[SpeyFitter]

I am a bit curious, just because I am a curious creature, as to how you judge how much line you can cast.

As far as I understand the distance you can cast (not that distance (D) is important in catching fish neccessarily, although we have a tool in our hands that can cast prodiguous distances if used properly, why not take advantage of it once and a while right?) is measured as:

D = Leader length + Plus fly line outside the rod tip length + length of rod to your reel

So if I had the belly of my Mastery Tri tip (which is about 65 feet) at the point where the rear taper is just outisde the rod tip I would have (floating line/long leader) 15 feet of leader, 65 feet of belly, plus about 13 feet to the reel on my 14 foot rod (say the bottom handle is about 1 foot) which equals = 93 feet.

At the same time, and I'm just using this as an example, if you look at the video of Kush doing the reverse snake roll on Dana's site it says in the last paragraph it says: "keep in mind here that he is picking up over 100 ft of line."

Now is that line to the reel, or is that line outside the rod tip?

Also, when they were doing the casting championships back in England which Steve Choate and Way Yin performed well in as we all know, does anyone know the criteria for how distance was gone about being measured there? Was it the above formula, or line outside the rod tip? Or was it distance cast from where the caster was standing?

I used to always get so pissed off at myself when I was casting and I was at the point where my rear taper is just getting to the point of just being outside my rod tip, but gosh, with the D= formula which I put up there, I'm not feeling so bad. I always think "well I only have 65 feet out," but with that extra 28 feet making it a 93 foot cast, according to this formula, I'm feeling better about my casting already, LOL. And when I get warmed up I'm around another 10 or 15 feet.

 

[NrthFrk16]

Scott-
I wouldn't go as far as to say that the length of your rod should be added into the total distance of your cast...I guess it is sort of like saying the distance I threw a ball should be measured from my shoulder.

But if it gives you more confidence in your casting ability more power to 'ya...sort of like how I count the amount of line that 'slips' out my rod as I lift it to make my initial mend as part of my total casting distance.

...which can be as much as 15' if I really need to make myself feel good about my casting that day.

 

[fredaevans]

Personally, I "measure" my casts from rod tip to the end

of the leader. Or what's out side the rod tip. As an example 'ego' would like to think my 'sink tip system' of 60' of heavy DT floating line plus (either a) 15' or 26' head plus 4-6 foot of leader would add up to a cast of 80-90'ish feet. But if 15' of the line and a couple of feet wrapped on the spool were subtracted, the "reel" cast , as far as fishing is concerned, is only about 60 to 70 feet out in the water.

Malcom/Willie: How were the Spey Champs line measured? Winning cast was 150' (line plus 20 foot of leader). Was that all out of the rod tip or did it include the line inside the rod to the reel?

fae

 

[watersprite]

Oh happy days...

Haven't even left the house this morning yet my casting distance just improved 10' to 12' (the length of the leaders). Don't feel quite so anemic now.

ws

 

[King Salmon]

How far one casts is measured by the distance from the point where the fly lands to your foot which is closest to the fly. Its that simple!

It doesnt matter what the length of the leader is, or how many feet of line are beyond the rod tip. Think about it for a minute. One could make a cast with 60 feet of line beyond the rod tip with a 15 foot leader. The total line plus leader would be 75 feet. When this 75 feet of line and leader are cast and the fly lands 50 feet from the casters foot we call this a 50 foot cast. Its only a 75 foot cast when the line and leader are perfectly laid out in a straight line with no wrinkles. In this case the fly landed 75 feet from the caster.

 

[sinktip]

Great question! Perhaps meaningless in the greater equation of the universe but I too want to know. I guess from my point of view, I always included the rod length into the total. This is not to artificially bump the total but rather to best approximate true distance. Since I am less concerned with casting than I am fishing, I approach it as how far can I fish.

Case in point. I fish the Snake river for a week every fall. There is one particular run there that has two distinct holding areas. One is in close to some large structure no more than 50' out. The other is on a fast water seam 100-105' out from the deepest wade. How do I know this? 15' rod + 15' leader + 67' of belly + 5-8' of shooting. This only works if it is a good cast with perfect layout. Of course to actually fish it and not just reach it, you need to shoot additional line to compensate for the mend. Depending on my karma that day, sometimes I can reach it and fish it well, others days the fish are safe from anything more than a rapidly swinging offering.

I guess it is sort of like saying the distance I threw a ball should be measured from my shoulder.

Less I'm wrong, this is how they do it in football.

Still would like to know how the experts measure though.

 

[Whiskey Dick]

I think that at all the casting contests i have seen in the past they measure from where you stand which means that includes the length of the rod. I do believe that is the way they fix the distance cast and do include the length of the leader. I could be wrong as it has been a while. Talking of casting when i was at the Denver Show i had the great pleasure of meeting Mel Krieger and Joan Wulff, in my humble opinon two of the greats in fly casting. Two very nice people and very free with casting advice, It was a pleasure to meet and talk with them,tight lines,brian:devil:

 

[GraciesDad]

No kidding???

I too gained 13' on my casts and the rod is still in the tube...no...seriously, that just made my first year of spey casting...I was feeling kind downhearted that after 5 months of fishing with my long rod, I was only able to consistantly reach 85'...maybe I'm doing something right after all...my wife will be so pleased (then again, maybe not - but what does she know, anyway?)...

Interesting discussion...I just love this bulletin board!....

 

[watersprite]

Holy wow and gee whiz

If measured to the point of where you are standing, then I just gained another 14'. I think I may stay home a little while longer and see if these numbers improve even more.:chuckle:

I'm beginning to feel like a bonafide casting machine...

ws

 

[nevada caster]

When you throw the discus, shot put, etc, the measurement is relative to your feet, not your arm. Your arm could extend 3 feet or more beyond the measuring point. I beleive that there is also a competition where they throw a spear with the aid of a sling. Again the positon of the feet is important, not where the sling extends. It is easy to establish where your feet are, difficult to establish where the rod tip, arm, sling, or whatever, is.
Also when your fishing, you wade as deep as you dare. How far out you can fish beyond that distance (or depth) includes the rod length.

 

[Nooksack Mac]

When you consider that any form of fly casting involves pushing a string through the air, we should be proud of 'em all.
We create the cast with various muscle groups and bone structure, including two arms and, usually, some body lean. The cast should be considered to begin in the center of the body. Since I can't take a precise measurement off my peritoneum, as a practical substitute let's say the cast begins at a point midway between the feet when standing upright.
Since the line moves forward and aft of this point, it seems obvious that the body is the true beginning point, not the rodtip, and the length of the rod is irrelevant.
I include the length of a floating line's leader, since I'm attempting to straighten it out, and to disregard the 4-6' leader coming off a sinktip, since I'm happy to have it land in a heap.
I feel both humble and proud to have contributed to the most important philosophical discourse since medieval scholars debated the number of angels that can fit on a pinhead.

 

[watersprite]

...just feeding fuel to the fire, anticipating the winter runs to come. And as the air begins to cool and the leaves start to turn a smile comes to my face. Soon...

ws

 

[fredaevans]

"NC," great point on why the length of the rod

should be considered. Whether the line is in the guides or no, the rod is still out in front of you adding 'distance on the drift' from reel to fly.
Darn good point.

Someone go back and edit my tip 'chuck n ducks' by 14-15 feet.

 

[SpeyFitter]

So what is the consensus?

Have we all agreed upon a standard for measuring our cast lengthes for the sake of continuity/understanding when talking about various rods/combos as well as reading reviews?

Is it distance from where the person is standing, or distance from the rod tip?

Scott

 

[fredaevans]

.02 cents only.

From the reel, as the rod length counts.
fae