I see alot of requests for TT-R’s, super fast Zziplex’s, and super stiff rods for Xcast.
Ok, i have promoted this type of rod, but please don’t rule out your current rod.
Xcast works with all of them, and just you, the rod, and your timing have to adjust.I still think the best rod to learn with (tournament cast) is the Zziplex primo synchro at 13′-2″

why ?, because its multi purpose, will do all the styles well, and makes a great fishing rod if you give up. An all round winner.

I often train on my synchro’s, because they have great feel. Yes, the timing is far slower than my TT-R, but the mark of someone who teaches is to be able to perform what the student wants to learn, so i do practice most, if not all the styles you read about. I’m not great at all of them, but know enough to help those struggling.

Anyway, to the point…

The image above is one of my Zziplex Primo Synchro’s. I can keep a better left arm, maintain a deeper bend and, get a wider deeper stance because of the shorter rod length.

The beach at grouville is very wet, and holds water at low tide. Roj used to live just behind where this shot was taken. I’m using a 7HT and 150g in this shot. The key to the compression is the step. Get this wrong in any style and your distance will suffer. Piglet brought this to my attention in a conversation the other night, cause i’m always telling him not to carry the rod around the corner with his hips. We figured out, he was stepping different to me, and in conclusion, i can further improve my lock and load style even more.
I’ll discuss this on a video coming soon.

This shot shows me casting the synchro left handed. Why ?

I’m trying to assertain just how much a pull gives in a cast. My right hand is stronger, so it holds that i might/should be able to pull back harder with the right hand. I do of course, but my left hand is weak.
So what does this do ?
This cast enables me to cast without bad habits, my arms and body aren’t accustomed to making left hand cast mistakes. Ok, i’m not casting far, and am 30-40% down on my right handed efforts, but the point is, no one is too good to learn something new, and no-one knows it all.
So my moral is…

Lets find out, lets practice, lets push the boundaries…

But, you don’t need to spend a fortune on the latest and greatest blank to do it. Sometimes, what you have, might just be perfect.