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What lines weights do you typically teach with?

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Lasse Karlsson
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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#11

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

Paul Arden wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2020 7:24 am Does anyone start with a micro practise rod or similar?
Depends, if setting permits yes, if not no.

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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#12

Post by Paul Arden »

Filming (lots of) will happen soon. March 3rd I'll be launching the battleship! And then this stuff will be much easier again :cool:
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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#13

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

Promises promises 😂
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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#14

Post by Paul Arden »

It will be “oh no, not another film”!
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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#15

Post by Thomas_E »

If the student has not yet decided ...
Mostly No. 6

Lighter and shorter for children.
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Lee Cummings
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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#16

Post by Lee Cummings »

During the initial phone call I ask them what fish do they target / (or wish to target) and do they have their own equipment. If they do have their own equipment I advise that they bring it.

Quite often the the line is unsuitable for their current level of ability, I advise a switch to something different and lots can improve in an instant.

For someone completely new to single hand casting I favour starting with a 30-35ft head line in the 6#-7# range just so they can quickly grasp the feeling / feedback of weight in the hand that comes following simple loop control exercises.

Lots of doors can open either side of this...

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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#17

Post by Paul Arden »

That's interesting using heads. I was going to write a FP on the virtues of the DT line today, but instead picked the casting planes topic. It's interesting that with many fly lines being short heavy WF lines with a thin running line that many manufacturers have moved significantly away from DTs are are much more aligned to Shooting Heads. Of course Shooting Heads have a place, particularly when covering large areas of water, but I find it curious that people arm themselves with such tackle even when there are many types of fishing where the fish are targeted within only a few rod lengths. One of the biggest errors in fly fishing for trout, whether that be on rivers or stillwaters, is simply casting too far.

Then again it does come back to the fishing that we are teaching. If I was living in Denmark for example, fishing the coast for Imaginary Sea Trout, then I'm quite sure that I would very quickly teach with shooting heads. That is in fact the only place I have fished shooting heads by the way, apart from a brief go with them fishing off the dam when I was about 15. :p

I teach that there are four disciplines in flycasting; Accuracy, Distance, Speys and Presentation Casts. For me Shooting Heads are about Distance (and distance with Speys). I haven't fished much in the UK in recent years. Are Shooting Heads being commonly used in the lakes nowadays? They were exceptionally rare to see when I was working on Ardlegh Res.

I teach with a lot of different outfits here, but my favourite is the HT6 and Lumiline DT6. I get really solid results with that which can then be applied to whatever else we are using, which is usually a ten weight.

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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#18

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

A DT is just a very long shooting head, all WF's are wannabee shooting heads 😉

So when where you not teaching with shooting heads?

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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#19

Post by Paul Arden »

I don’t think a 100ft DT qualifies as a shooting head in most people’s hands, Lasse. Particularly since most fishing casts are less than 100ft. There are very few people who can carry such a line to the backing knot, and I have never seen anyone carry the head outside the tip ring.

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Re: What lines weights do you typically teach with?

#20

Post by Lasse Karlsson »

Cool, what makes a shootinghead a shootinghead?

Most fish are caught under 30 feet from the caster, why have longer lines?

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