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vtkevin
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 8:59 am • # 1 |
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Joined: 10/20/15 Posts: 3 Location: Southwestern VT
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how do you manage line with your rod hand after casting? do you move your index finger back under the grip to hold the line or do you use your middle finger instead to hold the line? just wondering as this question came up when I was experimenting with grips and had just hooked into a nice brown with my index finger on top. Previously, I've always held the line with my index finger so I kind of fumbled a bit... (but didn't lose the fish ) -Kevin
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PampasPete
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:47 pm • # 2 |
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Joined: 09/09/14 Posts: 519 Location: southern Brazil
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That question made me think a bit, but not too much. In fact, I had given some thought to a similar issue last summer when a non-fly-fishing friend was asking me something like that. And then I started to pay a little more attention to what I actually do when casting and handling the line. It kind of goes like this.
Holding the index finger on top of the grip has two useful purposes, especially when learning to cast or re-learning with a lighter outfit. First of all, it provides a rather instinctive way of improving accuracy, by pointing the index finger at the target you're casting to. It also is a good way to keep from dropping the back-cast.
Usually my index finger does not go on top of the grip, but sometimes it does. Even so, after making a cast it goes back under ther grip in order to use the index finger of the rod hand to hole the line while retrieving and controlling slack with the line hand. Hope that helps.
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plecain
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 4:16 pm • # 3 |
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Joined: 07/25/13 Posts: 323 Location: Southern NH
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I'll be out tomorrow. I have to try this. Maybe I'm missing something. You're never too old to learn something new.
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Joe C
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 5:00 pm • # 4 |
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Joined: 02/27/12 Posts: 1956 Location: Chicopee, MA
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I'm a middle finger guy, no pun intended here.
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vtkevin
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Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:49 am • # 5 |
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Newbie |
Joined: 10/20/15 Posts: 3 Location: Southwestern VT
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Thank you all for your replies so far. Seems like either is accepted practice - I just have to adjust. Since getting my 3wt superfine carbon, I've been liking the index finger on top grip. Feels like I have more sensitivity and control.
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JimRed
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:21 pm • # 6 |
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Joined: 08/31/15 Posts: 1042 Location: Coppell, TX
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I hold my thumb on the top unless the joint starts hurting and when that happens no finger goes on top. No fingers on top works just fine. My index finger always controls the line. I keep adjusting my casting technique to ease the effects ageing. It's all good.
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WildTigerTrout
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 7:51 am • # 7 |
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Jr. Member |
Joined: 12/09/12 Posts: 53 Location: Central Pa.
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JimRed wrote: I hold my thumb on the top unless the joint starts hurting and when that happens no finger goes on top. No fingers on top works just fine. My index finger always controls the line. I keep adjusting my casting technique to ease the effects ageing. It's all good. I do the same thing. My thumb is on top of the grip. I control the line by slipping it between my index and middle finger. Jim Red , I also agree with the aging statement.
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Cross Creek
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Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:04 am • # 8 |
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Joined: 11/19/08 Posts: 1172 Location: Fayetteville, NC
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Thumb on top has been accepted as the most ergonomic position for 99.9% of casters for over 50 years, but index finger on top works well for some situations, such as "chucking up" on a longer rod to deal with overhead branches or small waters (where the finger is actually resting on the rod, not the grip), or with small rods that have finely-tapered grips. In such cases, most will change their grip after casting to move the index finger around the grip, the same way they'd move their thumb after casting if it were on top.
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