Accuracy workshop

[Carol]

This has been a good post for me to read. I've been working on accuracy for a year (or more) now. I am not a casting savant (aka Lasse or Paul) and it's been purely hard, focused work daily for 20-30 minutes, and I still have a way to go. Here's what seems to have helped the most so far (after trying all sorts of things):
-Closed stance
-Grip with Index finger on top
-Vertical loop
"Western style" elbow-up/elbow-down

My nemesis has been extending the line from 30' to 45' and delivering. For that, I now use use elbow-up, drift, elbow down, extending the forearm, wrist and hand outward, and pointing hard with my index finger at the target. On the back cast, I'm stopping at a point that gives me a good loop and then drifting to position the rod for a more level forward trajectory. Pushing the forearm, wrist and hand outward helps me lengthen the casting stroke. As Lasse said, we all are different and every person's physique and strength may require something a bit different.

My Practice:
-Ten casts at 20'. Try to get 10 out of 10.
-Ten casts at 30'. Try to get 10 out of 10.
-Ten casts at 45'. Watch pickup loop so that it is narrow and doesn't blow up (open up from too much force), drift, watch forward trajectory by looking at the nose of the loop and the bottom leg, then deliver. As you know, hauling isn't allowed for the CI accuracy casts.
-Lastly, cast with pickup at 30', extending line, working on changing trajectory, judging distance, delivery. Rinse and repeat till I want to scream and run away.
-Practice some fun casting instead of running away (suggested way of finishing off difficult practice per Nick Moore).

Interestingly, my off-shoulder accuracy at 45' is better than my right (I'm right-hand dominant). After reading this I'm wondering if I'm right-hand dominant but left-eye dominant. It would figure. My wiring seems to be back-assward.

BTW, I'm a girl AND an old fart. Accuracy must be my game. LOL.

[John Waters]

Index finger on top is not conducive to longer accuracy casts Carol. Change to a thumb and heel of the hand on top grip, much better for the generation of controlled power in the 30' to 50' range than the index finger on top. The index finger knuckle will not generate the required turnover power for those cast lengths.

John

[Paul Arden]

Sounds excellent Carol, and I agree with John on the grip change. While short range accuracy with finger on top is fine, it becomes increasingly more difficult as line length increases. Maybe try alternating grips between casts?

Cheers, Paul

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

Hi Carrol,

I think Mac's idea of laying the extended forefinger along the side of the cork might work better for you. That way you still aim by pointing, but you get better use by using a V or 3 finger grip.

Also, it is easy to determine your dominant eye. Just point your finger at a distant target with both eyes open. The alternately close one eye, then the other. Which eye you use for sighting will be immediately obvious. Alternatively, hold both hands in front of your face, palms out, and form a small hole by over lapping the hands. Sight through the hole at a target with both eyes open, and again, close each eye.

[Paul Arden]

Just a little addition to the above. When you sight through the finger and close each eye in turn, when the finger doesn’t move this is your dominant eye. If the finger moves location this is your non dominant eye that is open.

But there are different sighting techniques. The one I use is to put my thumb/V alignment aligned with the target. However another popular method is to triangulate slightly to the side, which assists in gauging distance.

It’s not bad practise to make PUALDs into target utilising different backcast positions and sighting angles. One of the keys of course is to have repeatable loops and consistent hovers. Until that happens it’s always going to be hit and miss.

I can’t remember ever seeing anyone using the finger grip in accuracy competitions. Perhaps for very short casts. No doubt someone does it but it would certainly be quite unusual. In Continental Europe this is a very popular fishing/casting grip. When I encounter it as default I introduce drills to give variety. I personally use all the different grips when fishing. Side casting and backhand close range casts I use the finger. Mostly I use V grip. For distance I use the Cradle Grip. For some casts I use one grip on the backcast and a different grip on the forward.

I think an instructor should be very competent with them all. Of course that’s not necessary for the tests but in real world teaching it’s something I would thoroughly recommend. And it actually makes practise more interesting and fun because it adds variety!

Cheers, Paul

[Carol]

The reason I rotate through the stroke on the forward cast is that if I delay rotation I generate a high speed tight loop that kicks instead of hovers. When I watch others try to delay rotation I see a lot of inconsistency in loop turnover. So it works for me to rotate through the stroke. Basically I’m looking for consistency and a smooth turnover where the fly briefly hangs for sighting.

That makes sense and it's definitely something to aspire to because, as you say, I am not consistent in loop turnover; my "power nudge" isn't always the same in force or amount of rotation. In fact, I need to omit it ... again.

Just a little addition to the above. When you sight through the finger and close each eye in turn, when the finger doesn’t move this is your dominant eye. If the finger moves location this is your non dominant eye that is open.

But there are different sighting techniques. The one I use is to put my thumb/V alignment aligned with the target. However another popular method is to triangulate slightly to the side, which assists in gauging distance.

It’s not bad practise to make PUALDs into target utilising different backcast positions and sighting angles. One of the keys of course is to have repeatable loops and consistent hovers. Until that happens it’s always going to be hit and miss.

I can’t remember ever seeing anyone using the finger grip in accuracy competitions. Perhaps for very short casts. No doubt someone does it but it would certainly be quite unusual. In Continental Europe this is a very popular fishing/casting grip. When I encounter it as default I introduce drills to give variety. I personally use all the different grips when fishing. Side casting and backhand close range casts I use the finger. Mostly I use V grip. For distance I use the Cradle Grip. For some casts I use one grip on the backcast and a different grip on the forward.

I think an instructor should be very competent with them all. Of course that’s not necessary for the tests but in real world teaching it’s something I would thoroughly recommend. And it actually makes practise more interesting and fun because it adds variety!

Cheers, Paul

These are all good tips/points.
As for determining the dominant eye, making a small triangular hole by crossing my fingers and thumbs with the palms out makes it very clear which eye is dominant. Thanks for that!
I'll take the index finger off the top when casting to 45'. That finger gets very fatigued at that distance and it might result in injury. You all have convinced me to return to the "V" possibly with the extended index finger.

This is from a post from Paul in 2020
Something else you can try there, is instead of closing the fingers to bring the cork into the heel of the hand, is to turn your hand in such a way that the rod butt clears the inside of the forearm with no contact. This is what I consider “stopless” on the forward cast. I’d be interested to hear what changes you see in the rod leg of the loop (if any).
Another small change worth playing with, is instead of using the pinkie, is to use the third finger. This allows for a more open grip and wider arc. This is the “cradle grip”.

I'm having a hard time picturing the "stopless" and "cradle grip." Do you have images or videos you can direct me to? Much appreciated!

[Paul Arden]

Hi Carol,

Yep from this page I definitely talk about Cradle Grip (not sure I called it that) and Grip Shift!



Cheers, Paul