{"id":155,"date":"2013-02-26T09:04:19","date_gmt":"2013-02-26T09:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fly-fish-guide.net\/blog\/?p=155"},"modified":"2015-02-08T15:34:09","modified_gmt":"2015-02-08T15:34:09","slug":"constant-tension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fly-fish-guide.net\/blog\/constant-tension\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuous tension"},"content":{"rendered":"

From when the fly-line is first peeled off the water until the launch point in the forward delivery, the fly-line must be kept constantly under tension, otherwise it cannot be controlled. There are some special casts which utilise slack line to achieve a desired effect, such as a negative mend but these are special cases and will be dealt with separately.
\nTo achieve continuous tension the rod-tip must be accelerated at all times even though the rate of acceleration might only increase very gradually, in some instances.
\nDeceleration of the rod-tip will cause a loss of tension and the control of the fly-line, and furthermore it will result in the unloading of the fly-rod. If rapid deceleration occurs before the end of the casting stroke this will cause the rod-tip to track a concave path, which will result in a tailing loop.
\nPrior to casting the fly-line must be laid out on the water so that there are as few twists and turns as possible, otherwise when the fly-line is lifted this will cause slack in the fly-line.
\nTo maintain continuous tension at the beginning of a casting sequence the fly-line must be held close to the surface of the water, so that there is no initial slack in the fly-line, and then the fly-line should be continuously peeled off the water until the line-stick can no longer hold back the fly-line. This will ensure that as much fly-line as possible is off the water and that there is a minimum amount of resistance caused by line-stick. At this point the fly-line can be easily lifted and led by the rod-tip to where the caster would like to position the fly-line. If the fly-line is lifted too quickly this will cause the line-stick to release the fly-line unexpectedly and the fly-rod to unload, thus causing loss of line tension and control.
\nDuring sweeping movements with the fly-rod and line it is also important to maintain acceleration and hence line tension. This means that the sweeps must be made in wide arcs ( all the way around the arc with no shortcuts) with the rod-tip leading the fly-line at all times. To do this effectively the full leverage of the fly-rod must be used for sweeping movements.
\nWith the exception of special casts, at the end of the casting stroke a rapid deceleration of the rod-tip is induced by stopping the fly-rod abruptly. At the point of maximum acceleration, the fly-line is launched in the direction of the cast.
\nSometimes, it is possible to maintain control after deceleration of the rod-tip and this is used to good effect in some Spey casts such as the Jump Roll, Circle \u2018C\u2019 and the Snake Roll, however to do these casts follow-through has to be employed to maintain tension on the fly-line.
\nSome instances where continuous tension is important are:-<\/p>\n