Hi,

A while ago a very eminent instructor suggested that if I held the rod with the reel pointing 'outwards' and therefore the rings at 90 degrees to their usual downward position it would eliminate or cut down line slap during the cast.

It seemed to work well but thinking about this recently I came to the conclusion that unless the line was directly below the rod (and I use a flexistripper) the line went from the stripping basket, around the rod butt and then up the guides which meant friction as the line went around the butt section en route to the guides.

As a result of this I tried casting with the reel pointing 'inwards' towards the body which appeared to give the flyline a more or less straight line from the stripping basket to the guides and therefore less friction.

Spent a while practicing with this configuration and found that I was definitely gaining 1 or 2 metres on my 'standard' cast....the reel position felt a bit strange but the reel didn't interfere in any way with my casting stroke.

Are there any logical reasons why I should not continue with this style ?

Nigel

If it works for you mate keep using it

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GAIA INSTRUCTOR

I twist the reel round to the side when distance casting - certainly seems to help me. One thing to be wary of though is that having the weight out to one side or the other doesn't throw off your tracking. An alternative is to just twist the rings round (assuming a 4 piece rod) and thus leave the reel where it is.

as james says you can rotate the sections of the rod a bit letting you turn the reel out but have the rings in line with the haul.

.....or.....as James9118 suggests - leave the reel in the 'conventional' position (hanging straight down) and just adjust the ring alignment ! Simple but really hadn't thought of that (duh)!?

The comment about the offset weight of the reel, perhaps affecting tracking makes sense.

Currently, apart from trying different reel positions I am trying to cast consistently with no 'swishing' noises from either the rod or line - it is challenging but makes me really throttle back on the effort I put into the casting stroke. Distance doesn't seem to be affected and may even be slightly better !?

Nigel

Twisting the top three sections so the rings are to the side is an old distance trick. It's not used to reduce line slap it is to reduce the friction of the line against the blank, especially when hauling. It's also useful on wet days to stop the line sticking to the blank. I turn the rings 45 deg towards the hauling hand. If you turn them the other way you risk hauling the line across the blank.

Mike

B in B,
That "swishing noise" is caused by an unloaded/semiloaded rod, if everything is slack free there will be a notable decrease in (white) noise and a suitable increase in efficiency.
ATB

Fly rods are designed to flex along the line of the spine. Doing anything to cause the flex to occur anywhere else, is silly and can damage the rod. Thousands of anglers are able to cast a rod efficiently, and in the manner is was designed for. I would suggest that you cansider a casting lesson (with respect), as you are trying to compensate for something you are doing that is not quite right. perhaps you have a bad habit that you need to break... (my name is not Dr. Ruth)

I agree fly rods are designed to flex. Not necessarily along the spine. Most volume manufactures align the sections for straightness, not spine. Custom builders may spine the sections, if they feel the need.

A casting lesson won't help line stick on a wet day on a rod built with snakes, just turning the rings 45 deg to one side will.

Mike

andreb,

I have taken casting lessons (please read my original post) In terms of not casting with a straight rod....I wonder why so many 'distance casters' turn the rod (and reel) to the side ?

I think the only people who worry about spines appear to be those who build their own rods! From all I have read the jury is still out on this matter with some saying 'vital' and others saying 'just make it straight - forget about the spine'.

I agree with chuckfluffer re casting lessons not having the slightest influence on flyline sticking to the rod in the rain !

Nigel


p.s. Posted by andreb. "Thousands of anglers are able to cast a rod efficiently, and in the manner is was designed for"......So no experimentation or variation allowed then ???????