Stoatstail50 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 16, 2023 12:31 pm
If you have directed your caster what to look at and helped them to connect what they do with what they see, they will often self regulate the force they apply during a cast.
I agree Mark, but what I'm directing them to look at when I'm teaching them to control the application of power just happens to be the bend in the rod.
That's what they are controlling in real time, while the loop is a lagging record of that action.
Yesterday, I had two students in separate lessons.
The first was an absolute beginner, just bought a rod a week ago and wanted to learn to cast. (First thing was covering safety and wind direction, etc, but then on with teaching casting.) After 5 minutes of establishing the terms I was about to use (fly leg, rod leg, loop and tip path) I did the demo and asked him to make the bend appear in the rod around the spot I had taped on his rod. Within 5 minutes, he was producing 2' - 3' loops with parallel legs that would have been borderline on the CI exam, only occasionally looking at the loops he was forming. During those five minutes, he was establishing the muscle feel, casting arc requirements, smooth application of power and so on for himself, without input from me to confuse the experience.
Next we dealt with keeping power to a minimum and maintaining tension during the cast.
An hour later, he was double hauling and shooting small amounts of line to about 60' and the two hour lesson was complete. He rarely threw tails or wide loops during the lesson (although his tracking was something I made him aware of and to be practiced.) That was a successful lesson for both of us.
The other student was a 25 year "veteran" who wanted to learn to double haul. After establishing that his loops were way too wide and his total effort was way too high (too much power and ill timed), we went back to the same basics I showed the beginner earlier, doing exactly the same drills. Within the hour we concluded the lesson with him producing good loops in addition to double hauling.
Common to both was the need to explain and demonstrate the correct application of power (because all faults have incorrect application of power as their root cause.) Once each of them could
see and then subsequently
feel what correct application of power is, the other aspects of teaching the student fall into place really quickly. There's little need for theoretical explanations after that personal experience has happened.
Using the bend in the rod as a visual cue in lieu of providing the concept of "feel", and being able to produce and visually track that bend for themselves short-circuits many of the actions that produce the flaws in a cast from the start. Later, when they are by practicing themselves, they have a ready reference tool to re-establish what that correct power application should be - their rod and the bend they put into it.
I know there are many different ways to teach casting. I have tried a few of them, and this one delivers the quickest, longest lasting results for more students than any others I've tried. Until something better comes along, this will be my way of improving the casts my students produce.
Cheers,
Graeme