Line Twist

 

                                                                  

  I am bothered by the twisted line in the salt water casting which tangles the line all the time.  I always think the roll cast is the cause of line twist.  Many times the roll cast is performed to straighten the line, to change the line direction or to pull the sinking line up, etc. 

  

 However recently I realized the roll cast is not the cause. It is the line's coil memory causing the twist.  As the coiled line goes through the rod guides at high speed during shooting, the line gets twisted.

  

  There are two kinds of twist.  The first kind is the one that one end of the line is fixed but the other end is loose (Diagram B). The other kind is the one that I experience during casting when both ends are fixed (Diagram A) and the twist occurs between two fixed ends.  So this kind of line twist will be eliminated if the line tip reaches the full length of the line and the line straightens out in the air.

  

  In my case I should not pull out the line more than my expected shooting length; and I must be aware of the shock on my hand caused by the line's inertia when its tip reaches its full length.   

Casting Practice

  Since I have  built my Sage's rod, I have been  going to the beach to practice spey casting several times already. I am trying  two new fly lines from Japan: the shooting head, which is called the shooting spey line by the Japanese, and the running line, which is developed by an expert Japanese fly fisherman.

  A new spey casting method created in Japan becomes popular now. It it called the shooting spey casting which is supposed to shoot the line over 50 yards with less effort. I am learning it now. 

  The running line is supposed to be good for long distance casting in the beach using stripping basket. After trying this new running line, I can say it is better than any lines that I have used.

 In any case I am still a long way to go.  

     

Rod Building 2

Find the spine to determine the guides location.



Thread Wrapping:

You don't need a wrapping machine, just patience.

Complete the wrapping:

Last year I found the stripping guides on my Cabela's spey rod cause some inconvenience when I tucked it under my arm during a two-handed retrieve; so I removed the stripping guides and placed them in the positions of the first two snake guides.  Though the space between the reel and  the first guide became unusually wide, I never experienced any problem.  Therefore I do the same to the Sage's rod.  

Apply epoxy to the wraps.

My new toy is born.

Rod Building 1

I have built a spey rod this winter to improve my casting.

The rod is Sage's TCX which has a stiff butt and a relatively

softer tip than my other rod, the Cabela's.

I think the TCX's action is good for learning spey casting.

The followings are the building process:

                                                                                                                                                                  
The rod building package costs $570 and is almost

half the price of a ready-made rod.         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Widen the hole of the rear grip to fit the rod butt.

Take more than an hour.

                            

                               

    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Mount the reel seat and the rear grip.

Use masking tape to adjust the diameter.                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                        

Reaming out the fore grip is the hardest work 

in the process.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Mount the fore grip to complete the butt section.