Fishing The Fly Scotland
Index => Main Discussion Area => Topic started by: Iain Cameron on 08/04/2011 at 16:52
-
a mostly pointless post about misadventures with a fly line...
ignoring odd looks and enquiries from passing joggers & dogwalkers, I stationed, facing downstream & parallel to the bank) myself in a long smooth pool of the Don near my home for some casting practice. (no one else fishing, so no-one else being disturbed).
I've been slowly getting to grips with 14ft double-handed rod... but I've just fitted a rio outbound shooting head/running line - it of course behaves very differently from the longer Spey lines that I'd been flaying the water with - so I wanted to play with that and work out the differences.
Spent some time working out the loading points, and what happened if there was too much running line outside the rod tip, or too much shooting head inside the rod rings. And then a fairly peaceful time experimenting with finishing points of the rod tip on the forward stroke (too low... ah, that explains all the splash landings!).
All good stuff. then remembering a certain mr dixon's advice, I spent a good while on just roll casting. over. and over. really cool seeing how little power you can get away with..... on the rare occasions it clicked, there was no noise or swoosh or splash... just watching the shapes of the D-loop, and the effects different sizes produced was really useful.
After a while, I'd kinda worked out that the right-hand (up hand) barely moved, but just acted liked a swivel point/fulcrum, and the lower /left-hand drove the short stroke... doing a bit of reading today on d-handed with shooting line casting, it seems that I'd stumbled myself into doing the recognised underhand cast! cool!! OK, I sure wasn't doing it well, but it was close.
also found that sweeping the rod back (from the dangle) almost parallel to the water before raising it to the D-position seemed to anchor the line and prep it better... all really cool, i felt I was learning something
I guess the point is that I never really take the time to just cast. and practice. and then more. But I should - I can, and have, read the sexyloops casting guides til my eyes water, but I don't 'feel' it, i cannot picture it... i guess my brain needs to do stuff for it to click. And yes, it probably would be better to take more lessons and get taught, but it is nice to experiment and see what happens too!
iain
-
Nice one Iain :z16 seems like you're getting on fine.
I think one of the true advantages of casting instruction is having a technical expert relay exactly what you are doing as opposed to what you think you are doing. (generalizing here Iain, not talking about you specifically).
Hopefully see you out on the river this year.
Iain
-
Good stuff Iain, always worth playing about with plain old roll casts & jump rolls as the set up can be done slowly. I practice roll casts & jump rolls a lot when playing with forward cast power application.
Most important thing with Spey casting is tension, try always to feel the line against the rod tip.
Cheers
Ben
-
Hopefully see you out on the river this year.
Iain
or possible in the river.... inexplicably fell on my backside on saturday while wading out... ending up sitting in 2.5 feet of water... just exactly deep enough to fill my waders... oh well, it was quite refreshing on a warm sunny day...
see you down the riverbank at some point
cheers
iain
-
or possible in the river.... inexplicably fell on my backside on saturday while wading out... ending up sitting in 2.5 feet of water... just exactly deep enough to fill my waders... oh well, it was quite refreshing on a warm sunny day...
see you down the riverbank at some point
cheers
iain
I feel a song coming on ( to the tune of "I've been driving in my car" - Madness ) ........ I've been wading in the Don :z4
I fall in all the time Iain :wink
Cheers
Mike
-
Or possibly.................
(Night boat to Cairo)
It's just gone eight
Half past spate
On the banks of the River Don
Here comes a hatch
and me waders are patched
Ghillie gives a knowing yawn
Wade a few yards more
From the grassy shore
And its SPLOOSH in the River Don!
etc, etc,
OR
One Step Too Far Beyond
Hey you, don't watch that (pointing at Trout)
Watch this (indicating hidden rock)
This is the clumsy, slippy wader sound
The splashiest sound around
So if your trying to wade that rock
and wanna stay off your dock
Well listen Mister
You'd better start to use a staff
On the rockiest, slippiest beat
That's madness
One step too farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Iain
-
Is there no limits to your talents Iain :z4 :z4 :z4
:z18
Jim
-
Yes Jim,
catchin fish! :z4
-
Or possibly.................
genius Iain! - that made me laugh out loud!
and a chance for some sneaky publicity for aka-SKA's next gig:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203440573003032
or
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Aka-Ska/8257446885
:: Drummonds, Aberdeen, Fri 22 Apr 2011
where we will play quite a few Madness tunes. This gig is a resurrection of the legendary Dance Craze live gig film, from 1981, featuring the cream of that era's ska/2-tone tunes from Madness, Bad Manners, The Specials, The Beat, The Selecter and The Bodysnatchers. ANd all that for a fiver, buster!
cheers
iain
-
sorry, hijacking this topic again... but continuing the Madness theme...
Madness will be playing in Seaton Park, aberdeen, on Sun 31 July - headlining the Sunday night of the 2-day Northern Lights Festival... and no, it is not April Fools day
You could fish for brownies in the Don while listening for free...
tickets go on sale Monday 18 APril
Tickets released monday 18 for Northern Lights Festival in Aberdeen's Seaton Park - Madness headlining Sunday, Edwyn Collins playing too - Ticketmaster has line up for both days:
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/3600468EE8DAAB2D
-
Hmmmmm - I could go another Madness gig :cool:
H :z3
-
sorry, hijacking this topic again... but continuing the Madness theme...
It's your own topic that you're hijacking Iain :z4
Cheers
Mike