ACA Tournament

[Rocketroy]

The 96th. American Casting Association will be holding their annual National Tournament event on Aug.2-7 in Lexington,Ky.I will be driving up from Clarkesville,GA.,on Tues,the 3rd.,returning Thurs.the 5th. or Fri. Aug. 6th.in the evening,in order to catch the Fly accuracy and distance events,and watch the Best in the U.S.A.,and maybe the world compete! I would welcome some company,since my casting partner has to work for a living! Please call me,if you wish to join me in this adventure! Roy E. {Rocketroy} Lowe .....706-754-0701

[Kent]

Roy, how bout a report on the ACA?



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Kent
Flyfishing West Georgia & Beyond (http://www.flyfishga.com)

[Rocketroy]

Thanks, Kent, For the interest in my ACA trip! The response to my call for a buddy, to make the trip,was underwhelming......so I drove up on my own. There was a very small turn out,perhaps due to the Lexington,Ky. location. Present were perhaps 35 contestants,mostly from the Chicago casting club {formed in the 1930,s,and the Oakland club},started about the same time. They both have water courses set up in public parks, with clubhouses,and regular practice and of course competition. The distance event was held on a polo/public soccer field,and was for: single hand fly distance,using 9&1/2 ft.10 wt.rods,38 ft. approx. shooting heads,and running lines,and open to senior men/women,and resulted in casts of 158 ft., with most hitting 140-150,with 2nd place going to a woman @153 ft. For those interestd,go to: American Casting Assn., where the results will be posted,as well as existing ACA records.Two handed fly distance was going on at the opposite end of the field,using 14 + ft.two handed spey rods, where the distances were well over 230 ft. again,short shooting heads,and a bunch of mono.running line!The distances,in that event were over 250 ft.,it appeared to me,from my vantage point! Present were Steve Rajeff,winner of the first F/F Masters, and a great distance and accuracy caster {aka "The Monster"}, along with others,I have read about. The whole group was very friendly,and invited me to compete,as a guest! Course my little 5 W/F Masters rigging was not gonna hack it,so I decided to observe,and pick up tips from these outstanding Fly casters. The second day was held on the grounds of the Blue Grass Sportsmen 1400 acre reserve,where they had a casting pool set up,for the fly accuracy events,as well as spin and bait casting to floating 30 in. targets. Here again,the stds.were very rigid and different,using 9-9 & 1/2 7 wt. rods, for five 30 in. floating targets,@ distances from 20 ft.to 45 ft. The interesting part was,in some competition,the targets were called at random,and you were allowed only two false casts,to move from target to target,often going from longest to shortest,using only two false casts! Time was a factor,as well as a gusting wind,since the pools were up on an exposed hill! I had to leave @ noon for my 7 hr. return trip,so I was only able to watch the morning event,won by Rajeff,hitting 15 of 16 targets,in quite a tailing wind! Second third and fourth casters tied,missing 3 ea.,leading to a shoot-off,requiring two rounds! Met some nice folks,had a few cool ones,with great casters,learned a few tips, that have helped me in distance as well as accuracy,and am looking forward to the next Masters event! My observation is that without a club established,and a course set up,the accuracy Fly casting development is not going to catch on,and the S.E Masters Regional will continue to be dominated by out of state casters....... Hurts my pride,durn it! I have tried to get some interest in a fly casting club up my way........but the silence is deafening! Wish you and your team was closer,we could build a competitive group of casters! My partner,Tim Ivey and I have shown some steady improvement,with regular practice, and now need to get some more tournament experience. Care to hold the Callaway invitational this fall? Maybe a package deal......one day cast-off,followed by a C&R second day fish off,for bragging rights.......or ????! Ill be there! Regards, Rocketroy

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[huntfish]

All I can say is WOW! If Rocket can get his distance and accuracy at those lengths, all I can say that the fish at Dukes better watch out! Imagine fishing at the Pavillion and not having to move.

BTW Rocket,
I found your clippers that inadvertantly got left in my shirt pocket at the Fling.

[Rocketroy]

Huntfish,I sure don,t want to give the impression that I can now magically cast the distances reported in my ACA post! The best a top 9 ft. rod / 5 WT Master,s caster can manage is in the mid 90 ft.range,with an occasional slightly over 100 ft. shot. My improvement has been from mid 70,s,to an occasional 80 ft.knock! Since the longest target in the Masters event is @ 70 ft.,most are content to be around that range,under control! At my senior age of 73,being consistant up to that distance,has been my major improvement,as well as my partners. Since I am on streams some 100 plus days a year,C&R is my real thing,where I might add,the bad habits ingrained over 60 years of fly fishing,still manage to fool a few trout!........ Really out to encourage some friendly casting competition,in order to keep up my gains. Any challengers out there? Regards,Rocketroy of Clarkesville

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[Ty]

Dang Rocketroy! I'm sorry I missed your post about the ACA tournament. I definitely would have joined you for the trip up there.
And I am interested in a little friendly casting competition. I can't find anyone here in Chattanooga to cast with me on a regular basis, so most of my practice sessions are solo. I would welcome the chance to sling some line with you and anyone else suffering from the casting obsession. Give me a shout and we'll set something up. 423-867-9791

Ty

[Rocketroy]

Ty,Et.Al. ...... Since the fall fling can not be too far off,I encourage all that are interested to attend and come early to try out my Masters standard on-grass-course,and have some fun! We could also discuss the possibility of a regional casting club, since the members of NGTO are so spread out! Watch the board,for time and location. Regards,Rocketroy of Clarkesville {P.S. Racer x...... My partner and I will be glad to meet half way @ a convenient time,to get in a little casting session with you,or others so inclined! might even hit a creek or two,in the GSMP! Interested? rocketroy@alltel.net 706-754-0701

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[Jackster]

Hey Rocket! It's quite the treat to see you 'round these here parts!
It was a whole lot of fun hanging out with you at the Masters. I'm looking forward to next year just because it gives the chance to meet people like you.
Keep practicing and make those targets of yours a little smaller. It'll make the Masters targets look HUGE in comparison!
Best,
Jack (team mate of Bryan)

[Rocketroy]

Back atcha there Jack,......How nice it is to combine a little competetive,artful casting and meet altogether classy people, willing to share their skills and then go out and shoot one down,..... in such a friendly manner! I too,look forward to the next Masters invitation,should it follow,and offer an open invitation to you and Bryan.....as a matter of fact,anyone wanting to try my Masters course,to contact me if visiting or passing thru the Clarkesville, Ga. area! My layout is exact and covers all distances,as well as an obstacle target and floats on water or works well on close by soccer fields! Free beer on me,provided you don,t smoke me! Contact info.: 706-754-0701, or: rocketroy@alltel.net Regards,Rocketroy {"Team Cracker"} P.S. Get on the OLN TV site for the 2004 S.E.regional Masters results scheduled for 10:00 p.m.,on Sept.3rd.and again on the 4th. @1:00 p.m. plus other times. {Our own Jimmy Harris,of Foothills TU},reports Unicoi outfitters hosted it again this year! Never know,one of us may get our 15 seconds of fame! See-Ya!

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