Pull back

[whinging pom]

im almost embarrassed to write this but can we please discuss this?

Pullback has become a most mystified state of feeling
Um, one can not be quite sure if they have it or not
Um, is it just stutter or is it Pullback?
Is it just involuntary judders
Or is one having pullback?

I thought i had pull back , but recent discussions with Paul and James have left me wondering if i am doing it for real or faking pull back , when i should be doing it in the stroke? what are the mechanics... can some one please provide an idiots guide to pull back.

(....... As i put my wading boot down a rabbit hole along the the river bank, there was no white rabbit, no mushrooms , just a loud snap as something went pop at the back of my ankle as i hit the deck fecking miles from my car.
, im now crocked from wading and fishing... and open stance casting practice ( i tried it but ended up grazing on lawn much to the local dog walkers amusement) I thought id just try concentrate on one handed casting james style to maximise pickup, but found my attempts at pull back was creating a mess behind. and i have to face facts... i haven't grasped it yet! but looks like i have time on my hands now to learn this next stage and understand it)

HELP ! ( again)
pom

[George C]

Achilles rupture?

[Paul Arden]

Hi Pom,

It’s a bit complicated because instructors are using it to mean different things. So let me tell you how I use the term, the technique and why I think it works.

There are essentially three stops. Hard stop, stopless and pull-back. Pull-back is “reverse torque”. Instead of abruptly stopping (which if you analyse closely is a short rapid acceleration in the direction of the cast followed by a stop, particularly if we squeeze the hand for example), pull-back subtly reverses direction of the rod butt.

It’s like: flicking a towel, flipping a shatterproof ruler, and two people tell me now it’s also like lacrosse. (That one of them did it correctly on the first attempt I believe them!!).

One way to learn it is using a roll cast. There is no pause between the stop and pull-back; the stroke blends into pull-back. In other words the rod is still bent during the casting stroke when we apply reverse torque.

Three things happen. 1 we apply more force overall. 2 We force the rod to unload. Both of these create higher line speed as rod tip passes the equivalent of RSP (there isn’t an actual RSP because the rod is in a S-shape). 3 we have greater max counterflex (partly because of 1 and 2, possibly also a result of applied reverse torque rebending the rod).

Unpacking all of this is a bit complicated.

But the result can be higher line speed, straighter fly leg (& tighter loop) when compared to the hard/abrupt/squeeze stop. As a consequence I use it to cast tight loops on Rolls, Jump Rolls and Speys. Also I use it as one method to place the fly down first. I use it for over-powered curves. I use it to set a tight loop on my first backcast, particularly with a long pickup.

I have an exercise into targets. Standard “hard” stop, pull-back and Stopless. In this game the line and fly should land together, fly first and the line unrolling along the water from rod tip to fly, respectively.

Take a rod without a line, and bounce it in your hand. Flick it – subtly – away from the target. Boing! Do this on the forward cast initially. A tiny amount of flexion/extension works far better for me, ie V-grip. This is what we are applying in place of the stop at the end of the stroke. Don’t put the squeeze stop acceleration in and then pull-back; instead just make pull-back at the end of the stroke. Start with a short length of line. Even just the leader.

Cheers, Paul

[whinging pom]

Great fully received .
Im assuming that I’m going to feel more response and get the effect better from a rod that roll casts better than the TCR ?

George c that’s my thought, I fear I won’t be wading for a few months … I’m having it looked at today.

[Paul Arden]

Yep. It’s certainly there with the TCR but much easier to find with a relatively softer rod.

[George C]

Be careful using the lacrosse example, Paul.
Here is how a lacrosse ball is shot. A more overhand delivery is similar.
Lots of beginners incorrectly use pullback to try and guide the ball.

[Lasse Karlsson]

Extreme version of pullback can be seen in the forward casts in the second half of this clip



Cheers
Lasse

[whinging pom]

Lasse from what I’m watching in your casts in the second half it looks like it would be described as lift-up rather than pull-back .. your actually raising the handle, or am I concentrating on the wrong aspect ?
Thanks
Pom

[Lasse Karlsson]

Hi Pom

Yes I do lift my hand, but that's not the point of interest.
Its how my rod ends up in this position after the forward cast has been made, and before I must drift alot before making the backcast.

Cheers
Lasse

[Paul Arden]

Hi George,

I’ll have to check now how experienced the two lacrosse players were!! It’s got me interested

I think extreme pullback just makes life more complicated. That’s why I used italics above. Get a 20’ leader and a popper, or Humpy, and play with casting that only.

Cheers, Paul