Casting aerodynamics!

[Gaffer]

There's a lot of talk in mags and on the net regarding the aerodynamic shapes of leads and how they behave in flight.

After having a play at some extreme range casting I couldn't see much difference in the way the lead behaved from shape to shape. (The leads I tried were the zip style, the pear, a ball lead and a flat bottomed pear.)

 

So, is lead aerodynamics a 'load of toffee' or is there some science in it?

[mikeakabigman]

I my opinion there are far greater influences on distance casting or hitting the spot accurately than lead design.

I would have thought casting technique and rod/reel and line performance would feature more highly in achieving accurate / long casts. just an opinion you understand , not based on any technical knowledge.

[Woodzzz]

I tend to base my lead choice on the situation i'm fishing not so much the distance.

[Andy Thatcher]

Depends wholly on where I am casting too. If I wat the bait on the side or top of a feature I'll use a flat profile lead to stop it rolling. If I am happy for it to be at the base a rounder lead is used.

 

As for aerodynamics or air resistantance the distances we are talking about would hardly count it as a factor. Now when we get to the point when you need to be able to chuck 300 yards + then lead shape may become an issue.

[davidP]

I'd have thought that unless you're straining for every last inch then the difference to most anglers would be very little. Far more significant would be the ring spacing, line lay and even smoothness of the line you're using.

[chesters1]

i think the shape makes little difference only the actuall widest point of the lead (resistance ) this is because although the lead may be nicely aerodynamic in design there is now way to make sure it goes through the air aerodynamicaly ( look at rifle bullets ,aerodynamic and shot from a rifled barrel ,but watch it in ultra slo-mo it wobbles all over the place) compare the ideal conditions of a bullet and a lead with line ,bait etc probably the best all round weight would be ....well an all round one (ball)

[peter mccue]

I don't think lead aerodynamics are a load of toffee, but in accordance with the other posters on this thread I think it makes very little difference to the average Carper.

 

You need to have everything else set up & operating to maximum efficiency to gain any benefit from the lead design.

 

Important on the tournament field, but on your local water?

 

Lead design for me is far more important at close to middle range.

[Steve Burke]

Rob Hughes and Simon Crow reported on experiments they did on this subject in their book "Strategic Carp Fishing".

 

They concluded that "lead choice is a vital aspect of distance fishing and even over 100m the correct choice of lead can add up to a massive 17m to your cast".

 

You'll have to read the book for the full results, but they tested 6 different designs of leads including some in-line ones, and measured the distances to a tenth of a metre (4 inches).

 

Having said all this I agree that cating ability, the rod, and the diameter of the line make even more difference.

[mikeakabigman]

Its amazing how different angling pro's reach opposeing conclusions, I'm just reading Gravel pit carping by Jim Gibbinson and he says that his experiments showed very little diffence in distances irrespective of the lead design.

[Andy Thatcher]

I agree and I tihnk I said that there would be a difference in extreme distance but I would doubt if that applies to 99% of anglers, certainly not me anyway !, despite what they think.

 

I was going to mention that Mike but had a blonde moment and couldn't remember where or whom had said it.