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Pulling / pushing the fly rod on the backcast

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hshl
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Pulling / pushing the fly rod on the backcast

#1

Post by hshl »

Hi all,

when casted in the fly rod are acting basically a a) normal and b) shear force as well as a c) torque.
The normal force a) can become a thrust („pushing“) or a traction („pulling“) and my question is about these two conditions.:

Reading books about fly casting there is often a „pulling motion" recommended (e.g. Henrik Mortensen), means in the fly rod a traction / „pulling“ force should act. For the forward cast I can notice a pulling (in the majority of cases) as the grip is led downwards. But for the backcast of some superb casters I strongly assume a thrust / „pushing“ instead as the grip is lifted upwards like in this video of Jason here:

http://vimeo.com/132726013

So is pulling the fly rod overrated, since some superb casters don‘t „push“ the backcast :???: ? Does modelling can bring a bit more light in this issue ?

Thanks in advance
http://www.passion-fliegenfischen.de/_en
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Paul Arden
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Pulling / pushing the fly rod on the backcast

#2

Post by Paul Arden »

I don’t know about overrated but it’s certainty a cause of confusion! Sometimes it’s a very useful teaching aid but rather often it’s a source of problems. I only use it very sparingly nowadays and tend more towards throwing,

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

Flycasting Definitions
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hshl
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Pulling / pushing the fly rod on the backcast

#3

Post by hshl »

Hi Paul,
what 'confuses' me a bit is that obviously "pulling" the fly rod doesn't take place when the fly rod is lifted upwards, like it happens very often during the backcast. Especially when casting in front of the body axis the fly rod must be lifted up in order to keep the tip on the straight path. For two handed fly rods is seems there is no other possibility as to lift it up causing a "pushing" instead a "pulling" in the fly rod. But obviously it works well, I see great casts by doing this.

TL
http://www.passion-fliegenfischen.de/_en
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Paul Arden
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Pulling / pushing the fly rod on the backcast

#4

Post by Paul Arden »

Mel used to teach imagine there is a concrete block with a rope around it. Take the rope and use your body to first push the rope (forward cast) which on the backcast would be the equivalent to lifting the rod. Then try pulling the rope which brings the the shoulder and body into play. On the backcast this would be pulling against the length of line.

It’s just a subtle difference between how we use our bodies and I think it really only applies to the beginning of the stroke. As a teaching tool it can work well, but it’s also confusing for a lot of people who try to analyse it - particularly because maximum distance casts are very obviously both pushing and pulling. Consequently I rarely use it nowadays and tend more to teach
weigh shift, Drag and so on.

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

Flycasting Definitions
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