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General size of a tight loop

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AndyHendersonUK
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General size of a tight loop

#1

Post by AndyHendersonUK »

Hello everyone. What would be considered the general size of a tight loop on a balanced 5 or 7 weight outfit.

I've just joined the BFCC and will be getting some practice in before I make a complete arse of myself in the comps.

Looking forward to learning new techniques!!

At present I can cast a standard WF #5 to around 75ft and still maintain turn over on my local Stillwater.

Thanks,

Andy
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Paul Arden
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General size of a tight loop

#2

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Andy!!!

I’m sorry for the delay. This is an interesting question and it depends on how you measure a loop’s width. The IFF measure a fixed distance back from the point (I cant remember the distance off the top of my head), whereas I’ve always measured top to bottom at the widest point.

The problem we have is that loops morph, ie start wide and then narrow as they unroll (usually).

Personally my advice for distance would be not to worry about loop size at all! Loop shape is far more important, it needs to be straight, pointed, and a sharp V. With a long distance carry as with the 5 and 7 WT events you must start with a wide loop (mine are about 8ft I think) otherwise the loop will morph into a collision.

Not sure if that helps and I’m sure others may see it differently?

Cheers, Paul
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James9118
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General size of a tight loop

#3

Post by James9118 »

Hi Andy,

I look forward to meeting you at a BFCC day sometime. A 75ft fishing cast with good turn-over with a #5 outfit is a good start, you certainly won't make an arse of yourself in the comps.

If I had to simplify getting increased distance I'd personally prioritise the following:

Good tracking
Line Speed
Loop shape (although this one largely sorts itself out if the first two are good).

Obviously each of these contain a subset of numerous fine details as to how an individual can achieve them, and as you progress you'll find more and more stuff to think about.

The main thing is to enjoy the practice though.

James
AndyHendersonUK
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Location: North West - UK

General size of a tight loop

#4

Post by AndyHendersonUK »

Perfect thanks fellas.

Appreciate any info / advice.

Really looking forward to my first BFCC meeting. Will be one of the ones Up North. Will keep the practice going.

Just ordered the Mike Marshall DVD from the BFCC website, so will have a gander at that as well.

Working on a good stop as well. Managed a session Friday fishing and getting the feeling of the rod unloading on every cast, which was nice!! Been trying to "unlock" that feeling for a while.
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Paul Arden
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General size of a tight loop

#5

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Andy, there are two distance videos on www.sexyloops.com/flycast/ which may or may not help! Hope you have a great time and I look forward to meeting you at one of the events sometime!

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

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askel
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General size of a tight loop

#6

Post by askel »

Paul Arden wrote: Personally my advice for distance would be not to worry about loop size at all!
what happened to "you need a narrow loop" from The Loop ?

by now i feel like all that "sexyloops" is a big scam. i watch instructional videos that say "do this". then i go to the board and see exactly the same people saying completely different stories. tell me it isn't a scam considering there is a "hot torpedo". classic internet scam example!

it looks like the more i read/listen on fly casting the less i really understand about it and trust those sources. it reminds me religion. every confession has its own version of god and what's right and wrong. and none of them can really prove they are right. likewise, every "school" of fly casting has its own "god" and "rights and wrongs" but none can prove they have nailed it.
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Graeme H
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General size of a tight loop

#7

Post by Graeme H »

Peoples' ideas of what works and doesn't work change over time as they learn. That's only natural, or at least, it's natural in mature, rational adults.

I'd be more worried about people who stick to their guns in the face of all evidence contradicting their theories.

And in that particular case, Paul has specifically stated "distance casting". If you're going for full distance, it's more important to get the line moving in the right direction as fast as it can be moved. Regardless of the size of the loop at the start of the cast, if the line is all moving in the right direction, the wide loop will become narrow ("morph") as the cast unrolls.

Cheers,
Graeme
FFi CCI
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Paul Arden
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General size of a tight loop

#8

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Askel :D

This was a question about distance casting at comp level (BFCC). There is a 90’ carry video on Sexyloops.tv https://youtu.be/ozVkwFTKVC4 arguably these are tight loops however I’m not “trying” to throw a tight loop, trying to throw tight loops is usually described as trying to match casting arc to rod bend, however the point when I would stop the rod in order to achieve this match is precisely the moment when I try to apply maximum rotation force in the video. I’m pretty sure I’m the comp distance module in the video manual I describe this style.

Cheers, Paul
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Paul Arden
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General size of a tight loop

#9

Post by Paul Arden »

It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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Jason Borger
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General size of a tight loop

#10

Post by Jason Borger »

I'm late to this little party, but just to add a bit of visual clarity (perhaps) attached is an illustration of a "wider" loop on a forward cast morphing into a "tighter" (well, tighter-nosed) loop (as also seen in Paul's vid). This is from a single cast shot at 120fps. Camera is as perpendicular to the loop plane as I could reasonably get it (no "impossibly tight" loops due to camera-position BS). Rod is a deeper-actioned 590 (a.k.a. 905), and the line is a MED5.

The "tight" loop I was after was the one out there at the end of the sequence. Otherwise this was about getting the line moving with some ooomph, so it starts "wide". I think Paul and I (and a lot of others) view loops as situation-dependent, and the idea of "tight" is no exception. At 20 feet, tight can be tight. At 100+, tight is quite often a different beast.

Hope that gives you some more useful reference info.

JB

EDIT--If you want to have some fun(?) have a look at the various little dips and rises in the loop structure. Those are artifacts of actions/influences that happened throughout the cast.
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JBorger_Loop Moprh FULL.png
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