Which grip ?...

It’s often good to re-examine things that have become habit over many years because
new ideas are regularly popping up ,with the internet a big influence. Concepts from all over the world are helping  us to re-think  aspects of our sport and this can only be a good thing.
One thing that we’ve taken for granted is the simple issue of how to hold a fly rod – or is it really that simple. What I want to discuss will be food for thought to the more experienced angler but hopefully quite significant to newer members to the club and fly fishing.
I think it’s fair to say that the most commonly accepted grip for a single handed rod is the “thumb on top”, and this is what instructors have concentrated on for many years. There’s nothing too wrong about this because it has several good points – the thumb can help to stop the rod on the back cast, it acts as a pointer on the forward stroke and it can exert pressure to the stroke. There are however a few minus points – it can allow the wrist to break excessively which causes the rod to go too far back, on a long power stroke the thumb can twist out of line which causes tracking problems and importantly, this grip can cause pain and possible injury to the forearm and thumb joint.

So what are the alternatives: the second most commonly seen is the “ forefinger on top” which is quite an old style and often said to help accuracy on short casts such as you would use on the Alyn. I don’t think this is true and it’s also a poor grip for longer casts and heavier rods. Again, there is a health issue as the finger can become strained.

In my opinion, and that of many of my instructor colleagues, by far the best grip to use is “the V grip” sometimes called “the 3 point grip”.  It’s a very popular grip in the USA and is a good example of the fresh ideas spreading to us from world sources.
From the picture you can see how it works. The thumb is slightly to the side and the main pressure is applied by the three fingers below the forefinger. The forefinger also holds the rod and you can see the V shape. This grip actually tightens the wrist joint making it less likely to cock too far back and I understand that less strain is caused to the tendons in the forearm. It is much easier to keep the rod “ in plane” which will prevent the line swerving in the air and therefore helps with accuracy. A major advantage is that you are less likely to hit the rod too hard on the forward cast , this grip promotes a smoother stroke. The only downside when using this grip with a beginner is that the V may allow the rod to tilt backwards but reasonable pressure with the fingers should prevent this.

After years of using the thumb on top, this will take some getting used to but I really do recommend that you give it a try.

The last option is called “ extended forefinger” and the picture makes this very clear, a bit like a table tennis grip. It’s a modification of the V grip but I find that I have less control due to losing the grip of that finger.
So there you are, certainly one good alternative to experiment with and I have to say that I’ve been using the V for a few months now and I’m very happy with it. I’m genuinely very interested in your findings and hope to see them on the forum.

Tight lines !

Louis

Copyright © 2009 Louis Noble.