28 March 2005

The Editor

NZ Fishing News

PO Box 12965

Penrose

Auckland

Troubleshooting the Tongariro Roll Cast

By Herb Spannagl

All through last winter I have had countless people come up to me and express anything from curiosity to downright determination to learn the Tongariro Roll Cast.   On more than one occasion I have had a video camera pointed at me from behind bushes.   Such has been the interest that at the risk of a bit of self-delusion I strongly suspect most Tongariro anglers would love to master this elegant cast.   

Those who have tried it will have very quickly found out that what looks effortless and elegant when performed well is anything but, when you start off or are someway along the frustrating road to perfection.   Although my two previous articles about the TRC have been liberally peppered with diagrams, several club instruction days have shown me that what appeared to me quite logical, failed to make a meaningful connection with many of my pupils.     

There is an easy explanation for this.   During the overhead cast the rod tip moves backwards and forwards along a straight track and in a single plane.   Most beginners can grasp those two requirements.    With the TRC the rod tip goes all over the place and at different speeds while it executes several distinctive manoeuvres.   Trying to memorise these movements and to link them with precision timing and measured force quickly scrambles a beginner�s mind.    The initial effort is such a guaranteed mess that only the doggedly determined continue with the self-punishment.   

Looking back at my own painful beginnings I must say that whatever mastery of overhead casting I possessed was barely helpful while learning the TRC.    I would go as far as calling it unhelpful, because I constantly got tempted to revert back to overhead casting when I should have boxed on.    So instead forcing myself to put in the requisite on stream hard yards to learn to cope with varying conditions I slipped back to what I knew best.   A good friend of mine suffers from the same dilemma, which has definitely slowed down his progress.

It might be old hat but in my view people don�t succeed with the TRC because:

• They are too self conscious to seek help

• They do not systematically practice the basics
• They fail to commit to using this cast for on stream fishing

Regarding the last point I have now become firmly convinced that once the basic technique has been learned during the initial practice further progress can only be achieved through on stream fishing.    The reason for this unconventional advice is that this cast totally relies on the caster to make the necessary anchorage calculations for the variable casting situations prior to each cast in order to adjust the final delivery-casting stroke.    

However, despite all the best efforts most beginners and intermediates will be dogged by �mystery� problems, which make the end result less than satisfactory.   Let me highlight some of the more obvious ones and suggest appropriate remedies.

Forward Cast Collapses 

Cause:   The most common reason is a premature start of the forward cast.    Not all loose line lying on the water has bellied into the D-Loop.   Removing the remaining slack wastes a great part of the forward stroke (which is shorter than in an overhead cast) and this fails to load the rod.   

Remedy: Watch for the indicator to move towards you before you start the forward cast.   This is the sign that the D-Loop has fully bellied out behind you and that the rod will load on the forward stroke.

D-Loop Sticking To The Water

Cause a):  D-Loop formed with same slow speed.  

Remedy:   Form a dynamic D-Loop by accelerating the slack line on the water rearwards and upwards.

Cause b):  Waiting too long with the forward cast which causes too much of the lower leg of the D-Loop to make contact with the water.   

Remedy:   Start forward cast as soon as the indicator moves towards you.

Cause c):  Anchor planted too far out.

Remedy: Either pull anchor closer or apply more power and/or execute the cast with a higher rod stroke, which lifts more D-Loop line off the water at the start of the forward cast.

Anchor Not Lifting Out Of The Water

Cause a):  The most obvious is that not enough power has been applied to the forward cast for the variable amount of anchorage.

Remedies: Apply more power, reduce anchorage by either pulling anchor closer or reduce the size and/or weight of fly.

Cause b): The forward cast has been conducted with an arching rod stroke ending in a descending rod tip.   In other words the energy has been directed downwards.

Remedy:   Execute the forward cast with a rising rod tip.

Forward Casting Loop Too Open

Cause:  Forward cast has been directed downwards with descending rod tip.

Remedy: Accelerate with rising rod tip and stop rod at 11o�clock.

D-Loop Hitting Body

Cause: Wind blowing line towards the casting hand.

Remedy:  Reach downwind across the body during the forward cast.

D-Loop Not Forming Fully In A Tailwind

Cause: Insufficient force applied during D-Loop formation has partly concertinaed the D-Loop.   A vertical D-Loop is also more exposed to the brunt of the wind.

Remedies:   Apply extra force and form D-Loop low and more horizontally to get under the wind.

Fly Hitting Rod and Angler

Cause: Anchor is placed inside of the rod tip.

Remedy:  Always place anchor and line outside of rod tip when fishing upstream.    In a fast current the anchor must be planted well outside to allow for the drift while executing line slipping and D-loop forming.

Indicator Popping

Causes: Anchor did not hold due to insufficient anchorage, forward cast on too high a plane and/or too much force applied on the forward cast.

Remedies:  Leave more line on the water when planting anchor (Don�t pull indicator so close).   Drop power back or conduct forward cast with a low rod stroke with the elbow moving just above hip level, which also leave more line in contact with the water.

Line Runs Along The Water Or Collapses During Forward Cast

Cause:   Trashing forward cast downwards.

Remedy:  Stop rising rod tip at 11o�clock.

Low And Tired D-Loop

Cause:   Dropping the rod tip during backstroke D-Loop formation.

Remedy:   Finish with a rising rod tip towards the 1 O�clock forward cast launching position.

Poor Distance

Cause a):  The most prominent one is a shallow and non-energetic D-Loop.   

Remedy:  Apply more power back and up and then wait for the D-Loop to fully form.  Best sign is indicator moving towards you.   

Cause b):  With short belly lines some thin running line is outside the tip ring during D-Loop formation.   This thin line has insufficient mass to adequately transfer the rod energy to the line.

Remedy:   Make sure that some of the belly of the line is still inside the tip ring before firing.   This is easier with �Long Belly lines�.   

Leader Not Turning Over

Cause: Not enough power to finish the forward cast.

Remedy: Not needed as this �fault� produces a slack leader, which allows the nymphs to sink quickly.   Many overhead casters would �kill� for this.

Line And Leader Tangles

Cause:   D-loop is not 180 degrees opposite the target.

Remedy:   Plant indicator (anchor) sufficiently upstream so that it has time to drift into a position as near as possible to be in a straight line with the D-Loop and slightly upstream of the target.    This gives you time to slip line and generate the D-Loop.

30 April 2007

 

The Editor

NZ Fishing News

PO Box 12 965

Penrose

Auckland

 

FINE TUNING THE TONGARIRO ROLL CAST

(The Importance of the D-loop)

Herb Spannagl

 

This article would not have been possible without extensive reference to Dana Sturn�s important research work (speypages.com) on the dynamics of the D-Loop as used in Spey casting.   I am hugely indebted to Dana not only for his dedicated promotion of Spey casting but also for the generous help and inspiration he has so freely given to me.

 

If you have been lucky enough to have seen a good Tongariro Roll Cast on the water chances are the thing that impressed you most was the distance the caster achieved and the ease with which it was done.    When watching this cast all eyes are on what happens in front of the caster, even the caster�s own eyes are focussed in this direction.    Yet the most important prerequisite for such an impressive forward cast happens behind the caster�s back.    It is the formation of the D-loop that is the equivalent of the back cast in the conventional overhead cast.  

 

You may be familiar with the time tested fly casting tenet that without a good back cast it is impossible to make a good forward cast.    The same rule applies to roll or Spey casting where the important functions of the conventional back cast are carried out by the D-loop.   In fact chances are that if something has gone wrong with the forward cast the problems can often be traced back to a poorly managed D-loop.

 

So why is a well-formed D-loop so important?

• It provides the dynamic resistance or line momentum against which to load the rod.  

• Its alignment signals the direction of the forward cast.
• Its position in relation to the rod tip track largely determines the shape of the forward casting loop.

 

Lets see in more detail what these points actually mean.  

• Because gravity never sleeps the conventional back cast and the D-loop need to be dynamic, in other words they need to be energised in order to stay aloft.   Since the caster projects this line energy rearward it provides resistance when he/she tries to move the line forward.   This resistance is absorbed and stored by the flexible fly rod as a bend and given up when straightening on the forward delivery.    Up to a point, the deeper and livelier the D-loop the more effortless the forward cast will be.

• The most efficient forward cast has its preceding back cast moving along a single straight track even though both move in opposite directions.   The ideal separation is 180 degrees.    The same principle applies to the D-loop.   It too has to be 180 degrees opposite the delivery cast for maximum efficiency.    In the Tongariro Roll Cast the direction of the forward cast is largely determined by the directional placement of the anchor against which the caster lines up the D-loop, ideally in the same straight line.    This D-loop alignment is made infinitely easier if the caster turns to face the direction of the anchor placement in order to move the rod along the same plane as the straight fly line extending from the indicator.    The D-loop then follows where the rod tip goes.   During this set-up manoeuvre a smart caster allows some lead margin to compensate for any oncoming drift.
• With the Tongariro Roll Cast the size or depth of the D-loop is directly governed by how much slack line has been slipped onto the water surface during line folding and by how much of that line can be kept aloft in the D-loop.  Whilst you can slip a large amount of line onto the water surface by repeated slipping, there is only so much that can be converted into an energetic D-loop.
• To transform all of this slack line into an airborne D-loop requires force, which is applied by a rearward and upward moving rod tip.   (See diagrams for D and V-loops).   These diagrams show that a round upward stroke produces a round D-loop while a straighter rising stroke creates a more desirable V-loop.
• The shape and in particular the position of the D-loop also governs the shape of the forward casting loop.    As a general rule the more dynamic the D-loop is the deeper it can be formed without �grounding� onto the water surface.   Although the D-loop takes its name from the letter D, this is not a good example, since a very dynamic loop, we all strive to create, resembles a V on its side.     The deeper this line V is, the more momentum it has and the more resistance it provides for rod loading.    This leaves the placement or tilt of the V for consideration.    The narrowest forward loops are achieved when the tip of the V is closest of the straight track of the rod tip during the forward casting stroke.    To achieve that placement the D-loop has to be projected not only rearwards but also upwards.   On the other hand a low V-point has to be pulled up onto the rod tip track by the rod tip, which wastes energy and inevitably produces a round and open forward loop.     As the accompanying photo shows, prior to rod loading when the rod is straight and near the one o�clock starting position the top leg of the V may look somewhat steep.     However, this leg will flatten out as the rod shortens during loading.    Good casters also lower the rod butt during the first half of the casting stroke but raise it thereafter (Swoop) in order to ensure that the rod tip tracks on as straight a path as possible.     

 

The anchor forms the open end of the lower leg of the V while the rod tip connects the upper leg.   In the previous paragraphs I emphasised the importance of angle of the upper leg now we need to look more closely at its lower equivalent.    Generally speaking with the Tongariro Roll Cast the terminal rig and the large indicator provide enough anchorage to allow the formation of a large V-loop without the anchor failing to hold.  This then allows the lower leg of the V-loop to completely lift from the water surface during loop formation and rod loading.    When this happens only a small portion of the casting energy is needed to lift the anchor, the rest is used to propel the line.   

 

The reverse happens when some of the lower leg remains in contact with the water.   Lifting it prior to pulling the anchor robs so much casting energy that in severe cases the anchor does not come out at all or limply lifts but collapses in a heap of lose line soon after.   The salient point in this discussion is that anchorage is infinitely variable and needs to be assessed when stetting up for every cast.   Too little and the anchor wont hold, too much and distance will be shortened.   Only time on the water under a variety of fishing conditions can Picture is by Kim Turia   provide the experience to make the right assessments.  

 

Come to think of it, anchorage is such a complex issue that it really deserves an article of its own.    In the meantime work on changing your round and listless D-loop into a sharply pointed, sizzling V shape to get those �rat snout� looking forward loops.  

 

This picture by Kim Turia shows a vey sharp, deep and above all dynamic V-loop formation.   Note how the lower V leg has been lifted completely off the water.  Now the rod can be loaded against the loop's rearward momentum with a forward stroke and a simultaneous left hand haul .