The Board

Some of you will have seen the series I wrote on the mechanics of fly casting which arose from my unhappiness with the existing material on the subject. Mechanics is about the application of force and it tells you why things work or don’t work. By itself, however, fly casting mechanics doesn't have much to say about what to do and how to do it. It concentrates our attention on what the rod and line do. The body making them do what they do is not in the picture. The body is the middle two of Bruce Richards’ Six Steps. I decided to try to put it back where it belongs which is in the middle of the picture as the “real” and central subject matter of how to fly cast, better.

Biomechanics is the study of how the body works to produce internally the force which is applied externally to the rod and thus to the line. It is the science of movement.

Biomechanics FOR Fly Casting

Sensory Motor Learning is about how we learn, control and refine control of the body movements which produce our casts.

Fly Casting and Sensory Motor Learning.

Taken together these three legs of the trifecta add some science to our pastime and our efforts to cast better. In Biomechanics FOR Fly Casting I specifically address the question begged about what value science can add to traditional knowledge and how they fit together.

It made conceptual sense to me to research and write in a certain order. Mechanics=>Biomechanics=>Sensory Motor Learning. By the time I finished the Einstein Series it became clear to me that casting mechanics are about efficiency. Optimising efficiency is the organising idea that connects all three parts as a hub secures spokes which together form the structure of a wheel. If all that sounds a bit abstract you might want to read my Blog about how my casting and practice have changed as a result of this knowledge.

As ever I hope some of my fellow pilgrims get some use from the work. No money involved. Reproduction is governed by a Creative Commons Licence.

Cheers
Mark

Cool! Thanks Mark. I'll read the volumes during the coming weeks. Looking forward to it.

Cheers,
Graeme

Thanks - I look forward to reading this!

Lars

Thanks Mark

Very important subject for me. Thanks. Just back in the land of the Internet. I’ll post something both interesting and unusual tomorrow.

Hi Mark,

nice, I've read though your thoughts. "Balance" is certainly the key. Most casters try casting off balance/"pushing"/leading with the hand. Good casting form starts from the ground up, and while short leader casts may only be wrist movement, the caster still needs to be in good balance. A good stance, bending at the knees, leads to excellent form.

Cheers,
Paul

One of the biggest problems I have with instruction is the fear of teaching "style". Quite frankly I think that is the most important thing to teach, ie good form! I know where it came from, it came from students going to one instructor and having their style changed. However I think nowadays we understand that there are different styles and each style has advantages and disadvantages. I'm thoroughly unconvinced by the argument that one style suits an individual's body make up better than another. Injuries - yes that has an effect, but in general I think everyone would do well to learn closed stance accuracy style, Rajeff distance style, Oval style and I personally think that Stopless style is thoroughly useful as well. Trying to tell me that Rajeff distance style suits someone for making accuracy casts because they are tall or have fast twitch muscles or spend time in the gym doesn't make sense to me. If that really was the case then I'm sure we would have figured out which body shapes suit which styles by now.

I agree that there is not much online information with regards this. The problem with trying to cover this information online is that people learn differently. If I ask someone to imagine that they are flicking a plum off the rod tip I get thoroughly different results between individuals. And this is why you actually need a coach to look at your form when casting to make the adjustments. And is why the coach needs to have many different techniques for teaching essentially similar outcomes. None of the associations truly examine for this sort of body movement (perhaps because they don't agree on it) so you would have to find someone like John Waters, or any of the club-level casting coaches in order to be sure that this is what you will learn. Casting mechanics you can learn from a video or a book even, but to learn how to move your body correctly or efficiently requires an experienced coach who teaches form.

Cheers, Paul

Style is what makes you able to recognize one caster from the other when both are using the same technique, try teaching that...
Other than that I agree.

Cheers
Lasse

I think that we have several different uses of the word “style”. I agree that’s another usage.

I’m not sure how to distinguish those - casting style vs personal style?

Cheers, Paul

There's plenty of meanings of style, but here I think it's better to talk about technique vs. style rather than throwing casting/personal in front

Cheers
Lasse