Hi, I'm fairly new to fly fishing only started last year around mid summer. I have a Berkley Cherrywood Rod in a 5 weight with a Greys GRXi Fly Reel which is 5/6 weight with one spool 5 weight floating and another 5 weight sink tip.

I can generally cast 15-20 feet within a foot of my target when I'm practicing but the second I get to the water I can't cast worth a darn and it all ends up coiled up a few feet in front of me in the water. I was wondering if anyone might have some ideas on what I could be doing wrong or know of any books or anything of the sort which might be able to help me improve my casting technique. Thanks

Hi, no book,no dvd, no forum. Can replace a good instructor. So my advice if you want to shorten the learning curve is to find one.(shortening the learning curve isn't cheating).

Where are you based, there are some very good instructors on here.

Sean

Agreed. Although 'The Cast' by Ed Jawarowski, is an excellent resource for reading between lessons.

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Hi cgideon, its difficult to say what the cause is, try looking here
www.gameanglinginstructors.co.uk for an instructor in your area.

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From his/her previous post I think they are in the US and fishing warm waters, which can make it a little more difficult to find an instructor.
I agree with the previous posts and look for some instruction. But if you want to work on things yourself try and relax. A common mistake is tensing up and getting the timing wrong, count things out when you practise, so relax and repeat your timing on the water.
Regards
-Alun.

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as a novice myself I am not going to disagree with any of the other replies but I can relate exactly to what you have described. On my drive I can get the line out with an element of competence but stand anywhere near water and I just look like a ....

what I found was that in an unfamiliar environment (i.e. not on my drive) I was rushing the back cast, therefore not loading any energy into either rod or line. So, because this casting action doesnt come naturally to me and I can only think of one or two things at once, my thought processes are good acceleration into back cast and keeping the rod moving between 10 and 2 oclocks - its not brilliant but its an improvement

I am fortunate that the water I go to is secluded enough that I can usually practise casting onto the water without interfering with other fishers

good luck, Dave

I can relate to this post. I spent weeks reading articles and watching instructional videos but the harder I tried the worse it all got. In the end I was going off into the wilderness, not so much because of the better fishing but more to do with no one being around to witness my awful casting! Finally I sought professional tuition and it's made a huge difference. You need someone who knows what they are talking about to stand back and watch you in action. I now know exactly what I'm doing wrong and how to go about correcting my mistakes.

If your line is landing in a heap at your feet, you're probably not stopping on the forward cast. You need to stop abruptly with the tip of the rod pointing above the horizon, allow the line to unfurl in front of you and then gently follow down with the rod as the line falls to the water. Dont aim at the water but a few feet above. Well it works for me anyway.