple that instructors need to make it complicated since 1685

Got a Q++ at casting school, wearing shorts ;)
Lou Bruno
Posts: 425
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2016 12:16 pm
Answers: 0

Which fly rod action is best for casting longer distance

#20

Post by Lou Bruno »

Lasse
Let me explain why I asked the question in the first place. I need to best validate theories, opinions and some of what I read or hear in regard to fly casting to the best I can. There's a lot of miss information out there.

Also, when casting my 8ft 4wt soft rod, as I increased the load...tried casting further, I had a difficult time maintaining reasonable loops. Even harder when hauling.
Lou
Post Reply

Return to “Tackle”