throw line complications

F

feethanddooth

Location
NJ
just picked up a throwline and was practicing with it. well first day of practice turned into climbing to retrieving a stuck throw line. then today, i went to my friends house who wants some dead wood over his deck taken off his tree. well, throw line is stuck now again.

im throwing the line where i want but its getting stuck to the point i need to climb up and get it. whats the deal? just bad luck? seems like this thing is hit or miss. and the miss ends up being work or throwing money away.

im frustrated!
mad.gif
 
It takes a while to learn how to tease one down without snagging it. Watch it swing and time your pulls to take advantage of it. If it's swinging go slow, you can damp it on limbs and stuff but don't pull a swing ball quickly up to a limb where it can spin around. Some species of tree are grabbier than others. Shoot for open U shaped crotches rather than the tight V shaped ones.

Practice low at first and work up, go to TCCs and compete and learn, practice some more and then keep practicing.
 
Just takes practice man. If you didn't make the shot you want and don't think you can manipulate it than let it come to the ground and take the bag off. Then pull your throw line out and re-shoot. Even when you think it will come out easily (with the bag on). Everyone has there on and off days
 
Feet,

Two things that I learned after judging TL at ITCC...

One, like Matty said, let the line run to the ground and take off the bag before trying to retrieve. At the comps more points were lost than time gained by trying to back-clear a missed toss.

Second, let the bag run to the ground. Then, if you have to manipulate put on a heavier bag to overcome the friction. Trying to manipulate with a light bag leads to stuck lines too often.

I have bags that go from 8oz up to one that I named Titan, a two pounder. Titan gets used to set ropes or pull down lines/ropes.
 
To follow up what Tom said about different weights, in general you can use different weights for different heights, e.g. an 8 oz throwbag is easier to throw higher and more accurately whereas a 16 oz bag is good for low to medium throws or heavy brush. It can be frustrating, but every once in a while you walk from the truck to tree and pin it first time and that feels good.
wink.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
so, i have a 12oz weight on my line right now. i should get a heavier one for the other side, correct?

[/ QUOTE ]

Heavier and lighter. Im trying an 8oz and 16oz combo, think the 10oz/16oz combo works better for my style though.
 
Ah, the joys of the throwline. Even as a fairly experienced climber you will have frustrating days with it. Just a few days ago it took me 20 minutes to get my shot right. The client was watching the whole time from the porch which made it even worst. Just couldn't help cussing to myself the whole time:)
I use 10 and 12 oz bags, but our trees in tx rarely get over 70 feet.
 
Equally important to the line and a variety of bags, is a cube from which to deploy the bag, as well as a place to store it, along with extra bags, and small carabiners. A second set of line and bags can save a lot of time and help to convert a lot of "near misses" into "keepers"
 
There seems to be a rule with throwlines. It's either the first throw or three, or it's 20 minutes. No in between.

Mathematically, success is also inversely proportional to the spectator quotient.
 
I can't believe I left the part about taking the ball off the line! ...umm yeah, do that. It ends the stuck line thing before it gets started. I rarely pull one down with the ball still on.

I throw 12's and 16's. I don't like lots of different sizes cuz it messes with being consistent.
 
[ QUOTE ]
There seems to be a rule with throwlines. It's either the first throw or three, or it's 20 minutes. No in between.

Mathematically, success is also inversely proportional to the spectator quotient.

[/ QUOTE ]

Amen!

You look like a hero when you hit your target by hand the first shot, but miss that first one, and it seems like its at least another 15 minute ordeal to get SOMETHING.

Easily my worst shot was throwing it up over and behind me, over the primaries and it landed on the hatch glass of a brand new camaro, setting off the alarm for a straight 5 minutes, and this is after the client came out and asked if the car should be moved, and we said no it shouldnt be a problem.
cool.gif


Didnt crack the glass thank god.........
 
I've been using the Treepedo throw weight for this season. It's 12oz which is the weight of bags I was used to. It is an improvement in terms of not getting stuck, I'd say it responds better to jigging as it's hard and can be bounced off the tree. Time consuming to attach to the string the way I'm doing it now. I'll have to make an external loop or clip for quick connect. I prefer it to the bags. Sure would do some damage if it came down on something valuable like a head.
 
Last year I had four throwlines in a tree in the most horrible, tangled mess you could imagine. I was about to cry. I was considering pulling off the job out of frustration. Ultimately I cooled off and monkey fisted up this 40" American Elm and cleaned up my mess.

I don't care how good you are. Be prepared to just climb that tree.
 
Just like everyone else has said, practice and be prepared to have bad days. If you're having trouble with being accurate or just want to switch things up, give it a shot. A year ago I went from throwing one handed to throwing two handed, and it was absolutely a stroke of brilliance. The best advice I can give is to look where you're aiming the entire time you're throwing. Also, don't aim directly for the crotch, you'll likely fall short. Rather, aim 2 or 3 feet above the target crotch, this will allow the weight to sail freely over the crotch. Finally, as has already been stated, always take the bag off. It may not always get stuck, but the times it does you will hate yourself.
 
i keep seeing things about taking off the bag. not sure why or how to go about doing that(probably so simple!). anyone care to explain?

just to let you all know i managed to free my line today, re throw to the wanted crotch and do the job successfully. utilized TL 2 more times while in tree as well.

yesterday was bad. today good :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom