The Bar
As we all know now, because it’s all we’ve been talking about for days here at Loops, the
bar has just been raised for five weight distance casting
http://www.sexyloops.com/indexthu.shtml Just in case you’re arriving lateand haven’t
heard, our main man, Paul Arden, just broke 130 at the British Fly Casting Club last
week. Not being much of a distance hand myself, I have to admit I haven’t paid attention
to what’s been going in the competitive fly casting thing, so I decided to look into this
business to see who’s zoomin’ who out there. Turns out there’s a whole world within a
world. There are guys lining up to push the casting envelope all over the place. The Fly
Casting Forum,
http://home.att.net/~slowsnap/contest1p9.htm
displayed some recent achievements by names we all recognise around here, like Lance
Egan, Jason Borger, Steve and Tim Rajeff, and several others. What nosing around
recent casting results made clear to me was just how big that shot of Paul’s was. And as
if that wasn’t enough, Paul broke another standing BFCC record for the seven weight that
same day. http://uksf.sea-angler.org/bfcc/bfccresults.html
For decades, I’ve been flattering myself that I’m a pretty decent hand with a fly rod. I
now realise that I know jack-shit about casting. I’ve got a couple of moves all right, and
can cover most of the situations that I encounter while actually fishing, but, like many of
you who say to anyone who’ll listen, I tend to rely on “I may not be the world’s greatest
caster but, goddammit, I catch fish!”
Well, when I see stuff like young Joseph Harris’ fantastic 108’10’’ throw with the seven
weight, I realise that I’m basically full of crap. These guys take fly casting seriously,
precisely because it helps them catch MORE fish. If you’ve got the technique to throw a
trout line that kind of distance, you have a true grip of fly casting principles. Not that you
have to bust 130 with a five weight to be able to catch trout, but I want to know that I can
put a fly out exactly when and where I want it, with no excuses. And we’ve got a big
Australian saltwater trip planned for next May, which will stretch my abilities for sure.
So, I’ve promised myself to get serious this year. Der Ubercaster
http://www.sexyloops.com/flycasting/extendeddrift.shtml has promised to review my
technique when we hook up in NZ, and I promise to actually pay him for some lessons,
because, as we all know, talk’s cheap but it takes money
http://www.trumptactics.com/?linkid=200516&s_kwcid=donald%20trump|503420904 to
buy whisky.