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Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

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Carol
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Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#1

Post by Carol »

When working on the static roll cast, the line was colliding frequently. My mentor said I have the rod too close in and I should have the tip of the rod to the outside of the anchor. Playing around with it, it dawned on me [Lightbulb] that it doesn't matter whether you cast with the tip inside or outside the anchor so long as the trajectory is straight and parallel to the anchor. Clearly my trajectory has been more my problem (or so I think). Then I watched some videos (Paul, Gawsworth, etc.) and most folks teach to cast to the inside of the anchor. I've not heard anyone say it can be done either way. Am I deluding myself or can it be done either way? What way do YOU teach and why?
Carol
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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#2

Post by jarmo »

Carol wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 2:02 am Playing around with it, it dawned on me [Lightbulb] that it doesn't matter whether you cast with the tip inside or outside the anchor so long as the trajectory is straight and parallel to the anchor. Clearly my trajectory has been more my problem (or so I think). Then I watched some videos (Paul, Gawsworth, etc.) and most folks teach to cast to the inside of the anchor. I've not heard anyone say it can be done either way. Am I deluding myself or can it be done either way?
Wind is a factor.

When roll casting, in general your rod will be on the downwind side from you, to keep the line away from you. After the forward stroke, your loop will look like this from the side:

Image

The fly leg of the loop is prone to wind. When your rod is inside the anchor, the fly leg is on the downwind side of the rod leg, and will not collide with the rod leg even if pushed downwind.

If your rod is outside the anchor, the fly leg is on the upwind side of the rod leg, and can collide with the rod leg when pushed by the wind.
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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#3

Post by Paul Arden »

Equally importantly perhaps is your anchor alignment to target. For example if you cast across the anchor then you are more likely to collide the legs. (You can avoid this with a horizontal rod plane – or an inverted loop of course).

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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#4

Post by Carol »

jarmo wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 8:51 am Wind is a factor.
Excellent point. So, let's see if I have this right. Where you position the rod tip (and hence fly leg) depends, in large part, upon the wind direction. If the wind is coming onto the casting shoulder, it is best to perform the roll cast off-shoulder. In that case, the rod tip (fly leg) also would be better outside of the anchor in order to avoid collision since the fly leg is more prone to the wind. Flip it around if the wind is coming onto the non-casting shoulder: The roll cast is performed on-shoulder, and the rod tip and fly leg are, again, outside of the anchor to avoid collision. If there is no wind in the early morning calm, then one might cast inside the anchor so long as one can avoid collision. And, as Paul reminds, the anchor needs to be aligned with the target.
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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#5

Post by Paul Arden »

I track the rod tip slightly inside the anchor for almost all roll casts. Another way of thinking about it, is angle in = angle out. How far off-shoulder do you place your anchor? The usual teaching recommendation is half a rod length off shoulder for static roll casts.

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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#6

Post by Carol »

I have been taught to place the anchor about 18" off the shoulder, and have been instructed to teach it that way as well.
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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#7

Post by jarmo »

Greetings Carol.

Let me rephrase using your terminology from your original post; English is not my mother tongue, so I might have some trouble communicating this. Simplified: To avoid collision due to wind, traditionally you want to cast the forward cast with the tip of the rod inside the anchor. I am assuming "inside the anchor" means "closer to the caster than the anchor."

In my longer rambling above, "fly leg" corresponds to anchor, and "rod leg" corresponds to rod tip. The fly leg of the loop is the leg with the fly at the end. In a roll cast, it is a result of the anchor lifting off the water, so its alignment corresponds to the alignment of the anchor. The other leg of the loop is the rod leg, with rod at the end. Its alignment corresponds to the alignment of your forward stroke. You can see how this happens from the very first clip in this video:



Hopefully, with these explanations, my previous post makes more sense if you take another look at it.

(If you take a look at that video, you will also notice that in some cases casting with the tip of the rod outside the anchor could lead to an immediate collision of the rod and the d-loop even in the case of no wind.)

Have fun and stay safe!
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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#8

Post by Carol »

It all makes sense now, Jarmo. Thank you for both the post and the link. I had not seen this video. Between Paul's method of teaching, your explanation in this last post, and this video, it is very clear how it should be done and taught for the least amount of collisions. And it explains why I've had so many. I am going to change how I teach it and practice it. :pirate:
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Re: Teaching static roll cast - inside or outside of the anchor

#9

Post by Paul Arden »

18” is very close. Too close for comfort for me :)

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