Ok Im pretty new and sometimes a little over confident.
Ive basicly learned to cast from books and DVD's (Its my first season).
Ok at first I managed to get a decent cast doing but the shoot was all wrong and my line ended up in a pile when I tried it....I figured that out and got some ok casts even in wind.
Now I have another problem...I think I over compensated for the early shoots?

Now when I shoot line. It takes 2 ratchets of my reel and then does an elastic band type action and springs back. I end up with a zig zag of line on the water.

My other problem is that when this happens my leader doesnt seem to turn over. I get zig zag line and a leader that points at me?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

I take it you mean that the line is pulling the reel when you shoot line on the forward cast? when you are casting you should have loose line off the reel as the head will pull more line when you finally cast, have a few yards lying at your feet. I appologise if I have read this wrong.

Sorry to clarify!

I have about 8 ft of line on the ground when I go to shoot.
Uptil now thats been enough (or more than enough).
The last time I fished though I shot all this line plus a few clicks of the reel with drag at min. I tried turning up the drag but it made the problem worse.
The line straightened over the water then sprang back and landed in a zig zag on the water. The leader was then pointing back at me. Its hard to tell what it was doing before. I watch the loop but find it difficult to see the actuall leader motion.

I was casting into the wind (the first time ive had the confidence to do so). So I was trying a bit harder. If I didnt the wind would collapse my loop on the forward cast.

I was thinking maybe the wind blew back the line but since I got it nice and straight in the first place. How do I get it to fall right on the water.

Thats as much info as I can give...sorry and thanks for any help!

Just have an excess of line off the reel, and feather it as it comes down to the water. This will keep the landing nice and straight.

Works for me!

its exactly what you described the "elastic band" action, fly ines, on the whole but not all, have a bit of stretch in them, when you run out of line to shoot the energy you put into the forward cast becomes an opposite reaction, hence the line coming backwards and causing a heap, you need more line on the ground than you can cast to prevent this, the fact that you are using more than your usual 8ft just shows that your casting is improving

Overpowering the rod is a common mistake, the line stops in mid air which jerks the tip back. What you should practice - without trying to shoot line - is to lay down a fixed length of line straight on the lawn. Think of the rod as a spring and your task is to find out how little energy it needs to do the job - you are conducting an orchestra, not beating them into submission.

Unless you are shooting max distance, you should never let go of the line. You have dropped the line allowing the loose line to shoot. You have lost line control.

Form an "O" ring with the thumb and forefinger of your line hand and shoot through this. It forms a another line guide but a guide that allows you direct control of the line. If the line is going to over shoot, you can close down the ring and the friction will slow the line down for a gentle landing. You can also control the shooting line so that it does not wrap around the reel as it shoots.

http://fishfliesandwater.com/2011/06...shooting-line/

I think of "line control" this way.

If you release the line from your line hand during the cast, you have given control of the line to the forces of nature.

Gravity and aerodynamics then control where the fly goes. What the O-ring technique allows you to do is to control both the line and the distance of the cast during the shoot.

Have you ever tried to land a fly accurately and the fly went too far or not far enough because you put too much or too little energy into the line shoot? Think of it this way. Could you park you car accurately by just using your accelerator and then having the car coast into the parking spot?

Of course not. You need a brake to slow the car down as it approaches the parking slot. For a fly cast, you can "brake" your cast with the O-ring.

Put a little extra power into the forward cast so that it would normally go too far. Shoot the line through the O-ring but then close your fingers around the line as the cast approaches the target. With practice, you can "feather" the cast so that the fly land right on target.

This is exactly what spin fishers do when they place their index finger against the top lip of the line spool to slow down the line or when casting reel fishers place their thumb against the casting reel spool. We can do the same thing by using the "O" ring shoot.

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