Exercise 4 – Lean, Tap, Squeeze and Flip

This is a simple but important roll casting exercise

Lean into it, tap your wrist, squeeze your fingers and flip off a tiny loop

Set up:

With 45 feet of line out stick the yarn under a rock – (I use the roll casting noodle and a tent peg to anchor the tippet, check out the photo). Set sport cone targets at 20 feet, 30 feet and 40 feet.

Make the cast:

Cock your wrist into the back cast position. Your elbow should be bent and close to your body.Your hand to the side of and just in front of your face – this is a hand eye coordination sport. When you stare at the targets you should be able to see your hand in your peripheral vision.

Using bodyweight transfer first lean forward moving your nose toward the target. It is not so important if your left or right foot is forward but as a RH caster I sometimes like my RH foot forward. This is called a closed stance.

Now ever so minimally tap your wrist and squeeze your fingers making the rod tip jump aggressively toward the target but also stop aggressively. This is all done with a very short rod tip movement. You should be trying to aim as small as possible loop down toward the closest target. Try to hit it. Use just the tip section of your rod and don’t throw the loop past the first target. It would be better to throw tighter little loops that fall short rather than overpowered big loops.

Next try to run the loop further toward the second target. To do this tilt your wrist back further at the start. The forward process is the same. All this further tilt does is to give a higher forward trajectory. When you hit the target have you noticed that you used just a tad more power?

Then try the longer target. Learn just how minimal the effort required is. Then of course send the loop flying over the anchoring rock. More trajectory or tilt and more power but still all done in a very short, squeezing movement.

It is more important to learn to flip roll casting loops from a late rotation and minimalist movement point of view rather than a huge full force, full arc, early rotation situation.

Note:

\\\\\ / rod movement makes for great casts. The body weight transfer gives the \\\ to the cast. This is the loading move without rotation.

Casters who simply rotate early \/ never achieve good loading moves or tight loops.

Make sure you get this!