Tracy&James | Wednesday, 4 June 2025
Well after saying in last weeks FP that there was no way I was going to even attempt to cast the T38 left handed I went straight out and gave it a go. I'm not sure what possessed me to get the heaviest single handed outfit out, especially given the trouble I had with carrying the ST27 shooting head when I tried, but cast it I did – and I have a new left handed PB of 145ft to try and beat in the coming weeks. Actually I found it easier than the ST27 even though the head lengths are similar. I guess the extra mass of the T38 line pulls straight some of my tracking errors meaning I can at least get a decent back cast. It still feels all wrong, but at least I can get a cast off so I will now be entering this discipline at the next BFCC meeting.
Speaking of weight, I've mostly been practising with the #7 trout distance outfit. This is because I need a confidence boost right now and the #7 is far more forgiving of errors than the #5 (and there are a lot of errors). Obviously we all know that heavier goes further when it comes to fly casting distance, and one of the reasons for this is that the additional momentum pulls tracking errors straight, thus even a relatively bad technique can result in a reasonable distance. If you could put a #7 line into a box labelled #5, and hope that people can't tell the difference between how they land, then you're on to a winner – someone should think about doing that! Anyway, best so far is 111ft 6in in pretty much flat calm conditions and my technique is really bad.
I don't know how many hours it's going to take before holding the rod left handed and hauling with the right feels even remotely normal but right now it's a long way off. Unfortunately a visit to a doctor today implied that things 'weren't right' with my hand, so I can't anticipate getting back to normal anytime soon. Therefore I'm going to have to persist with my left handed training if I want to fish again – or look at some sort of bracing which I know there are various options for.
There is another BFCC event this weekend in Willesborough, Kent. There will be plenty of instructors there to the point where anyone turning up will almost certainly get one-on-one tuition. This is because of falling attendances for reasons that we don't fully understand apart from maybe the cost of travelling anywhere these days. I'll do my usual plug though – if you're in the area and are wanting to improve any aspect of your fly casting then this really is the best value for money tuition you can get. It doesn't matter if you're a complete beginner or a potential instructor wanting to sit a mock assessment before doing it for real, you will definitely benefit from attending.
All details of the BFCC event are on the website (www.thebfcc.co.uk) and on Facebook (plus shared to mine and Tracy's Instagram account). I'll be trying my best to beat Tracy in one of the competition events because we've had our usual wager (an Indian takeaway) on whether I can beat her left handed in anything. I now think the T38 is gives me the best chance (mainly because she hates it and doesn't practice it).
Have a great week, James.