Rod evaluations and comparisons - a peek

[Peter Patricelli]

Intracoastal,

 

"Are you still working on that, Peter? Or have we also come to realize that there's little matter in that, too?"

 

I know what I think. And I have a good idea of how little I concretely know. And the bloody gap between those two things is so huge that I am keeping my mouth shut until I have something concrete to say.

 

Working on it. But this will take time.

 

Meanwhile...practice your casting.

 

Peter Patricelli

[James3shin]

Hi Peter,

 

Will all of your casts be done with 8wt rods?

[Peter Patricelli]

James,

All the theories and characteristics open to question exist within any wt group of rods, comparisons are more easier and more valid if kept within a limited group, the 8 wt is probably the most common and popular SW rod,..... and I already have more of them. Yes.

 

Why do you ask?

 

Peter Patricelli

[hunt for blueessss]

........my friends think I'm an incredible caster......please never meet any of my friends.......

 

 

I'm enjoying the read and videos posted, watching someone cast in actual conditions is where I struggle greatly since I just don't have the ability to see anyone ever in person. Can't wait to read more.

[James3shin]

James,

All the theories and characteristics open to question exist within any wt group of rods, comparisons are more easier and more valid if kept within a limited group, the 8 wt is probably the most common and popular SW rod,..... and I already have more of them. Yes.

 

Why do you ask?

 

Peter Patricelli

 

Because all I own are 5 and 9wt rods I'd love for you to do a 5wt comparison as that is the rod I use most -- beggars like myself can't be choosers. I'm still very anxious to see the 8wt comparison!

[Steve Schullery]

........my friends think I'm an incredible caster......please never meet any of my friends.......

 

I'm enjoying the read and videos posted, watching someone cast in actual conditions is where I struggle greatly since I just don't have the ability to see anyone ever in person. Can't wait to read more.

 

Hey, I'm with you. But, I can tell you that standing right there and watching isn't as much help as you might think. Just when you're thinking, "well, that's a pretty good cast--I could do that with a brisk tailwind standing on a casting deck", then another 20 or 30 feet of line smoothly unrolls, all with the guy standing up to his wader tops in the water! It's like your brain is using some sort of Photoshop app. If Peter weren't such a nice guy, you'd be thinking it's just not fair!

 

I'm tempted to try an actual shooting head/running line combo, rather than my "integrated" line--but then I will be totally out of excuses.

 

Steve

 

 

[Andrew S.]

Peter - I just made a shortened version of your casting video, where I edited out the "non-casting" parts (stripping in line, adjusting the towel, etc) and also put in some slow motion (and some music). Would you mind if I posted it here?

 

(I didn't know your taste in music...sorry!)

 

Andrew

 

 

 

[HL]

Peter,

You mentioned that you performed an end-to-end splice from running line to head.

Would you mind describing, in detail, how you did it.

 

I did it by overlapping 6" and whipping with fine mono fly tyeing thread. Then I slipped 50# braided mono over the splice - nail knotted both ends and Pliobond'ed the ends.

 

Just interested in your procedure.

Thanks,

Herb

[Peter Patricelli]

Andrew,

 

No, that is fine. Go ahead. After wasting half a day yesterday trying to get some strobe shots I am realizing that without more and better equipment, strobes, triggers, timers, and cameras...this is gojng to take a long time and be an uphill battle. And for others, to be clear, I am not interested in "comparing" a TFO TiCR with a Scott S4s and to a 30 year old Sage GII. I am curiously interested in comparing the effects of fast/stiff to slow/flexing and just what those terms really mean in actul casting dynamics.

 

Interestingly, this is the very first time I have ever analyzed my casting. If people are looking at this for purposes of learning then several things strike me.

 

First, someone might focus on the picture below as the critical picture:

 

[img=

 

I think that would be wrong. The "secret" in making the above loading happen consistently lies in the picture below:

 

 

Secondly, I hesitate longer on that final backcast, which lets the line maximally stretch, and drop slightly. As long as you have room, a better delivery angle for a long shoot is slightly upward.

 

Then, which I never saw before...and I suppose someone might criticize, I begin drifting forward with my rod hand and drifting backward with my line hand to "load up" the line hand in a high and close position for the haul. Seen below in this overlay:

 

 

What is interesting to me, and to be clear...in each sequence my rod is coming forward AND my line hand is coming upward...as I come forward I absolutely maintain my rod "loaded" angle. That retains potential arc for loading and delivery. I have to adjust the wrist-rod angle to hold that rod angle. My hand also elevates (??). The rod IS loading during this forward drift IN SPITE of losing some line "out back" by bringing up the line hand.

 

But what I am going for is where my strength is...hand high just over my head and just behind my head. I might as well be throwing a baseball from that position...and the rod is already half loaded, my line hand is in position for a haul.

 

Here is my point. From that position (and you unfortunately can't see what the line is doing out back....but I can gaurantee you it is straight and flat, every inch of it ready to be accelerated as a single mass) ANYONE can make a good delivery from there.

 

THE SECRET IS IN THE BACKCAST!

 

Now I am curious as to whether the adjustments I make with a seriously slower, and a seriously faster rod can be seen.

 

And another point. Casting a so called "SH" rod is MORE of a TH'd process than a "TH'D" rod! My LEFT hand is doing just as much work, and more complicated, as my right.

 

Peter Patricelli

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Patricelli]

Herb,

Sorry, nothing sexy there. I'm a low tech sort of guy. All I ask of my runnng line loop-to-loop to the head is that it not catch up on more than one guide each way in or out. In this case I just looped it over and threw on two nail knots. Clickety-clack.

[Andrew S.]

Here's a modified version of Peter's casting video. While he strips line and moves towels around with grace and aplomb, I suspect these are not the parts most people want to watch. Also, slo-mo can be useful. I only chose two casts, from two angles, to put into this video. With a name like Patricelli, I thought for the music something Italian, like Puccinni, would be appropriate, but couldn't find the right stuff. So instead, you get Doc Watson. Sorry.

 

Peter Patricelli casting a shooting head from T.J. Brayshaw on Vimeo.

[crunch]

Peter, those are not 125' casts but perhaps 100' or so. First cast seems the best and you strip 38 times until the head enters to rod tip so I think it is 70' or less of running line. Then there is quite a lot of running line running out after the head has landed to the water. And it is very common that line and leader does not straighten.when there is not much friction in rod end. I recommend you cast over ground and see yourself where the fly lands. There is not anything bad in your casting but short head fly line and shooted cast is challenging combination for long distance.

 

Esa

[Andrew S.]

Wow. Talk about missing the point...

[crunch]

What do you mean Andrew? Have you seen the conversation between me and Peter in two other threads? I am sorry these topics spread but fly line casting is controversial.

[rrdstarr]

I see where I need to improve my casting! LOL!I go the same speed back and forth but need to speed it up to get a longer cast. I also need to go back to my instructor and work on the double haul!

Well done to Peter and other who have posted video!