The backcast stop. “The elite group stopped the rod more abruptly, moving the butt an average of 16 degrees as compared to 26 degrees for the good group. This “stop” is measured from the point of the rod’s maximum bending the backcast to the point at which the rod first deflected downward (Figure 2).
Some of the “good” casters also moved the casting hand and rod butt lower during the stop. This extra movement combined with the greater angle change of the rod butt allowed the rod tip to drop lower in back than was typical of the elite group. Dropping the rod tip low during the backcast put sag in the backcast line and decreased the likelihood of achieving small, efficient loops.
Although we are familiar with this tendency among beginning casters, we found that it reappears in some experienced casters when they attempt long backcasts.”
I recall several years ago while demo-ing my cast to a shop owner that I was told, as my rear casting stroke ended around 2 o’clock, that if I wanted more distance I should let my hand drift back a hitch in order to wait for my line to straighten to the rear…I adopted this for some time. When I suffered severe damage to my right wrist, which required a full fusion, I returned to the more confined stroke, necessitated by the unbending wrist. I gave up on distance casting, not of much value to me anyway, and reverted back to nothing seldom past 40′ on a river and only rarely longer on stillwaters. But, if you like to power the line out under certain circumstances, then this article is an interesting review of that certain stroke many ‘elite’ casters possess.
SwittersB & Exploring 