The tip-top is the ONLY guide which influences the direction of our casts. [You can't push on a fishing line to change its direction.] Is there some way to observe and measure the path of a rod-tip during a cast to see how far it deviates from the path (plane) of the rest of the rod ? This information would be more valuable than imagining how "soulful" a rod is.

i don,t think it matters how much it deviates..the cast will fly in the direction of movement of the rod tip at the time of release..unless it,s a triple wing buzz bait..lol.

Been making the move to braid. Due to an accident I have little feeling in my hand. Seems the braid has wore out the tip of my finger so much my iPhone won't recognize it anymore:)

So I have learned, that with spinning reels, if you are constantly a little right of your intended target, you are letting go of the line too early. This assumes a right handed caster.

Phil, I could have missed it, but I don't recall anyone claiming a certain brand/model of blank or a certain guide layout offering better casting accuracy. Did someone make that claim? I am discounting those that did so in relationship to rod spine so no need to include those posts.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

Russell:

I believe if you are willing to sort through a couple-hundred previous posts you will find several that claim a rod's spine, or its guides, or its grip are key components in determining that rod's accuracy. In over seven decades of fishing/casting I have never seen the slightest evidence for this claim. I will abandon my opinion in an instant when credible evidence is presented that accurate casting depends upon rod construction.

Let's try a thought experiment and assume the tip top is 90 degrees right of the other guides and that the first couple feet below the tip top curves hard right ending 3" from the center line axis of the remainder of the rod. It's a ugly rod and an extreme case. My guess is, and it's a swag, the cast would be right of the target by not more than 3" or a deviation of less than 1% for a 30 ' cast. Seems like a non-event to me.

A competent caster is able to adjust for a cross- wind which would send a cast a lot more off-course than a poorly aligned tip-top. It's a poor workman who blames his tools.

Guide sizes and their layout affect how the line is handled by the rod. If you think casting accuracy is dependent solely on the path of the tip top, you are sadly mistaken.

I agree with you David, but, I do think orientation of the tip top has affects direction of cast more than any other guide.

I also agree with Phil that a competent caster can effectively compensate for any rod shortcoming or quirk if an odd casting behavior exists.

If one thinks that tiptop orientation affects the direction of the cast all they have to do is set up a video cam behind them and record a bunch of overhead casts with the tiptop orientation changed between each series of casts. Please report back. But I think I'll just put it where it belongs and go fishing.

I guess I just see casting accuracy as being more inclusive than just the direction the weight being cast, is headed the moment the line is relased. There is so much more to a cast than that. In order to be truly accurate, one needs consistency. The more consistently a rod handles line, the more potential for accuracy that rod offers. It has nothing to do with the person using the rod. It's in the equipment itself.

the only inconsistant element of a fishing rod cast is the human element and the wind..

Ben:

Just so!

Birds of a feather ......

I was casting a floating worm one day on my favorite bait caster and noticed that I was always casting to one side or the other of my target. Often as much as 3 feet. This had never happened before so obviously something was wrong. I investigated and found the tip was loose enough to rotate about 20 degrees either way but not loose enough to go flying off the end on a cast. Depending on the angle of rod to line on retrieve, the tip rotated so I my attempts to compensate were inconsistent. I stopped fishing right there, replaced the tip with a new one, and problem went away. That's all the scientific evidence I need to take time to align it with reel seat when I put it on. As for the rest of the guides, alignment makes little if any difference in casting accuracy. But, if you have customers, the first thing they'll do when away from you is to sight it down as if to shoot ducks with it. Crooked guides are sloppy craftmanship so I put em all on as straight as my non fuzzy eye can tell and let er go.

Bottom "line" remains: you can't push on a rope, or a fish line - of any type. A freely rotating tip top won't change the direction of a cast enough to measure. Take a rod with a tight tip top, aim at a target cast, ten times and mark the landing spots. Then rotate the rod's grip 90 degrees - which will rotate the tip-top 90 degrees - take casts, and mark the results. Observations are more reliable than opinions.

I’m almost positive that I never cast with the rod tip in perfect alignment to the direction of cast. As in fly casting accuracy is determined by the path of the rod tip during the casting motion. If the plane is curved the line will tend to travel off plane and lose accuracy. A good caster will learn to use this in situations and can actually hook the cast to place the fly around obstructions.