WC rules and it's impact

[John Waters]

Hi Paul,

That bloody double haul has ruined fly fishing, it's the fifth horseman of the apocalypse. As for tournament casters, I hope all their chickens turn into emus and kick their dunnies down.

John

[VGB]

If I can’t enter both events then I’m definitely going to get beaten! Why would you only allow entry to one event? Maybe I would just enter the Danish Games event.

You are right, competition entries should be restricted to elite casters.

[Paul Arden]

If I can’t enter both events then I’m definitely going to get beaten! Why would you only allow entry to one event? Maybe I would just enter the Danish Games event.

You are right, competition entries should be restricted to elite casters.

I genuinely don’t understand. That’s certainly not what I said.

I remember Jon Allen telling me, many years ago, that the chap organising the Gamefair comp had personally come up to him and apologised that he had erroneously made it “an open competition”. Prior to this instructors were excluded (you’d be excluded!). Jon said this was fantastic and if Steve Rajeff were to enter he’d be over the moon.

He also told me in archery there were people who intentionally threw less than their best so that they could stay at the top (and win!) a lower division instead of being at a low or middle ranking in the higher division that they should rightly have been on.

I’m happy to cast with anyone. I don’t think anyone should be restricted from entering, especially if they not so good as you suggest?

Cheers, Paul

[VGB]

That bloody double haul has ruined fly fishing, it's the fifth horseman of the apocalypse. As for tournament casters, I hope all their chickens turn into emus and kick their dunnies down.

That’s nearly a century since your last major added value

[VGB]

I’m happy to cast with anyone. I don’t think anyone should be restricted from entering, especially if they not so good as you suggest?

Did you start your rugby career playing Premier rugby? If not, why not?

[Paul Arden]

Did you start your rugby career playing Premier rugby? If not, why not?

No I started with club rugby. We didn’t play in divisions at that age. I did play Essex and Eastern Counties as school boys.

I don’t mind there being a banding. Professional level and amateurs. Instructors are often excluded from competitions but it would be fun if we can compete too, right? I know one reason James didn’t pursue instructor qualification was so he could still compete in UK competitors. This was one of Jon Allen’s reasonings too.



Stopless delivery back and forward for dealing with the wind and saltwater conditions is a major advancement. Every bit as much as the double haul in my opinion.

Pull-back arguably came out of competition too, originally called “whiplash”. While we don’t use it for delivery it has many other uses.

Those are two major ones but I can think of many others. Delayed rotation. That was first identified about 25 years ago as something the best distance casters were using. Initially Herb Spannagl noticed it and called it “Slip” as in “Slipping Clutch”. Bruce Richards had noticed it too and he called it “Drag” – which I felt was a better term as so adopted. (It also allowed us later to define both separately). Prior to this most of us, including myself, were unaware of it. You won’t find it mentioned in any casting books prior to this. Longer stroke yes, but delayed rotation no.

I think we have come on a long way in the past 25 years. There are many reasons for this and competition is just one of them. It shouldn’t be surprising however since competitors are tying to push the technique boundaries. Hell, that’s why many of us are there in the first place.

Cheers, Paul

[Paul Arden]

I’m in the same race as professional Ironmen. I think that’s great and if I could beat them I would. Of course every single one of them beats me. There is also age group rankings. You can win according to your age. Big deal, maybe when I’m 70 I’ll appreciate that. If someone is very fit and skilled they are not excluded in favour of those who, like me, who are less fit and less skilled and it gives me something to aspire to. Men and women are separated although we compete at the same time.

Cheers, Paul

[Lasse Karlsson]

Maybe I would just enter the Danish Games event.

Cheers, Paul

You'll get beaten there, we know

Cheers
Lasse

[VGB]

We could argue about your innovations all day but I was using pullback before I was aware of competition. Techniques such as TLT and competition casting are just answers to common problems and I think your point about stopless casting is very debatable, it is not mainstream. In fact, you could argue that most of the innovations in distance casting were promulgated because of the availability of technology such as high speed recordings that documented what people had been doing for a long time. I would also suggest that virtually all of the Ironman competitors were competing in one of the individual events first.

All of this is beside the point. You are bemoaning that the sport is dying on its feet, whilst simultaneously putting up artificial barriers to participation. If I look up at the Fly Casting Lab guys, they have more drive towards engaging anglers into casting than the competition forum. It's not just the egos of non competitors that needs to be examined.

Regards

Vince

[Paul Arden]

I’m not bemoaning the sport is dying. Quite the opposite actually. It’s gone from very few to a really very impressive event. The five weight game in particular has gone from zero to many and continues to grow year on year. I’m hoping to organise a SE Asian event in the next 2 years. I’m sure that will be very well attended too.

It’s you who wish to put up barriers by excluding higher level casters (instructors I assume?) from competing in the Danish Games. Having two categories is fine, professional and amateur. I have no problems with that if it encourages amateurs to compete.

Cheers, Paul