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In 1981, after initially failing to get the required distance with the then conventional 11ft 8in rod and high reel, I started looking at alternative set ups to enable me to compete with Paul Kerry – then king of the court - for tip speed.
My answer was simple; if unable to obtain the required tip speed with a short rod, use a longer one! I will not bore you with my initial Heath Robinson attempts to generate said tip speed, suffice to say a 14ft rod was the basis of my endeavours.
So, on the field for the first time with a now 13ft 3in rod with a reel mounted 8in above the butt cap and a removable extension in my back pocket ready for the retrieve, I made my first high swing pendulum cast. I beat my previous best cast in practice by around 10 yards. Not bad for the first attempt with a new rod!
I knew I had got it right and that the long rod was the way to go for me and went on to make a PB cast of 235 yards in the next session. However, I was not quite ready for the bite on the ass when I went off to a SA event down in Bournemouth with it. I ended up pulling more muscles in my stomach than I even knew I owned! Back to the drawing board.
Looking back, during the first session with it I had been extremely circumspect and kept the power down and well within control. Of course creating a PB had given me a big dollop of over confidence and I subsequently screwed up big time.
A month later I drove slowly to Alton for another SA event. With little time to get the long rod under control I was trying hard not to get over confident. It worked. By taking it easy and only putting in as much power as I could control - probably the most important thing to remember when casting - gave me a PB and national longest cast – although unofficial - of 257 yards.
Increasing the arc
The object of the exercise is to get the sinker away from you in the greatest arc possible. This is where the initial momentum is gained.
Push the lead away and lower the rod almost parallel to the ground as the sinker travels away on the out swing. Once at the end of its travel LIFT the whole rod to make the sinker return along almost the same trajectory it took on the out swing. Then stop the rod dead shortly before it reaches the vertical position. The lead will start to climb immediately. While this simple act generates a great deal of energy it is just the start of the power build up. But, it is also where a cast can be won or lost. Allow the rod to drift back and the lead has nothing to climb against, you lose tension in the line between rod tip and sinker and it falls out of the sky.
So, assuming you have avoided letting the rod drift and the sinker is climbing, before it gets too high you must start to turn into the cast, get your arms away from you body, leave them behind and use body rotation to further increase the energy being absorbed. This is best described as a ‘shoulder roll’, which makes the lead fly out and down. At the end of the shoulder roll you should end up into the familiar ‘Javelin Position’.
With the energy already generated by the initial lift followed by the shoulder roll things are now really starting to move on a pace as by rolling the lead outside the rod tip you harness incredible circumferential forces, which the sinker soaks up like a sponge for use right at the end of the cast.
Next objective is to get the lead as low to the ground as possible. Reason being, you need the lead below the rod tip when you start putting the power in. The alternative is the classic ‘snake rod’ caused by hitting up when the sinker is coming down. Needless to say, the snake allows the power to ebb away. Timing plays a large part of getting the lead low but not too low. I can tell you that when everything in the early stages of the cast is right it just happens naturally. However, lose your timing and you will be digging your lead out of the ground with a trenching shovel!
When on form people would often say I had hit the ground. They were wrong; my lead was so close to the grass that for the first couple of casts of the day what they were seeing was the sinker blowing the dew off the grass! That’s how low the lead wants to be!
You should experience a natural pause during the transition from letting the lead climb to the shoulder roll to positioning the lead just above the ground and now starting to overtake the rod.
A sensation of lightness is your signal to start the final power stroke. You feel very little and will wonder where all the distance came from.
Right, read this next part and engrave in on your brain!
After initial attempts you will be tempted to start hitting the rod earlier - DON’T!!! As the lead accelerates in front of the rod your power stroke will punch it away effortlessly. Attempting to hit it harder will only push the lead/rod position out of sync and lose you a great deal of distance.
If you feel a massive build up of instant power when you try to power it away you have made the hit too early and distance will be severely compromised.
Although I have always had inkling as to why my cast was so different to most others it was finally confirmed years later when I was able to see just what was happening and discovered why all my best casts seemed so effortless.
There comes a time when the sinker has to change position and go from being pulled by the line to pulling the line itself. Pausing momentarily before the final punch allows the sinker to go past the rod hence allowing the caster to put more power in to the cast than if the lead had been behind the rod.
I have a photograph that was taken during a shoot at Weybourne in Norfolk for a review on the Interline surf rods and the photographer had positioned me so I had a natural sunburst between my legs, by sheer chance also illuminating the line and sinker. He had caught the sinker in a position I had never seen before.
I spend weeks mulling over the photograph and by chance found another picture which showed the lead actually changing direction from being pulled to being the puller. I was casting a fixed-spool set up for a shoot and it was as clear as day with a big loop of line behind the sinker.
Nerves play a large part casting, as in any competitive situation. Only through time, practice and more practice was I able to get to a point where I could perform without having to consciously think about it. On the way to the oche I simply slipped into autopilot, my method to quell nerves.
Having recently watched a 1991 casting video made in Italy with Paul and myself casting I re-discovered how I got the lead way outside the tip and then in front of the rod.
My pause during the cast is to allow the lead to fly outside the rod and progress to being in line with, then in front of the rod prior to the final hit.
I was amazed just how fast the rod moves in that last effort, the tip literally disappears from the screen completely loaded then reappears perfectly straight.
I am often asked what happens during the pause, is it still in compression or does it recover before the hit?
The first thing you have to appreciate is that in 1985 rods were nothing like as stiff as many rods today. Recovery was a lot slower so you could have a pause for the lead to fly out without losing any compression in the rod.
Think about it, you are in the early stages of compressing the rod and the lead is starting to fly out off the rod tip, you pause momentarily and the lead keeps going and gets in front of the rod. You have a lot less pulling back on you so are able to make the final hit with a lot more power, unthinkable if the lead was being dragged behind the rod!
Many of today’s super fast rods cannot emulate the styles used to such devastating effect 20 plus years ago. Pause for a spilt second and the rod losses all compression but you are going for it and cannot stop yourself mid-cast. The inevitable outcome as you try to hit a rod with little if any compression is that you are forced to end with the classic over the top bowling action. Essentially the rod is out of position, has no load, you cannot stop yourself and neither can you take the rod in a low arc so over the top it must go.
The Quattra has the ability to soak up and retain the power generated only releasing its energy right at the end of the build up. I am convinced this allowed the time needed for the automatic roll as I turned into the cast, which simply does not work with rods that recover too quickly.
In the Mastercast video I did with John Wilson the sinker was overlaid with a coloured pointer and trail. It shows very clearly the path of the lead including the abrupt direction changes that I believe greatly increases the leads acceleration.
I developed this style in conjunction with the Quattra Sport and GS Sport for field use and as a fishing style using the Quattra and GS Special Match. By today’s standards all these rods are considered soft. Be as that as it may, they have all produced outstanding distances in competition. But, they need loading and will give you a nasty bite if you take liberties.
This style of casting is all about technique and timing, NOT out and out power.
Good luck - Neil
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