I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this but here goes.

Having read various threads on cane rods I decided to dip a toe in the water myself and after a bit of research I acquired an 8ft Scottie Featherweight #4/5.

On my first trip to the river with it I experienced difficulty getting the leader to turnover properly but put this down to a tricky wind and using a furled leader for the first time. However the next trip proved no better despite more favourable conditions. Since then I have tried every combination possible of DT,WF #4 and #5 lines with either tapered or furled leaders to no avail - after the fly line has extended on delivery the leader seems to lose energy and collapse before full extension has been achieved

I believe I have adjusted my casting cadence to suit the rod's characteristics The flyline flies out nicely.

Recently I retrieved from the loft an old 8ft 4/5 carbon rod I bought in the early '80s which I recall had a middlish easy action. I took both rods on my next visit to the river and started off with the Scottie - same old turnover woes!

I took the reel off the Scottie and put it on the old carbon rod and Ping!.......out goes the line and perfect turnover achieved on the first and all subsequent casts!

What's going here fellas? Over to you experts........

TIA

Nicko

Are you sure you have the right weight line for the rod. You may wish to try one more weight up or even a # 7. Cane requires a slower casting action which you seem aware of and the only other thing I can think of is the join between the line and the leader. Is it 'hinging' at this point?
Rod.

I had a similar problem switching to cane but as a newbie to cane this is only a guess: you might try a shorter stroke (still slow) - the rods flex so much compared to even a medium action graphite. Also I think you still need a fairly crisp stop in both forward and back cast, although they are so relaxing it feels right to take it easy.

Nicko,

I have an 8ft.6in three piece cane fly rod - it's probably a #5/6 weight now when I change from using the carbon rod, to the old cane rod, I make the same mistake your making!!! You have a heavy right hand on the forward cast! Oh yes you do!! Now this will work if you practise what I'm about to tell you! Now I'm not the most technical so I'll just try to explain it in easy to follow English.

The heavier longer cane rods are slow to flex on the back-cast, but that's no problem for old timers like us; and the timing is OK so the line follows through nicely on the forward motion (cast) but the leader is just behind the line - the line drops to the water, but the leader has not folded over in front of it? YES?

Here's your problem! Your follow through with the rod is too quick and your dropping the tip too soon! THE CURE! On the forward cast DO NOT do as you would with a carbon rod by following through immediately! Keep the tip of the cane rod high up for longer on the forward motion this action stops the cane tip from quivering and spoiling the leader turn over, just slow the follow through on the forward motion and don't allow the rod tip to drop too soon! Give it a try - just to see if the leader and tippet turns over for you! It takes a little practise to stop your self going forward while the flex is behind the line coming forward! You wont get this action on the shorter cane rods or most of the modern ones! I hope you can follow my explanation?

Slow on the back cast you need to make it last, then easy on the follow through to get the leader so to do!

I'm no expert! But it works every time for me! Well, as long as I remember not to follow through too soon on the forward cast.

Regards

Mostyn

Nicely explained Mostyn.

I find that as long as I slow everything down cane casts beautifully.

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That wouldn't happen with a Pridex

My Featherweight is certainly a #5 not a #4/5 and it is 8ft 6in not 8ft. Has the tip been broken in the past? Try a #5 line with this leader set up and see if that fixes things. It might be helpful for you to watch the line all the time whilst casting for a while until you have adjusted your casting speed. That is, turn your self so you can watch the back cast as well as the forward cast. Your own eyes will correct you better than anything else (if any correction is needed).

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Spot on! Assuming all is well with the rod and line combination...

I'm not sure that he has everything right in that department.

richard

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Who resides on the right bank of the Derbyshire Wye and is lulled to sleep each night by the mutterings of a weir, dreaming that "When the rivers and their inhabitants come first, we ALL win..."

Thanks for the replies chaps.

I am sure the #5 line is correct for the rod as this loads the rod and casts nicely. There is no hingeing effect at the join with the leader.

Richard - thanks for the link, my leader set up largely conforms with your recommendations and as I said before works well with a carbon rod. By the way its definitely a #4/5 8ft Scottie coz its says so on it Both sections are the same length so it hasn't been broken.

Mostyn - thanks, this makes a lot of sense, I will have to try it out. I'll let you know how I get on.............

Once again thanks to all for taking the time to help out.

Nicko

I had a really weird experience with Terenzio's silk leaders and my Marshall 206 Garrison.
At first I really liked them, but then I started to experience almost exactly what you describe. The line would unroll, but at the the loop to loop, it would just collapse, with the leader and tippet pointing back the other way. More force, less force, I couldn't work out why it wasn't doing this at the start of the day. I swapped back to a mono tapered leader, and the turnover problem disappeared immediately. I never went back to using the silk leader and gave them all away. I've got some of MrTrout's furled leaders - a very kind gift, and I will try these again this season.
Perhaps with the graphite rods, the quicker recovery makes it a non-issue, however with a cane (the slower ones anyway), the slower action of the tip and the weight of the leader cause energy transfer problems. Have you tried a shorter 3' furled leader or a mono tapered leader to see if it still has the problems?

S