| | Category | PH | P30 | Fly Casting Analysis: The Effects of Varying Rod Action and Line |
| | Length |
| | Abstract | The purpose of this experiment was to examine the mechanics of the fly |
| | cast by looking for performance differences in different aspects of the fly |
| | cast that might be seen between fly rods with two different actions, or |
| | different flexibilities. I utilized an electronic fly casting analyzer to obtain |
| | quantitative measurements of the fly cast, which include peak speed, stop |
| | speed, rod load, smoothness ratio, deceleration rate, and symmetry of the |
| | cast (dependent variables). |
| |
| | In this study I analyzed casts with a slow action rod (flexible rod) and a |
| | fast action rod (stiff rod) while varying the amount of line being cast |
| | (independent variable). The length of the rods was held constant. The goal |
| | was to find out what effects rod action had on the cast stroke when |
| | varying line length, and apply what was learned to fishing in nature. |
| | |
| | I hypothesized that as line length increased, so did the casting arc and |
| | peak speed of the cast. I also hypothesized that the slow action rod would |
| | have a higher rod load than the the fast action rod. |
| | |
| | Casts were made outside in an environment where weather was not a |
| | factor. I would stand next to the caster while holding the casting analyzer |
| | and record the casts while the caster cast the fly rod. Four casts would |
| | be done for each combination of line length and rod action. |
| | |
| | To conclude, all of my hypotheses were proven correct. As line length |
| | was increased, the arc and peak speed of the casts both increased. The |
| | slow action rod had higher rod loads than the fast action rod. I found that it |
| | took more energy to cast the slow action rod than it did to cast the fast |
| | action rod when casting longer lengths of line. |
| | Bibliography | CASTANALYSIS. Web. 08 Mar. 2010. <http://castanalysis.com/>. |
| | |
| | "Single and Double Haul." Sexyloops - the Best Fly Fishing and Fly Casting |
| | Instruction Seven Days a Week. Web. 09 Mar. 2010. |
| | <http://www.sexyloops.com/flycasting/thauling.shtml>. |
| |
| | "Virtual Fly Casting - Instruction - The 5 Essentials." Fly Casting Instruction, |
| | Fly Fishing- Virtual Fly Casting. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. |
| | <http://www.virtualflycasting.com/essentials.htm>. |
| | |
| | "Fly casting instruction." Fly fishing fly casting tuition fly fishing instruction. |
| | Web. 18 Feb. 2010. <http://www.letsflyfish.com/fly_casting.htm>. |
| | |
| | Fly Casting Institute. Web. 18 Feb. 2010. |
| | <http://www.flycastinginstitute.com/>. |