Paul Arden | Tuesday, 1 July 2025
Today, all being well, I’ll upload a video of The Launch Drill. I filmed it yesterday but there was wind noise and the sticks affecting the forward cast shoot were not helpful. I’ll try again in the morning. If that fails I’ll simply upload what I have. It works for teaching, I think; it just could be better!!
I’m looking for a Bluetooth or wireless microphone for these videos. It’s probably worthwhile buying something half decent. The Shokz headset I have is fine for Zoom coaching but the sound drops out when attached to the GoPro.
Anyway… The Launch Drill. It has many uses in my lessons. It can solve a couple of common “improper force” tailing points in the casting stroke, the first being when the line is snatched forward under power, causing a usually quite catastrophic tail, and the other, when the power is applied slightly too early in the final rotation, causing a tail or a, often hard to pinpoint, “tendency” to tail. More on these next week. Perhaps it might sound contradictory, but the same drill can also help solve wide loop problems.
But really it’s a drill to time the rapid late rotational “hit”, sort out power application/torque, make use of the whole body from the ground up through to the grip, as well as for cueing the haul timing.
It allows the forward cast to be isolated and the final “hit”/Launch to be isolated further still. It’s a good one, and one I use myself on a regular basis — more to check that things are where they should be nowadays. With some students it can automatically put 10-15’ on their distance cast within the first week. And there aren’t too many immediate gains like that in this game!
Saturday night’s in-boat bike ride managed to wipe me out completely for almost two days! The Malaysian Ironman is in about four months (or to be precise in 17 weeks and 5 days) and so I’m increasing my training load. My bike is strong and my running seems to be getting strong too. Hmmm… let’s not talk about swimming, but I am working on it!!
I’m not finding any Snakehead shots at the moment but I am getting shots at Gourami. A few frustrating refusals but I’m working on some fly patterns. It’s difficult sometimes because often they just want smallish flies around a size 10 dry fly. Which is quite small for 4-5KG fish that fights like a train.
I bought a 25hp 4-stroke Yamaha, ordered up from Japan, last week. It took four months to arrive and I’ve been running it in. I’ve lost five horses on the “Rocket C” but have gained peace and quiet! I can actually stalk fish with the motor running, which was completely impossible with the 2-stroke 30 I was previously using.
The problem is now I want one for the Battleship! I have my mind telling me that I should get a 115hp 4-stroke Yamaha. I wasn’t really planning on any more Zoom casting students for the time being, but with this in mind I’m now open for business!
While I think you should buy one or indeed many of our Hot Torpedos/Tortugas, and you will get a free lesson with each one that you do, a full flycasting course with me, with structured training over a year or so, will absolutely transform you into a far better caster than you are today. (Most of you anyway!). And provide even better improvements than purchasing a HT rod. But there is nothing to stop you doing both! After all we only have one life or many, and if there is an Afterpond, then you get to fish with the skills and rods that you have acquired in this lifetime. That’s why we are all here of course; to acquire skills and flyrods.
And with those happy thoughts, I wish you all a fantastic week!!
Cheers, Paul