[mickgbell]

The England Casting Federation ( a member of the International Casting Federation ) clearly states that rods used for spey casting competitions must not exceed 17' in length.
Does any one know who is making up the rules for this years competition ? See you there !
****.

 

[G Ritchie]

I believe that the rules for the Musto competition state that the rod must be less than 18 feet. The rod used by Scott to win last year was 17ft 11in and Ian Gordons rod was 17ft 9in.

 

[Willie Gunn]

I have spoken with Musto this morning and the rules have not been finalised for 2004 although they see no reason to change them from previous years.

I will post further when I hear more

 

[mickgbell]

Williegunn. I spoke to Michael Evans today who confirmed same, no longer than 18'. I must say it seems a bit daft not to conform to International standards, also what is the point of having different rules for the Overhead ?
I spoke at length to Brendan Begley recently who is organising the casting competition at the Irish gamefair in July and he made the point that unlike last years event they are going to position the casting platform favourable to the wind direction to get the best out of the casters and give a decent show to the crowd. Maybe this is something to consider for this years competition as long as its feasible ?

 

[North Island]

How long was the winning cast last year?

Which manufacturer and caster won the event?

N I

 

[Willie Gunn]

In my opinion the Musto is the Speycasting competition and the rest should fall in line with it, rather than the other way about.

16ft rods are ok for fishing but for casting you need a big stick.

The Game fair is being held at Blenheim Palace Woodstock this year and I believe the casting is on moving water, changing the direction to provide a show for the crowd might not be easy.


"Bulldozers this way if you please, mind the brickwork its been up 300 years"

 

[Willie Gunn]

How long was the winning cast last year?

Which manufacturer and caster won the event?

N I

Caster Scott Mackenzie a gillie from Inverness Scotland
using a Bruce & Walker Norway 17' 11"
and Way Yin's XLT 10/11

Scott cast 51yds to win though Ian Gordon had cast further in the heats.

 

[Gardener]

**** ,as I said on the other thread, I believe that an explicit aim of the organisers was to keep the Musto comp. 'real'. I've never had anything to do with tournament casting, but everything I've read about it, including stuff by people who do go in for it, seems to indicate that much of what goes on bears very little relation to real fishing. Double handed overhead tournament casters typically use 17' rods loaded with a T120 head and 8lb mono running line!

I suspect (though cannot say for sure) that M Evans & Musto have deliberately avoided getting drawn into conforming to any of the Casting Federation rules precisely because they want to avoid these caricatures of proper fishing outfits. It seems to me that they have succeeded in establishing a set of rules which do resemble actual fishing conditions reasonably closely - after all, if you wanted ultimate distance on the river, you might well opt for a rod of more than 17', as a number of members of this board do.

BTW, although there is a small stream (the Glyme) at Blenheim, I think you could touch the oposite bank with an 18' rod! I'm pretty sure the comp. will be on still water again. I went to the Game Fair when it was last there (I think 4 years ago) & am certainly hoping to make it there again. Would be great to meet anyone coming over for it.

 

[fredaevans]

deliberately avoided getting drawn into conforming to any of the Casting Federation r

Gardner, from what little I've been able to glean from this side of the pond, I think you're on the mark. The 'idea' was to use 'real rods and full lines.' If memory serves, some of the real top end casters (and I think this was covered in a recent thread?) can cast a football field with twitchy gear, laying out the mono running line, etc. Have the general impression the Casting Federation requirements will allow you to use darned near anything/configuration you want. Distance is king.

Would be fun to watch ... but, as a practical application, ?????

Though I haven't confirmed, I'm going to assume (as in 'make an ass out of 'u and me' ) that Steve and Way will be back to 'defend' the American's right to bring the cup back to it's 'rightful long term owners.'
:devil:

 

[Willie Gunn]

Oh dear, Fred oh Fred, the trophy is back in the hands of its rightful country. The Spey is a Scottish river it seems only fair that a Scot especialy one called Scott should hold the trophy. But being a generous nation we will let others borrow it once in a while, as long as it does not become a habbit.

 

[fredaevans]

Willie, I bet you say the same thing about the

"America's Cup."

:devil:

Well, Scott only has a 'half interest' in the cup. Way had to lend him a proper line with which to succed beyond his wildest dreams.
(Actually, Steve and Way have both told me Scott really was the best caster there, just didn't have the best gear going into the finals. The loaner 'xlt' seems to have helped.)