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Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

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Subtropicalspey
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Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#1

Post by Subtropicalspey »

While practicing the slipped lift pick-up-and-lay-down cast that I learned on Paul Arden’s video I made several observations.

Firstly, I observed that the popper fly’s behavior during the line-slip and during the line shoot are an important part of a successful cast. As you lift the rod to slip line, the popper sinks. It sinks briefly, but long enough to provide some extra tension on the fly line during both the line-slip and the line shoot. By the time the fly leaves the water there is significant bend in the rod and tension in the fly line.

Secondly, I found that I need to be extra careful in order to get good tracking on the back cast. Immediately after the slip lift I need to mentally tell myself to aim the back cast vertically and moving out and back away from me. If I try to make the back cast without this move, the fly line curves around behind me and provides terrible tracking for the delivery cast. I just wanted a chance to share these observations and to see if others who have practiced this cast agree or disagree.
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Paul Arden
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#2

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Eugene,

If the popper sinks it’s either because the lift was too fast or because there was still line that was not lifted. You have to lift all the way to the popper. If it’s a longer pickup you might need to straighten the arm a little by reaching forwards. I often grease the leader by the way. Loon payette paste is the best I’ve used so far. It’s taken a while to find that :p

You need an imaginary bell high behind you. When I make the shot the first thing I think of is the bell. The bell aligns to the forward cast, not the pickup.

Remember just *touch* the line at the beginning of the backcast stroke with the line hand. Don’t hang on - just touch!

Cheers, Paul
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Paul Arden
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#3

Post by Paul Arden »

Something I often see on the lake is people rushing the lift - after all there is only 1-2s to place the shot. However this is a mistake because if you hurry the lift you fail to slip sufficient line and then the knock on effect is less line shot in the backcast and less distance achieved on the forwards. So the lift has to be slow and deliberate. “Find time to make your time” as Ronan says, or “Make haste slowly”!

I’m actually quite happy to see the popper in the air at the completion of the slip-lift. Certainly there should be no leader under the water. When taking others fishing I often see or hear is a pop sound at the beginning of the Casting Stroke which means that not all the leader was lifted and the CS was started too early. This makes for a very unstable backcast when the fly suddenly pops out!

I’ll try to shoot some more video of other things I’ve since found that add to this Cast. For one thing I like to reach up with the line hand so that I can strip the moment the fly lands! Torque Twist really adds something. And the changes of angle really make for some great fun casting.

Cheers, Paul
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Subtropicalspey
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#4

Post by Subtropicalspey »

Thank you, Paul. Today I greased my leader with Loon payette paste before the practice session and I took your advice about the position of my arm at the start of the slip lift. Rather than sinking the popper I was able to drag it along the surface before it left the water. There's a lot of multi-tasking in this cast and it would be good to have another video with extra details.
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#5

Post by Paul Arden »

Also is you line clean Eugene? I dress mine in a very light silicone oil. The popper shouldn’t move by very much at all.

There is a lot to think about here. It would be good if some of the guys who watched the video and then came here would chime in on the key points for them once here. I’ll ask around!

Cheers, Paul
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Graeme H
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#6

Post by Graeme H »

Some points from when I was learning the Slip Lift PULD Cast before going to Malaysia (and some other points I use when I teach it to my students):
  • The first thing to learn is shooting line into the back cast. If that is not part of your normal routine, practice until it's completely natural.
  • When you first start learning this cast, use 3 or 4 metres of fly line outside the tip. Finesse it later to use only 2m outside the tip. There's no point making the learning curve harder than it needs to be.
  • As is common for most casts: Start the cast very SLOOOWWWLLLLLYYYYY and increase speed to be FAST at the end. Don't start fast because you'll have nowhere left to increase speed. The final bit of the cast is fast, but don't rush to get there. In my excitement on the first day there, I was lifting it too fast. After catching my first fish (on day 2 of fishing Paul! :D ) it was easier to contain my enthusiasm.
  • That back cast is very short and doesn't bend the rod much. Do not make the mistake of using a casting arc that is too wide! The back cast needs a very small casting arc to make a tight loop, and that tight loop will improve shooting line into that cast. A tight loop on the BC is the objective - shooting line will be the byproduct of it.
  • Pause long enough for line to finish shooting. It's easy to rush the FC.
  • Since you've shot line into the back cast, there is now more mass to cast forward. You'll need to use some "rotational drift" to provide the new wider casting arc.
  • It's really important now to increase the translation of the front cast before rotating the rod. Usually I see my students forget to increase the translation to match the wider casting arc and they end up with a a really ugly cast. Delay the rotation as long as you can! Exaggerate that translation while you're learning this and pare it back later.
  • It's actually also possible to slip line during the first part of translation. Play with it ...
  • As noted, Torque Thrust is awesome. Use it on this cast. And others (try it on a roll cast ... :yeahhh: )
  • I use the SA AST Tarpon line because it seemed to have the characteristics I thought best for the cast. That was a good move when it came to teaching others because it has a textured coating that makes noise in the guides as it moves through them. It emphasises to my students - via an audible cue - just how much time the line spends moving out of the rod during the casting action. At every possible moment, line is being extended.
I disagree with Paul about the vertical rod plane, but it's probably only semantics. It's important to keep the loop plane vertical but that can be done without a vertical rod plane.

Even if you never plan to fish for snakehead, learning this cast and its components is such a useful skill.You never know when a fast moving fish will show itself near the end of your stripping run. Being able to quickly get the line right out there again is invaluable. Even if you use this as the first phase of a 90' casting sequence, it's a way of reducing the total number of casts you make in a session. That is, a slip lift PUALD cast will get your first false cast out to 55' and the next cast is your delivery cast.

Cheers,
Graeme
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Paul Arden
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#7

Post by Paul Arden »

Great post Graeme. Thank you. And thanks for reminding me it was day 2 and not week 2 :D

Graeme came armed with one of the best Snakehead shots of anyone who has visited.I do have a serious question here. Had we gone through the shot in person before your trip?

Cheers, Paul
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Graeme H
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#8

Post by Graeme H »

Thanks for the complement Paul. No, we hadn't in person, just those videos I sent you for critique. You may have shown me the cast but I don't remember trying to learn it when you've been here. We were always fishing when there was water nearby. :)

To be fair though, I had been slip lifting for many years because I have a tendency to strip in too much line whilst fishing the fly. It was already part of my normal routine, as is shooting line into the back cast. Combining them all in one cast was the challenge though.

The secret to having the cast in place when I got there was practicing for a few weeks before the visit.

Cheers,
Graeme
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Zhongxiang
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#9

Post by Zhongxiang »

Even though I knew I was going to the lake fishing with Paul and had watched his videos numerous times, I had no practice at all.... straight in. The biggest difference between watching shots in videos and shots in reality for me was the mentality especially when targeting sets of babies, and Paul's voice "gopro start video" could only make me more nervous :p

I agree with Greame on most of the points and I liked your braid leader very very much! killer for gourami :pirate:. However I feel like the back cast depends on where the fish would come up, for close range yes it is very short BC. If the fish come up further away I have to open up more, I imagine slip lift vertically to the popper then use a longer stroke towards out and behind(5 o'clock). I am trying to pause long enough just before line drops too much, sometimes I couldn't tell from which trajectory I'm still having the line shooting feeling, line can be shooting while going downwards. Not sure what I did wrong there or it's the gravity.

The only thing I think I have done it right from videos to reality was my hauling hand. Palm facing forward with index finger pointing 11 o'clock and thumb 2 o'clock form a V, touching haul through the V :yeahhh:
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Fla
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Re: Observations while practicing slip lift PULD cast

#10

Post by Fla »

Hi

Some additional thoughts from my side regarding the snakehead shot:

- Don’t practice casting at targets but in front of them (1-3 feet). I like to use floating leaves or other stuff as imaginary fish and decide where they are facing during the backcast – not before, as real fish sometimes turn after rising.

- Don’t concentrate your practice on long casts too much. Short casts (in the order of 10 m) are intrinsically faster and also much easier to be accurate enough. These are the opportunities where the shot needs to go in!

- The leader length makes a big difference. I shortened my leader from 10 to 9 feet, and found that much easier for accuracy. It might be worthwhile to start practising with even shorter leaders, not sure. Leader design is important too, shorter leader will require shorter butt sections. I like the twisted leaders alot!

- It’s not difficult! It’s mostly a mental game, and you need to be confident. I am sure, I wouldn't have caught the first fish, if Paul had not said something along the line of „Should be good enough to catch a fish“ when looking at my casting the evening before.

Cheers
Flavio
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