What follows is my own personal understanding of FFF style and other terminology. Once a caster has a system of analysis, made possible through labeling and defining the various elements of a cast in detail, it is then possible to fine tune a cast or to experiment by making adjustment in specific areas. One may also then isolate and concentrate on various individual component parts of a cast to ensure they are as correct as possible. One is also able to spot and describe faults quickly. The system may also be used to highlight and describe differences in casting styles.
I personally find it interesting how the FFF style analysis and labeling of mechanics and concepts of fly-casting permeates completely into ones system of teaching once you start to use it. It enhances understanding and becomes a valuable tool.
The following is my personal understanding of it, as used by myself and Paddy McDonnell to instruct, to take Instructors exams, and to analyse casting including each other’s casting. Some people will have a slightly different interpretation of terminology and may describe something slightly differently. My understanding of it as described here is what I used for all Instructor's exams that I have taken. Some of it is particular to describing the style I use.
The Casting cycle: A completed backward and forward cast is one casting cycle. There are two casting strokes in a casting cycle, a back casting stroke, and a forward casting stroke. They are usually separated by a pause.
In continuous motion casting they are merged together. Merged by some relaxed lifting drift and then forward lead. In continuous motion Spey casting by circling up behind.
Overhead casting: A cast made by unrolling a loop of line backward and forward over the rod tip which unrolls and extends out fully in the air behind and in front of the angler.
Sometimes referred to as overhand casting in Scandinavian countries. Other casts such as Jump roll and Spey casts use loops of line placed under the rod tip rather than over the rod tip, they also rely on water resistance from the end of the line having contact with the water surface to provide the necessary resistance to load the rod.
A simple definition of an overhead cast: An overhead cast may normally be described in simple terms as an acceleration to a stop moving backwards. A pause to allow the line to unroll out behind. Then an acceleration to a stop moving forward.
In the continuous motion casting style I use the normal pause space is taken up by continued relaxed movement along the casting incline.
A Loop: A loop describes the shape of the line when it is unrolling in front or behind. A loop has a top leg and a bottom leg and a rounded bend or pointed V where it is unrolling joining the top and bottom leg.
Note: Narrow loops are more efficient as they have less air resistance. The loop should also unroll over itself without tangling in what is termed a parallel loop. It should not run into itself or cross over itself, (the top leg does not run into the bottom leg). It should not go askew; the top leg also does not skew off to one side or the other.
A Parallel loop – when the top leg of a loop is unrolling out over the bottom leg without touching, crossing over, tangling / tailing, collapsing in a pile of squiggles or skewing off to the left or right. The bottom leg should not have an angle or wedge shape but should be straight. It looks like two straight parallel lines joined in front by the curve or half circle of the leading edge. The distance between the top leg and the bottom leg is the width of the parallel loop.
A Tailing Loop: When the top leg of the loop of line, or the leader, crosses over and touches or catches on the bottom leg of the loop of line or leader. A cause of wind knots in the leader, fly sticking in the line. The line effectively runs into itself. Caused by not making a smooth acceleration and so creating a concave motion of the rod tip by pushing the rod ahead of line momentum causing the tip to dip down and then spring up again.
Stroke: The stroke is the length the rod hand, or the top hand on a double-handed rod travels either backwards from the start of a back cast to the end of the back cast. Or forwards from the start of the forward cast to the finish of the forward cast, including drift or lead / loading move. Stroke length is related to the amount of line out, longer lines need a longer stroke length. Upper body rotation or weight shift contribute to stroke length, it is not just hand movement in relation to the casters arm movement but overall hand movement influenced by the entire movement of the body.
Arc: The arc is the angle the rod tip travels from the start of a back cast or a forward cast to the finish of the acceleration and stop, including drift and loading move / lead from rod starting point to the rod stopping point. However not the relaxed lowering of the rod in front as the loop unrolls and sets down.
An Acceleration to a stop: A casting stroke is an acceleration to a stop. An acceleration means that the stroke is always steadily and smoothly increasing in speed until the stop at the end of the stroke. At the end of the stroke the fastest part of the acceleration may occur in the power snap or fulcrum point pivot.
Note: The flexible nature of a rod means it requires a progressively increased loading or acceleration. The rod cannot start off from nothing to a full speed power snap instantly nor should it be suddenly pushed ahead of possible line momentum. This simply shocks the rod blank and it does not work. The rod blank can attain great speed very, very quickly, but not instantly. An acceleration into full speed is required and this is also why drift and lead is so important.
Power Arc / Power Snap: The angle the rod tip moves during the final fastest part of the casting stroke. The last and fastest part of the casting stroke up to the stop when most speed and power is applied. The power arc / power snap made after some prior acceleration, rod loading and line momentum smoothly leading up to this position. This is usually during the final wrist break / wrist cocking motion on a single handed rod, which is the fulcrum point pivot. Or the execution of the fulcrum point pivot on a two handed rod There may be a narrow or wide power arc used.
A Fulcrum Point Pivot, (F.P.P. for short): A pivot / angle change of the rod butt during which the top part of the rod butt moves in opposite direction to the bottom of the butt or reel seat at the same time creating a fulcrum point along the butt of the rod at a position above the reel. The F.P.P. ends in a solid stop, with wrist(s) and forearm(s) “locking” into position momentarily. The purpose of the fulcrum point pivot is to load the rod deeply and quickly over a short movement by compressing the rod blank into a deeper deflection or curve. It is used on top of and after some prior rod loading, line tautness and line momentum generated from other types of leverage and body movement. The other types of leverage are also continued so there is compound effect of all the types of leverage occurring simultaneously.
A Fulcrum: A fulcrum is the point around which a lever rotates. It is the point beyond which a cantilever extends into space, its other end anchored on the opposite side of the fulcrum. The top hand is normally the fulcrum on a double-handed rod and it is kept as the fulcrum in this style.
A Moving fulcrum: While the top hand is the fulcrum on a double-handed rod when it is moved backward and forward during a casting stroke to better enable the changing of the angle of the rod butt by the bottom hand, and to allow stroke length, it then becomes a moving fulcrum. Providing greater movement of the bottom hand keeps the top hand as the fulcrum. This moving fulcrum along with the bottom hand moving in an opposite direction will create another visual axis or fulcrum point or pivotal point along the butt of the rod, normally at a position between the reel and the top hand.
The fulcrum point: On a single-handed rod, the fulcrum point or pivotal point is usually positioned along the butt just above the reel, at about the caster’s ring finger with handshake grip and thumb on top being used. The real epicenter of the leverage is actually at the centre of the casters wrist and he is also moving his forearm.
The fulcrum point pivotal position on a double handed rod butt will vary slightly depending on the length of line being cast and the balance of power used between the two hands. However it is usually positioned approximately mid way between the two hands.
Convex: A domed shape, or an angle greater than 180 degrees. When overhead casting, if a convex path of the rod tip is made during the forward cast, it is a cause of more open loops.
When Spey casting a convex path of the rod tip on the sweep is a mistake and will dump an excessive amount of line on the water behind.
Concave: A dished shape, or an angle of less than 180 degrees. When overhead casting if a concave path of the rod tip is made during the forward cast, it is a cause of tailing loops. This will be a problem if too much power is applied too abruptly during the forward stroke , or too early in the forward stroke.
An overall concave rod tip tracking path during the sweep in absolutely necessary for forming a D loop when Spey casting.
A Straight Line Path: A straight line path is in relation to the rod tip or top eye of the rod. There are two planes in which the straight line path of the rod tip should occur. When the rod tip maintains a straight line path during a casting stroke in both the vertical and horizontal planes this makes the most efficient fly-casting stroke possible.
Note: Some people get confused between the straight line paths (S.L.P. for short) vertically and horizontally. Put very simply, any upwards or downwards movement of the rod tip during a casting stroke is vertical movement, and any sidewards movement of the rod tip out of plane to the left or right during a casting stroke is horizontal movement. Explained further below.
As the rod is flexible and tapered, it allows the rod tip to deflect downwards as the rod loads from the weight and resistance of the fly line, if loading is applied smoothly and progressively as an acceleration the rod tip will then travel in a straight line backward or forward as rod loading and line momentum occurs. The more weight of the line outside the rod tip, the lower the rod tip will deflect, the lower the straight line path in the vertical plane will be formed.
The angler also ensures that 180 degree rod tracking occurs as the rod moves back and forth along the chosen direction or rod plane and that it does not curve in behind or in front. It is as if his hand was sliding back and forth along a curtain rail. This is the horizontal straight line path or rod tracking.
As I consider this to be one of the most important points in fly-casting there is a little further explanation -
The straight line path in the vertical plane will also be the trajectory used for the cast. If the rod tip is maintaining the same level along the chosen line of trajectory on the way forward or backward then it is not deviating up or down vertically it is therefore maintaining a straight line path. This is the straight line path in the vertical plane. To keep the rod tip travelling in a straight line path in the vertical plane, (not moving up or down when looking from the side at the rod tip path), a pure acceleration is required. A smooth overall acceleration is important and power must be applied smoothly over the stroke using the proper amount at the appropriate place. Power is applied progressively and smoothly in conjunction with the acceleration. There are no sudden or erratic bursts or snatches. The rod tip travels in a straight line due to the flex of the rod and loading from the weight of the fly line deflecting the rod into a curve. More power and speed is applied at the end of the stroke during the controlled wrist break movement or on a double handed rod the fulcrum pivot. At the very end of the stroke the rod tip does dip out of the vertical straight line path slightly as it is stopped, this allows the fly line to pass over it and forms a narrow loop. How far the rod tip deflects down out of the straight line path in the vertical plane determines loop width.
Rod tracking must also be kept to the 180 degree principle and the rod tip not allowed to deviate off the chosen plane horizontally, (curving to the left or right looking down on the cast from above or looking from directly in front in line with the chosen plane). If it was moving to the left or right looking from directly in front then it is deviating out of the straight line path in the horizontal plane. A perfect straight line with the back cast 180 degrees opposite the forward cast in whatever direction or plane the caster is using is desirable when overhead casting. As the angler’s arm is flexible, when using a long stroke and upper body rotation he can still keep his hand moving back and forth in a straight line, (as if it was sliding along a curtain rail).
This straight line path delivery is also necessary on the final delivery of a Spey cast and the rod should not curve in to the left or right in front. As the angler extends a casting stroke with longer lengths of line it is harder to keep to the straight line path in the horizontal plane but extremely important to do so for maximum efficiency.
Rod Tip path: In an overhead cast the rod tip path controls the size of the loops either in front or behind during a cast. If the acceleration is not increased and stroke length remains unchanged for a fixed length of line out, then how far the angler allows or takes the rod tip down out of the normal vertical straight line path in front or behind will influence the loop size. The lower the rod tip path from the correct vertical straight line path then the wider the loop formed. The angler maintains the same stroke length and does not increase acceleration, if anything acceleration may be slightly decreased. He can lower the rod tip a little or a lot. He can lower it in the forward stroke only or the back stroke only or on both strokes. He can lower it less behind and more in front or vice versa. The angler is able to control the width of the loop where he wants to at all times.
Compensating: When there is an inherent fault in the casting stroke, to make the cast work anyway the person will then have made an adjustment in another area in order to compensate for the fault. However once the inherent fault is corrected, then the area where the compensation for the original fault is being applied will now become apparent, and will now be a fault in itself. As the compensation is now not necessary, it now appears as an unnecessary and obvious over compensation. Although it was used previously to make the cast work, with improved technique it will now also need adjustment or elimination.
Smoothness: Smoothness is everything, not often thought of as fly-casting terminology however it was very strongly emphasized to me during the learning process as one of the most important aspects of good fly-casting. Smooth, steady, flowing fly-casting occurs when all the component parts are seamlessly blended together - in their proper sequence of course. Also some parts will be occurring simultaneously, steadily and smoothly and are spread out in timing and execution so that often the compound effect of simultaneous or overlapping differing rod loading movements is achieved.
Power application: How the power is applied. Power should be applied very smoothly and steadily, not erratically or hesitatingly. Power application should be very controlled and most usually coincides with the acceleration. Overkill from excessive and unnecessary use of power is a big problem with some on both single and double-handed rods. In overhead casting most power is applied over the second half of the stroke after the initial loading move has been made.
In the Five Essentials, the use of the term power really means acceleration, which is a little confusing.
The Clock Face: A clock face is so familiar to most people that it is often used as a reference point to describe rod movements during a casting cycle. Nine o’clock is directly in front of the caster and three o’clock directly behind. Twelve would be straight up. Most basic overhead casts with a single handed rod would start at 8.30 and rise smoothly to 11 when more speed and power is then applied through to a sudden stop at 12.30 or 1 and so on.
Stance: Stance is the position the feet are placed in. A closed stance usually has the feet close together often with the right foot slightly forward. An open stance usually has the feet further apart with the right foot slightly further back than the left foot. An open stance allows for more weight shift or weight transfer and upper body rotation and is used for longer stroke casts.
In double-handed casting the angler is usually facing the final delivery direction. Right or left foot may be slightly forward. Right foot forward for Spey casting on the right hand side is what almost all Scottish casters normally use.
Grip: The grip used most in fly-casting is called a handshake grip with thumb on top. The wrist stays in line with the forearm. Other grips are used, most notably in Europe the forefinger up style of Hans Gebetsroither.
Creep: Creep is a serious casting fault. Creep is moving the rod tip forward early as the line is still unrolling behind. The rod is not loaded and it wastes rod arc space and available stroke length for the forward cast.
Rod Loading: The deflection into a bend of the rod. Usually due to the resistance or pull or mass of the fly line acting on the rod blank during an acceleration chang9ng the position and angle of the rod. Also from line momentum from the previous casting stroke.
Rod Unloading: The rod straightening / unflexing after the stop.
The Stop / Sudden stop / Abrupt Stop / Sharp Stop: For efficient casting it is necessary to bring the rod to a sharp or sudden stop at the end of the stroke / angle change. This allows the rod to unload. The fulcrum pivot angle change of the rod ends with a sudden stop.
Immediate Relax: Immediately after the sudden stop, the caster eases off pressure on the grip of the rod totally so that the rod is held only lightly in the hand(s). This is done to aid a quick recovery of the rod blank and dampen further rod oscillations.
Drift: With longer lengths of line, to increase the stroke length to suit the length of line being cast, and to provide a longer forward stroke. To allow more of a forward loading move to generate prior loading and line momentum, it is necessary to start the forward stroke from a position further back than normal. To do this drift is used after the back cast has been made. After the back cast when the grip is relaxed, the rod may be drifted backwards or backwards and upwards slowly and steadily as the unrolling loop of line rolls out. This is what allows the extra stroke length and lead into the forward cast.
Lead: The same as a loading move, the opposite to drift, when the rod is moved forward at the start of the forward casting stroke in a relaxed manner which blends into an overall acceleration. Sometimes referred to as slide, i.e. to slide into the forward cast or to lead into the forward cast. It causes prior loading of the rod before the deepest loading of the fulcrum pivot is made.
Wrist, elbow and shoulder pivots: There are three pivots possible with the human arm, a wrist pivot, an elbow pivot and a shoulder pivot. Wrist elbow and shoulder pivots may be used in both forward or sideways positions and any blend. When they are then used conjunction with upper body rotation they allow an efficient, well balanced casting stroke to be made while maintaining a straight line path, or a straight line incline.
Upper Body Rotation: Upper body rotation is where the casting side shoulder is moved smoothly back and forth to increase stroke length and to balance the stroke to a comfortable position for the angler. This is used for both overhead and Spey casts. It is an essential element of Spey casting. It is also a fundamental aspect of long stroke style casting.
Weight Shift / Weight Transfer: When we use upper body rotation there is slight weight shift. Upper body rotation may also be combined with more deliberate weight shift or weight transfer. This will involve some extra upper body movement with the caster gliding or sliding back and forth. The whole upper body moves back slightly on the back stroke and then forward on the forward stroke. This is a weight shift or weight transfer and as the angler moves back and forth he changes his centre of gravity much more significantly from the front to the back leg and vice versa. The amount of weight shift used depends somewhat on the stance used also and how far apart the feet are. Usually the feet are not far apart and not too much is used but stance is often adjusted and therefore distance of weight transfer increased for longer casts. Small amounts are referred to as weight shift, larger amounts as weight transfer.
Weight shift / transfer is an essential element of distance casting and Spey casting. It allows the angler to Walk into the cast of final delivery putting his full body weight into generating line momentum.
A Plane: A plane is a flat or level surface tilted to one side. If any two points on the surface are taken the straight line joining them will lie entirely on the surface.
Rod plane: An imaginary flat or level surface tilted to the exact same angle as the rod along direction of the casting stroke. It is effectively the same as the horizontal straight line path. Staying in plane means keeping rod tracking to the 180 degree principle, the back cast is directly opposite to the forward cast. Keeping all lateral movement in a straight line path. It is as if the rod was attached to a hoop sliding along a curtain rail. Doing so in a suitable direction and trajectory that will allow you to place the fly where you want it.
Keeping in plane means avoiding any circling or cutting across with the rod tip either behind or in front. Thereby moving the rod tip out of a straight line path horizontally. There are many planes and angles in which a line can be cast or the rod held, however staying in whichever plane you have chosen is essential for maximum efficiency. Making the forward cast 180 degrees opposite the back cast ensures the cast is made on the same plane.
Line plane or line level: The more opposite in height to the forward casting trajectory the line is then the better the line stays in plane. If it drops low behind some of the energy of the forward cast is used to lift it upwards again.
A longer length of fly line drops behind with gravity especially if a dead pause space is made. However in continuous motion casting line management behind is practiced to counteract the effects of gravity.
In continuous motion overhead casting the caster continues with a rising shoulder pivot after the stop and immediate relax has been made with the forearm and wrist pivots.
The rising shoulder pivot as the back stroke fulcrum pivot and stop is made ensuring that the rod tip was rising when it turned over. This is essential to create a loop in the right incline or rising trajectory behind. If a dead stop pause was made and the arm stopped rising, as the line unrolls out behind, the part of the line between the rod tip and the unrolling loop starts to sag with gravity as this part of the line has stopped. This sagging line starts to open the loop and the more open loop is less dynamic and does not pull as tautly on the line so it then starts to sag more. The loop loses speed also.
However if the rod tip is raised it counteracts the sag and prevents the loop from losing its dynamics and speed. A stitch in time saves nine. The line stays much higher behind than it would otherwise.
The nuisance value involved in the line dropping and hitting fences, scrub, grass, rocks or breaking / damaging hooks on rocks is great.
With continuous motion casting the line will not have dropped much behind and will be more in line with the forward delivery trajectory, preferably 180 degrees in line (in terms of height) also greatly increasing the efficiency of a cast. All the problems associated with a dropping line in terms of nuisance value are also gone.
Trajectory: In standard overhead casting, the trajectory is the elevation of the vertical straight line path on the final delivery. Trajectory is the necessary path the line has to take to reach the target area.
The line of trajectory is usually an imaginary line drawn from between the casters hand to the target. The rod arc is normally tilted forward to ensure that the back cast is slightly higher than the front cast as the target is usually lower in front. However actual trajectory or aim will often be altered in height over distance to allow for gravity The real trajectory of a cast is the same as the vertical straight line path of that cast. Direction of the final delivery may altered sideways to allow for cross winds.
The Vertical: In fly-casting the vertical is not perpendicular to the ground. It is always in relation to the actual trajectory. The vertical point is at a right angle to the trajectory and tilted to the rod plane used.
Rod Tracking: In overhead casting – The path that the rod tip takes during a back casting stroke or a forward casting stroke. It is necessary to keep the rod in the same plane so that the back cast is 180 degrees opposite the forward cast. Not deviating off the straight line path horizontally. If rod tracking is out it means you are going out of plane. Usually pulling the rod in or down behind or slicing / hooking in front.
In Spey Casting – The path that the rod tip takes on the sweep. The caster ensures that due to rod tip path during the lift and sweep, or final line placing move, that correct D of V loop formation and alignment, with a suitable anchor, takes place. The rod tracking motion necessary, (a three dimensional curve), will change with the amount of power and leverage applied where, the line length and the change of direction used. The rod is moved into the same plane as the final delivery at the end of the line placing sweep round so that the loop and anchor is formed in general alignment or parallel with and opposite the final delivery direction.
When forming and placing the back loop of line with Spey casts and snake rolls, rod tracking combined with stroke length, leverage, acceleration and power application is critical. One of the principles of fly casting that applies with rod tracking during the Spey casting sweep is that the line will follow the path of the rod tip. However it will not follow exactly as centrifugal force, line resistance in the water and gravity play a role. The height or elevation that the rod tip is moved through the sweep is often critical.
Position and angle change of the rod: When the rod is moved during a casting stroke it changes both its position and its angle, usually both are happening simultaneously. There are different terms used in different parts of the world. The Americans generally call this translation and rotation. I was taught and use the terms position change and angle change.
In translation, technically all the points of the object are moved the same amount at the same time. In reality the rod often would also have some angle change also from arm movement alone when the rod is moved in position before the greater angle change of the fulcrum pivot or controlled wrist movement is applied.
Rotation is also a term we often used to describe turning or twisting the rod blank clockwise or anti clockwise around its own hollow centre – rotation as if it were held tip and butt on a lathe and turned round slightly. This turning of the rod butt around its own hollow centre is often used in presentation casts or when using torque twist, the term rotation was therefore not used for the angle change. Everyone knows what is meant by position change and angle change so even in an examination it is safe to use those terms and I used them for my exams. Everyone also knows the context translation and rotation are used in also so they may be used to refer to the same thing. Rotation may occur around any point. As long as rotation and twist are understood separately then rotation is not taken out of the relevant context.
Mechanical leverage is a simple concept in elementary physics. It simply refers to the amplification of force. The name is derived from the simple machine known as lever. It can be in any form but in principle it is comprised of three elements, namely, a fulcrum, an input effort, and an output load or resistance. Depending on the relative locations of these elements, the lever has three categories – first class, second class, and third class.
In a first class lever, the fulcrum is located between the input effort and the output force or resistance.
In a second class lever, the output force or resistance is located between the input force and the fulcrum.
Finally, in a third class lever, the input force is located between the output force (resistance) and the fulcrum.
We are mainly using some first class leverage in reverse when using fulcrum fly-casting, and some third class leverage. The first class leverage in reverse is similar to the operating system of the medieval catapult - the trebechet. Leverage is one of the most important aspects of fly-casting as the rod has limited power. Most of the momentum is generated by leverage of the body and arms changing the position and angle of the rod, the initial loading with class three leverage and the deeper loading with the addition of class one leverage in reverse in conjunction with continuing class three leverage.
Simply put, first class leverage is the only type of leverage where the pivotal point is placed along the lever rather than at the end of the lever.
The rod travels in a straight line through the arc created as it is flexible and as the rod in moving position at the same time as the arc ot angle changes are made. The position change will determine the stroke length.
