Hi Gary,Mangrove Cuckoo wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 1:24 pmIf those were the only two reasons to haul, I have to wonder why I haul on just about every cast... even short ones when I want to gently present the fly?
BTW... Mac Brown is like a walking encyclopedia of casting history. He mentioned when the double haul was introduced into the world championships... by whom and when I forget. But, his point was that the gentleman who brought the double haul into the game won that year and set a new record... but only beat the previous record by a few feet.
Whether that means the haul does not really increase distance that much, or that the previous record holder had a fantastic non-hauled distance cast... I guess... is left up to others to decide.
The history of fly casting is interesting. I cite two sources referencing Hedge's 1934 performance.
"At that time the average of the three best of five casts was used to determine the winner and Marvin Hedge averaged 136 5/6 feet with a long cast of 147. As were many of the prominent casters of that era, Marvin Hedge was a tackle rep. The longest winning average before that had been 121 2/3 feet in 1928 and the longest long cast had been 124 in 1931 so it seems that the double haul provided an edge but not a huge edge. However, in following years this changed. By 1937 an average of 176 2/3 with a long cast of 183 was recorded in the national championships." UK Fly Fishing Forum
"Acclaimed fly fishing historian, Jack W. Berryman, specialized in the history of U.S.A. West Coast and British Columbia, Canada fly angling developments. He paid homage to the much earlier traditions of fly fishing and fly casting of the U.K and Continental Europe.
In his book, Fly Fishing Pioneers & Legends of the Northwest, he informs us that Maurice “Mooch” Abraham, also known as, “Mooch Abrams”, taught the technique to Marvin Hedge. Jack wrote :
“When the Portland Casting Club reorganized in 1931, Mooch became its first honorary life mem- ber and was identified as the club’s principal coach. It was at this time, because of a shoulder injury from a previous automobile accident, Mooch began practicing what became the ‘double-haul’ tech- nique in fly casting. He introduced this method to his fellow anglers and casting club members, but especially to Marvin Hedge, whom he coached for the 1934 national casting competition in St. Louis. It was here that Hedge first introduced Mooch’s double haul into competitive casting.”
“.......Hedge beat the old mark of 125 feet, set in 1925 by 22 feet. THE NEW YORK TIMES " Loop Magazine article by Gordy Hill.
I am mystified by the UK source's comment about "not a huge edge". A 19% improvement in the longest cast is huge, even given wind variations. In those days wind speed limits were not imposed, however the 25 % performance improvement in the 3 years to 1937 would suggest wind was not a huge factor and the technique developed by Maurice Abraham became a game changer in both casting sport and recreational fly fishing.
Unfortunately, Abraham does not get a lot of kudos for the double haul. He should.
Thanks to Jack Berryman and Gordy Hill for identifying the key role Abraham played in an innovative and transformative breakthrough in fly casting technique.
John