Hi Paul,
I'd say the difference between a back cast and a backhand cast is how you're positioning your shoulders. E.g. backhand you could stand square to the target, I'd say (for me) this is better for accuracy. Disadvantage is the constrained rod hand travel. For distance I'd choose the backcast, because your body is less constrained - I think this cast is also called beach cast. Mark Sedotti is known for this cast. I've looked in the EFFA master requirements and both are two different tasks.
Now to the haul position, I'd need more experimentation - the "indirect" haul could be an interesting feature when you keep the line hand high, also one benefit seems to me the higher starting position of the shooting line. Looks like some guys keep their hand about shoulder height for the back cast, maybe it's better than just hauling downward.
Greetings,
Torsten
I’m not sure I understand, Torsten. I use and teach exactly the same backcast and haul for long backhand shots and a 5WT distance backcast. Particularly in imaginary SW, as well as here in the jungle, the backcast I use comfortably opens up more angles with higher line speed and more accurate deliveries.
There are not many situations when I would use GF’s powerhaul in preference. I would need to be deep wading and facing some structure. A wall for example. That’s a rather exceptional situation.
Where do you see the advantages/differences?