PHYSICAL AND NUMERICAL MODELLING OF THE DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF A FLY LINE

The planar equations of motion for a tapered fly line subjected to tension, bending, aerodynamic drag, and weight are derived. The resulting theory describes the large non-linear deformation of the line as it forms a propagating loop during fly casting. A cast is initiated by the motion of the tip of the fly rod that represents the boundary condition at one end of the fly line. At the opposite end, the boundary condition describes the equations of motion of a small attached fly (point mass with air drag). An efficient numerical algorithm is reviewed that captures the initiation and propagation of a non-linear wave that describes the loop. The algorithm is composed of three major steps. First, the non-linear initial-boundary-value problem is transformed into a two-point boundary-value problem, using finite differencing in time. The resulting non-linear boundary-value problem is linearized and then transformed into an initial-value problem in space. Example results are provided that illustrate how an overhead cast develops from initial conditions describing a perfectly laid out back cast. The numerical solutions are used to explore the influence of two sample effects in fly casting, namely, the drag created by the attached fly and the shape of the rod tip path.