Equipment - everyjonahhasawhale.com

YOUR BUTT IS TOO SMALL!

The line kicks

When a fly line is cast without a leader it will kick. The caster loses his/her control over the fly line. If you doubt it stop reading now and try for yourself. …….. Ok, now you tried, and we can continue. The energy that usually propels the fly line, and straightens the leader, is still there, but now the energy has nowhere to go but back up the line, and the line kicks. Now, what happens when you cast a line with a leader? Voila, it doesn’t kick now. The energy in the line is now transferred (bleeds) into the leader. Of course, as all this is happening the energy of the cast dissipates because of the drag.

Enter physics

Moving mass (the fly line, leader and fly) is governed by a law of physics – the law of the conservation of momentum. It is a simple one, and for our discussion a useful one. When we cast a fly line and the loop starts to form, the rod leg of the line is stationary. The top/fly leg has all the momentum, but as it passes the apex of the loop and becomes the rod leg, it loses mass, but picks up speed. This increased speed is now dissipated by the drag (speed doubles – drag quadruples). At the end of the cast there needs to be just enough energy to turn over the leader and the fly. So, that energy needs to reach the fly. All explanations and theories of fly casting must be rooted in the laws of physics. If not, they are simply wrong.

**Mr. Redfish is caught with a heavy fly**

Noticed the fly line speed up?

From the formula (p=mass * speed) it is easy to understand — when mass decreases speed must increase. You have probably noticed that the line sometimes speeds up at the end of your cast – well, pay close attention next time you cast, and you can see this happen. The energy of the cast is moved through the mass of the line, and it is obvious that the energy in the line must transfer over to the mass of the leader. That transfer works to our advantage if the mass of the leader’s butt end is about the mass of the terminal level tip of the fly line. If the diameter of the leader’s butt is approximately 70% of the level tip of the fly line, we are in the game. You noticed that I was writing about the mass of this and that, and suddenly I am using diameters. Well, the greater the diameter of the leader material the heavier it is (more mass). We have these diameters printed on the leader info sheet (if there is no such info don’t buy that leader), and the butt and fly line tip diameter are easy to measure with a micrometer (yes, I do that!). Therefore, it is now easier to use the diameters in our communication.

Angler’s leader butt is generally too small

I can guarantee that most fly anglers will use a leader where the butt diameter is too small, and does not match the tip of the fly line (70% is enough). There is simply insufficient diameter/mass in the leader butt to transfer the energy from the fly line. That is a sure way to lose energy, and then the leader does not have enough energy to turn over, and the fly lands on the top of the sorry pile of a leader. I know this well because I have been there. This is when the demon whispers into your ear – “son, that ultra-fast new fly rod is what you need.” Yes, yes, yes and you rush off and buy the ultra-fast ……. fly rod, but you still cast bird’s nests. The road mostly untaken runs through coaching and practice. It is galling that such a simple remedy exists, i.e. just use a leader with enough diameter/mass in the butt section to turn over your leader and fly. However, folks generally do not understand this principle and suffer accordingly.

As the energy rolls along the fly line to the leader, the leader is dissipating energy (as it speeds up, the drag increases). Now, by having a tapered leader you also immediately realize — as the mass decreases the speed must increase (law of conservation of momentum), and thus we have generated enough energy to turn over even a heavy fly. It’s now obvious that we can cast a small fly with a longer leader than we can cast a heavy fly. It follows that sometimes by just shortening your leader, you can now turn over that heavy fly causing you so much trouble on your last trip.

Enjoy it more

Baz with Mr. Red — **Capt. Baz is certainly enjoying this red**

There is no absolute need for you to understand the physics of fly casting to enjoy the sport. However, you certainly will enjoy your sport much better when your cast improves, when you can turn over big heavy flies by paying attention to the butt end of your leader.

Morale of the story

So, the morale of this story is always to use a leader, whose butt’s diameter is somewhere around 70% of the tip of the fly line. This will ensure optimal transfer of energy from your fly line to your leader, improving your cast, and ensuring turnover of heavier flies.

What to look for

A note on leader purchase. Leaders are sold in small packets where you will probably only see indicated the breaking strength, and perhaps some X designation (salt anglers do not care about the X denotation). However, the X designation is useful for trout fishermen for diameter, and relates to suppleness, and strength too. Armed with this new advice of matching the butt of the leader to your fly line, you should be looking for Length, Tippet Diameter, Butt Diameter, and Break Strength. If no such information is divulged, do not buy the leader. (see picture below)

English consultant: My good retired neighbor Joe

Must big flies be so heavy? – Can the mass of a big fly be decreased?

There are two properties to consider before casting any fly. First, the weight of the fly, and secondly, the air resistance (drag) of the fly. It took me a while to realize the weight of the fly is the driver/determinant of the choices of which line and rod that we should use. I have neither caught a fish that took my fly because it was so happy with the NRX rod I was using, nor has any fish shown particular excitement, one way or another, when I use this or that Amplitude line. Of course, it is better to have good equipment, but if you can’t cast the fly, the game is over. So, when you mull this over, I hope you will realize that the fly to use for the particular species you are going for is the first determinant of the tackle.

Let’s consider the weight of the fly. The heavier a fly gets the meatier fly lines you need to cast it. The mantra is — mass moves mass as simple as that, and everyone understands this simple truism. However, one of the most frequent questions I get here (Florida Panhandle) is, “Why can’t I cast that Clouser with my eight weight?” Then I answer, “Well, can I try?” Then do and find that this Clouser can’t be cast with the client’s eight weight, using the standard casting technique. The problem is that most casters haven’t mastered the casting technique needed to cast heavy rigs.

I have three possible solutions to this situation. First, I recommend a lighter Clouser for that rod size (less mass in fly). Secondly, I recommend a heavier line/rod combo for that specific Clouser (more mass in line). It is obvious — we must match the mass of a fly with the mass of the line. Thirdly, I can teach the Belgian cast. But guess what the clients do? They go and buy more gear of course. I know, I did the same until I learned to cast properly. However, you can’t buy a cast, see https://everyjonahhasawhale.com/?p=888

You can’t buy a cast

In the previous blog I described the technique (Belgian cast) used to cast heavy flies https://everyjonahhasawhale.com/?p=3188.

To catch a jack crevalle (and land a red)

Now, consider the drag (air resistance) of a fly. It is a given that the drag will increase with the fly’s size. We can counter that only to a certain extent. We can increase the speed of the fly, however, but when the fly’s speed is doubled its drag will then quadruple.

You can see the trouble mounting. Big and heavy flies just aren’t easy to cast. That’s just simple physics, something which is immutable. Big fish love big flies – that is one of our mantras, too. So, we really can’t do much about the drag (except fishing at high altitudes). That leaves only the weight to be considered.

This is Bob’s Banger. It is a great fly, and I love it. The question is — can we decrease its mass? The Banger weighs 0.073oz or 2.08gr. Where is that mass, and do we need all of it? The mass is located in the long shank onto which the fly is built. The long shank has no other function. Because of the long lever the shank length is a disadvantage when fighting fish. Now the bulb should come on!

Plastic Tube - popper built on it — **Plastic Tube – popper built on it**

We can easily build the same fly on a light plastic tube. Tube flies are very simple to tie, and I find them easier to deal with. What about the hook? We use so called tube hooks for the job. Tube hooks have short shanks (advantageous), and we simply thread the leader through the tube and tie onto the hook. Then we pull the eye of the hook into the rear end of the fly where we sometimes have a piece of silicone tube (hook holder) snugly securing the hook in place.

Identical Bangers — **The tube fly assembled – ready to go**

It is not important to secure the hook, and the tube usually comes loose when you are fighting fish, and interestingly, rides up the leader. Thus, tube flies seem to be more durable. Furthermore, they don’t ever rust.

The long shank edition weighs in at 0.073oz, whereas the tube version weighs 0.044oz. In grams 2.085 vs. 1.24.

So, the answer to the first question — “Must big flies be so heavy?” — is equivocally no.

The answer to the second question — “Can the mass of a big fly be decreased?” — is yes.

I rest my case.

Tube flies have been around for a long time. They are extensively used in salmon fishing. I came across them in the salmon rivers of Iceland 30 years ago. Of course, the saltwater tubes are used here in the States, but they are not as well known as they should be.

English consultant: My good retired neighbor Joe

May 22, 2020/3 Comments/by Jonas Magnusson

SWITCH RODS IN THE SALT

Let’s just get it off our chests. Most casters are terrible in the wind.

Mostly because they do not have to be that sharp. Most fly fishermen are what we can call trouters. I was one myself. The long casts are not really necessary so why bother. Hence fly fishermen trying the salt for the first time will have a very hard time in the wind and cannot get the line out more than say 50 feet. People generally do not practice (for a variety of reasons) which certainly would cure many casting ills.

Captain Baz (http://www.gulfbreezeguideservice.com) has a client that is small and thin and he was fitted out with a stiff brute of a rod that he could not load/bend and it proved to be very hard for us to load/bend it. Naturally, the casts were poor and shortish. It got me looking for alternate solutions. I got a 10’4” rod 6 weight Switch rod (still short enough to land a fish from a boat). I played with it and could get some nice casts overhead with an overhead #8 weight shooting head type line (a brick on a string really). With this setup, very long casts are a breeze. Two-handed rods are rated for Spey lines that are much heavier than the corresponding number for overhead lines thus one needs to go 2-3 numbers higher with an overhead line on a switch rod.

I use a horizontal backcast then up and over vertically (oval cast, Gebertsroither´s cast, Belgian cast) in a continuous motion. Baz’s client tried it and lo and behold he was double handing it with casts 60-80′ no problem. Several other and some rank beginners have tried, and my conclusion is that I can teach just about anyone to cast over 60′ with this technique in one hour. Let’s face it most casters will not practice getting their casts one-handed up to the 100′ wall. Short casts and saltwater are mutually exclusive – with this setup, the odds are much better and fly fishermen can start to enjoy saltwater fly fishing and catch fish instead of the imaginary saltwater fly fishing.

Second scenario.

Bad dominant shoulder. Lots of folks will get problems from arthritic and otherwise damaged shoulders. It is a very common ailment. Lifting of the arm is painful and motion is limited. We get around that by holding the rod with the dominant hand on top of the handle (above the reel). The power is provided by the non-dominant hand holding the rod below the reel. The dominant hand is merely a fulcrum or a pivot point. The movements are much easier on the shoulders this way. It is fairly simple to cast from both shoulders with the shoulder hand on top making it easy to deal with crosswinds.

Naming

These rods are marketed as Switch rods meaning you can cast them with one hand, or you can use a two handed technique i.e. switch from one-handed to two-handed. They are ok to cast one-handed up to 11´ if longer it becomes difficult. The optimal length is from 9-11´. If you plan to use one from a boat, go short. It will be easier to land the fish. Two-handed rods are often called Spey rods which is really a casting technique. It much clearer to just call them one-handed, or two-handed rods.

Up-locking reel seat and space for lower hand

Here is a link to the Spey line weights and # rating. The same link takes you to the overhead line weights and # ratings.

http://www.affta.org/member-services/industry-standards/

October 8, 2016/0 Comments/by Jonas Magnusson

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