casting in stardust

by ondafly

NKC

I love listening to Nat King Cole sing “Stardust Melody”. Smooth and with perfect timing. He doesn’t force the lyrics, they just flow like a spring creek. I especially like the words “Love’s refrain” at the end of the song.

Here are some “Stardust Melody” pointers for you fly casters, especially you salty ones:

1. The casting stroke must be Smooth with beautifully timed stops on the back and forward casts.

2. Refrain from overpowering your cast. Reduce your power by 50% but remember to stop and I mean stop the rod.

3. Refrain from rushing the cast. Let your backcast unroll before you start the forward stroke. If you don’t you will creep forward, reduce your stroke length and tail your loop.

3. Relax your hand in between the back and forward cast and only grip firmly at the stops.

4. Sit down, pour yourself a nice glass of wine and listen to Nat sing “Stardust Melody”. This will be your new casting mantra – Smooth, Less Force, Smooth, Less Force just like Nat’s singing.

casting a tight loop…

by ondafly

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Simply put, where the rod tip stops at the end of the back cast and forward cast will determine the size of the casting stroke. Generally, if the rod tip stays on a straight line during the cast and stops just below the fly line, the result will be a tight loop. Same for the back cast. If the rod tip tracks a convex or bicycle wheel shape the loops will be wide. Think of your rod tip as an anchor point for the fly line – where the rod tip stops will determine the shape of your casting loop.   –Jim Solomon

 

have a sage rod you want to identify?

by ondafly

If you need a general guide to identifying your older Sage rod that a look at this list…

Year Model Description

1980
GFL Stood for Graphite Fly Rod. Used alone and in conjunction with other model names for years. Not really considered a model name.

1982
RP Reserve Power for long Casts Graphite II

1982
LL Traditional Action 2-5 Weight (LL=Light line) Graphite II

1983
MA Medium Action Entry level unsanded grey rod with simple hardware

1985
RPL or Graphite III RPL Reserve Performance Light

1985
LL Graphite III LL

1986
RPLX Saltwater 8-12 Weight

1986
DS Discovery Series – Moderate Action Replaced the RP

1986
TH? Double Handed ?

1994
SP Generation IV Graphite with Durascrim

1995
SP+ Generation IV Graphite with Durascrim

1995
RPL+ Faster than the RPL. Would be considered moderately fast by todays standards

1997
VPS Replacement for the RPL Back to Gen III

1997
VPSL Replacement for the LL Gen III with lesser components

1997
SPL “Best of show” new rods*Gen III

1997
RPLxi Revised and improved saltwater*Gen III

1998
DS2 Lower Price point Graphite II or Graphite III Not even close to sure about the year

1999
XP Lighter narrower tapered Fast Action Gen IIIe

2002
SLT Medium Fast Action Gen IIIe

2002
TCR Ultra fast action for experianced Casters

2003
LE Entry Price Point Rod

2004
Xi2 New Saltwater rod was first with new generation 5 (G5) Technology

2005
TXL Near weightless for light lines G5

2005
Fli Entry Level Fast Action taper with maximum power transfer G5

2005
Launch Entry Level smoth progressive power curve and very high strength to weight ratio*G5

2006
VT2 Mid price point upgrade to long running VPS

2007
Z-Axis Ultimate Fast Action Rod coupled with trmendous feel (2 piece, 4 piece,
Spey and Switch

2008
BASS Finally released after years of development and even showed up on magazine covers with Snook, Baby Tarpon and Pike

2008
ZXL Medum action Cousin to the Z-Axis in weights 3-6

2009
TCX Replacement for TCR but fitting a wider range of castins styles (kryptonite green)

Current ONE Flagship “all-around” rod Fast Action

Current VXP Ultra high speed line and slender shaft begginer to experianced

Current Flight Great features and a great price

Current Vantage Medium Fast value rod

Current TXL-F Light Line Ultra lightweight

Current ZXL Easy and Relaxed like the classic action rods

Current Xi3 Salt Water Replacement for Xi2

Current 99 Nymph angler 9’9″ with unique taper to make open loops

Current BASS II Upgrraded for faster line speeds for big flies still good for Bass, Snook, or Tarpon, Pike and Musky

Current ESN Designed for european lirect line nymphing with multiple flies