Tracking correction

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

Phil,

Have you tried using a laser pointer and watching your track on a flat ceiling?

Lots of things show up quite visibly that way... both problems and fixes.

[Phil Blackmar]

Hi Gary-

I did on the butt of the rod on the floor, but not the tip. Good idea, I', assuming they make tiny ones now that you can tape to the tip??

Thanks

[Lasse Karlsson]

Phil, you don't need to tape it to the tip, just hold it at the handle.

Also, Steve Rajeffs method of casting next to a wall and gently touching the wall throughout the stroke can work wonders.

Cheers
Lasse

[Carol]

It’s not uncommon to start the forward stroke with the hand off shoulder and to finish in front of the face.

[now that all the smart people have responded, I'll jump in.] I was doing this in the off-shoulder accuracy task because it's so much easier to pull back toward the mid-line rather than keep the rod tip off-shoulder and moving in a straight line. That is why I failed the task: It wasn't a hook and I hit the target, but it wasn't done correctly, to wit, entirely off-shoulder. We often cannot detect ourselves doing these things, even with laser lights on the ceiling because it's not the same as casting with a rod and line, and it can be even more artificial if one focuses on ensuring a straight line. The feel and psychology is not the same, especially as the amount of line being cast increases.

What I really want to fix is a skewed forward vertical loop (i.e. the bottom leg is aligned with the target, but the top leg bends off to the right, which often lands to the left. The skew is most noticeable when the loop is about 2/3 unrolled. Changing my grip to finger-on-top and purposefully holding a more pronated position has helped, but not entirely, and it strains the MCP join (knuckle) on my middle finger and I worry about developing arthritis over time.

How can we video ourselves from the front or back (without a drone) so as to see what we do? It imagine it would be helpful to have something plumb-vertical in front or behind (depending on direction of the video) as a reference. Or maybe overlaying the video with a grid. The video might better show if the hand pronates or supinates, or the forearm is tracking straight, or if the back cast is not aligned with the target, or ... or .... It might reveal why we go off-kilter with our kilts off.

[Phil Blackmar]

Hi Carol-

If you have a phone that takes video, put a chair or small ladder between you and your target. Make sure there is a background such as trees or buildings for reference. The video will be very revealing.

[Paul Arden]

Yes it’s very common with backhand deliveries, Carol. Also with the off-shoulder roll. As Phil says you don’t need a drone. Preferably film yourself from a chair or tripod. But even off the ground will work. Just put the phone/camera at the other end of the tape.

Years gone by, before digital cameras, I would just set up a camcorder and film myself constantly. From time to time I would check what I was doing. I think that’s better because then you get the compete picture of what you are doing and not just a glimpse hammed up for camera.

Cheers, Paul

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

Carol,

BTW... congrats on getting your CI!

And while there is a well thought of instructor right here in Florida who is a proponent of the finger on top grip, I tell folks not to go that route, precisely because of what you mentioned. I guess it might be OK for lighter trout rods, but it is going to cause damage with heavier equipment... IMHO anyway.

As to your "skew"... can you make it worse? On purpose? If so, some day you might even want to do it on purpose and call it a skill instead of a skew! And if you can figure out what is causing it, then you should be able to neutralize it... and maybe even reverse it... and call it another skill? (Cough, cough... curve cast)

Thank the gods for modern video technology! In the past we could never learn to cast without it.

[Lasse Karlsson]

Hi Carol

If it's out to the right and then curves around to the left, it sounds like your bc and fc aren't aligned. What happens if you change your pause length?

And I do agree, all the gadgets and tricks are no match for the actual thing, that's why the MPR is such a great tool. Learning to read loops and lines from your own perspective is one of the most valuable tools in our bag of tools as a caster. Learning how the same mistake kooks different from a instructors point of view to a casters is a much needed instructor tool in telling what the thing is.

And I agree, stick your mobile phone in front of you and see what happens, drone shots are super cool, but a bit removed from purpose


But drone looks so much better than the ugly truth when you play it back

Cheers
Lasse

[Carol]

Great thread. Thanks for starting, Cris, and thanks to all for the good ideas and videos.

Lasse, how would shortening the pause on the bc help?

[John Waters]

Hi Carol,

If you are talking about your standard cast, the best online casting aid for training the correct movement plane for the forearm is to buy one those very light plastic posts that are used as corner posts in soccer. If you want to stop that slicing movement of the hand from outside the shoulder to inside the shoulder, described by Paul's quote in your post # 24, and correct a slanted loop profile, I suggest the following exercise.

Stick the post in the ground, position your body around it so that your right side hip is next to the left side, or inside the post, the inner side of your right arm is on the right side, or outside, the post. It is best to square both feet up to the casting target i.e. don't have one foot in front of the other. Your hips should be perpendicular to the target. I use a tape along the ground to set up the correct angles. The tape is a straight line connecting the centre of the target to the outside of your shoulder. Then cast to your target. If your forearm tracking is not in the correct plane, you will make contact with the post on your forward cast. Keep your eye on your right hand thumbnail such that the thumbnail is always in the plane of the shoulder, throughout both back and forward strokes. If you make contact with the post you have sliced the forward stroke. If your thumbnail is not in the vertical plane through the shoulder on the backcast you have drifted off the vertical shoulder plane. Keep everything moving in a vertical plane in line with the target. You can move the post forward if need be. You can also use it to correctly track the vertical movement of your elbow on both back and forward casts.

I have included a photo of the one I use for myself, and for my students who slice their forward cast and cast loops that are not vertical. It is 1.7 metres in length so it does not negatively impact the rod or line on either the false casts or the delivery cast.

Real time feedback, every cast.

John