[Mike Barrio]

I was asked this in an email today

Is there an easy way to learn to cast with tighter loops? I've been fishing for years, but how can I practice and teach myself to cast with tighter loops?

[Rich Knoles]

The short answer is to narrow the casting arc.

The longer answer requires some additional information. How long a line, are they hauling. etc...?

[Mike Barrio]

That's the thing Rich, this type of thing tends to be a sentence/question in an email .... and it is difficult to answer, or ask further questions without getting involved in a lengthy email exchange.

I'm not sure there is a short easy answer ............

Cheers
Mike

[Hamish Young]

I'm not sure there is a short easy answer ............

A session with a reputable and qualified casting instructor would be a good suggestion 

H

[Mike Barrio]

A session with a reputable and qualified casting instructor would be a good suggestion 

H

That is obviously part of my reply Hamish, but the question often includes "teach myself, self help, what can I do, what can I practice?"

Cheers
Mike

[Rich Knoles]

Perhaps:

A good way to tighten loops would be to narrow the casting arc. If you are using a wide casting stroke, stop the rod higher.  Perhaps you are stroking the rod to hard. Excessive bend in the rod will also make your loops large.
Utilizing the Double Haul will increase the line speed and narrow the casting arc required for a given amount of line.

 I don't envy you getting these mate.

[Lasse Karlsson]

I was asked this in an email today

Is there an easy way to learn to cast with tighter loops? I've been fishing for years, but how can I practice and teach myself to cast with tighter loops?

Look at your rodtip, and try to make it move in as straight a path as possible.

That's my usual answer to those emails 

Cheers
Lasse

[Ben Dixon]

I'd agree with that Lasse.  Only other thing you could do would be to encourage them to take a video clip, upload to You Tube or Vimeo and post a link to it here.  Very difficult, in fact almost impossible to give a good answer without seeing the cast.

Cheers

Ben

[Marc Fauvet]

A session with a reputable and qualified casting instructor would be a good suggestion 

H

 
they'd save time and money in the long run. it's all good.

[Dutchfly]

My advice would be: stop casting with your wrist and make a good and definite stop, both on your backcast and on your forward cast.


Jeroen

[Iain Cameron]

... how can I practice and teach myself to cast with tighter loops?

Has anyone found that casting parallel to the ground, say along a tape or a line on a sport field helps? Obviously it's along a different plane, but the idea is the same, more or less?

The tape or line helps me to track the rod tip, and the contrast between the line and the ground is higher, so you can see more clearly what is happening to the loop shape (compared to trying to observe it in mid-air, when the background is air/cloud/trees at various distances).

just a thought,
i,

anyone ever tried suspending hula hoops in mid air and casting through them?

[Lasse Karlsson]

Has anyone found that casting parallel to the ground, say along a tape or a line on a sport field helps? Obviously it's along a different plane, but the idea is the same, more or less?

The tape or line helps me to track the rod tip, and the contrast between the line and the ground is higher, so you can see more clearly what is happening to the loop shape (compared to trying to observe it in mid-air, when the background is air/cloud/trees at various distances).

just a thought,
i,

anyone ever tried suspending hula hoops in mid air and casting through them?

Hi Ian

Most instructors I know, teach the method of casting along the ground for just those reasons, and a few more 

And yes to the hulla hoops, it's fecking hard though...

Cheers
Lasse

[Marc Fauvet]

Has anyone found that casting parallel to the ground, say along a tape or a line on a sport field helps? Obviously it's along a different plane, but the idea is the same, more or less?

anyone ever tried suspending hula hoops in mid air and casting through them?

hi Iain,
yup, side casting is a common way to teach (and learn). i do this all the time, specially when trying to figure out things on my own. not sure but i think we where doing some of this at the Gathering ?
no idea if she came up with this but Joan Wulff uses this method a lot.

here's an article by Carlos Azpilicueta on casting through hoops: http://www.sexyloops.com/carlos/throughthehoop.shtml
using a Jedi-ish "you will go through the hoop" mind/matter control thing helps a lot !  

cheers,
marc

[Bernd Ziesche]

Hi Mike,
my answer would be to focus on some different steps, one at a time:

a) Use nearly the smallest arc possible (just wide enough to still achieve the desired line speed matching the situation).

b) Move the rod hand as good along a straight path (during the stroke) as possible.

c) When using a medium to long stroke length start the main rotation of the rod during the last part of the stroke. In other words for a back cast: 10, 10, 10, 2 o'clock.

d) Use an abrupt stop. Not too abrupt, but abrupt.

e) Try to cast your forward and your back cast as good along a straight line as possible.

f) Google up the 5 essentials by Bill and Jay Gammel and learn to understand them.

Cheers
Bernd