should the back cast be taught as a release cast?

[Richard]

Hi, there is this cast that I 'discovered' early on, on windy days. It is nothing more *and* nothing less, then releasing the line on the back cast. But especially when the wind is coming towards to me, over the water, I'd like to stand with my back towards the water and 'reverse cast', so releasing on the back cast. Another advantage of this way of casting in my urban area is that my eyes are mainly on the road and less on the water. Finally, practicing the release on the back cast could be an instrument to elimination of tracking.

So my questions are: do you recognise the advantages of releasing on the back cast (for beginning casters) and if so, isn't it something we should be teaching?

[Paul Arden]

Lightbulb moment. Thank you Richard! Totally agree but you’ve taken me back a few steps. Man that’s excellent and potentially sorts out many tracking and trajectory issues as well. Totally agree that should be in the first lesson, or very early on, after all, it’s bang on the triangle method if you go there. I will definitely incorporate this and see where it goes. For me, the way I teach, I can tell you 100% this needs to be explored. It should be second nature early on and it’s most certainly not!!

Cheers,
Paul

[Graeme H]

Sorry to be late on this one: been busy!

Yes, I always teach it as release cast. One, for its usefulness when fishing, but two, it's a fantastic way to improve what would otherwise "just be a back cast" in preparation for the subsequent forward cast. Teaching to aim the back cast and deliver it with purpose works really well as a drill towards better casting in general.

Cheers,
Graeme

[Paul Arden]

Hi Graeme,

Out of curiosity what do you teach in the first lesson?

Cheers, Paul

[Graeme H]

Hi Paul,

My "first lesson" has changed dramatically in the last 12 months. It has departed a long way from what I have seen others teach and I'm getting good results from it.

Against all common wisdom, I run through the Five Essentials (although I've simplified them to only two essentials with three "contributing factors" for how power is applied.) This takes the form of an introductory "how a cast works" discussion. I do this because I will often refer back to the concepts I've covered in The 5 Essentials when questions arise from the students about why this works and that doesn't ...

My little "5 Essentials Tool" is invaluable when I'm discussing the concepts.

Then I ask my students to "place a bend in the rod as they move it left and right". I mark their rod near the top ferrule with some white medical tape so they know where the bend should be. (I demonstrate it and ask them to duplicate it.) This gets them throwing very tight and controlled loops immediately. It's a "task-based lesson" without reference to confusing external influences and seemingly vague definitions, which I have found to be really important when teaching beginners and intermediate casters alike. They focus on one little task, but successfully completing the task actually produces wonderful loops.

Next, I ask them to make a cast with so little power that the loop just fails to reach the leader, but they MUST keep the rod tip high when they do it. (Another "task-based" lesson.) Following the successful completion of this task, I discuss the importance of tension in the line throughout the cast (because tension in a string will make the wave travel through the string faster. And yes, they all grasp this immediately. ). Then I demonstrate what happens if I remove the tension completely as the loop travels to reinforce the point (the cast collapses).

By this time, they are nearly always casting quite well and I'm ready to start introducing the double haul. By the end of the first lesson, all my students can double haul to some extent, but they'll need to practice a LOT before it's a proficient cast. Without a double haul, they will not be able to fish here in Perth, so I think it's vital they know about it very early on. Without fishing, they give up.

(I usually ask the student to drop the line on the back cast a few times while they are practicing that "bend in the rod" task. It gets them accustomed to presenting the line on the back cast.)

Cheers,
Graeme

[andrewparkeruk]

Sounds really impressive Graeme

[Paul Arden]

Thanks Graeme, I don’t know if it’s against all common wisdom because I know lots of instructors who do the same, including Bill Gammel of course! I sometimes teach variable casting arc in the first lesson and that’s my main lead-in to teaching the 5Es. I also try to get them double hauling. I used to start the second lesson with double hauling, now I try to get it in on the first.

Thanks I’ll try the white marker idea.

Cheers, Paul

[Richard]

Hi Paul, Graeme, and others, sorry, I sometimes completely miss the updates. But for those who have gotten here: a link to today's FP on this topic:
https://www.sexyloops.com/index.php/ps/ ... _vX2Ztsk0A
Great stuff!

Richard