I have a Greys GRXi 9' 6" 6/7 weight. My casting distance is good enough but my line does land on the water in a terrible shape. I feel that my rod is very springy and the springiness finds it's way to the fly-line and when it lands on the water, although the distance is not bad, the line never lands in a neat straight line like everybody elses seems to do (zig zags all over the place when it shoots forwards). I'm using a 6 weight WF floater.

What might I be doing wrong? Would a stiffer rod help? Am I using too much power somewhere?

Cheers IJN.

probably hitting it too hard on the forward stroke mate, hitting it too hard sends vibrations down the line the same as if you put a rope on the ground and give it a flick it sends waves down it

Try "feathering" the line when you want it to turn over.
Otherwise stop the line shooting with your reeling hand, aim above the water and it should all fall gentley in a straight line.

Its worth noting unlike many people on here (Rookstorm etc) i am not a professional casting instructer, far from it. So if they contradict me take their advice not mine

I dread to ask,But what kind of floating line is it.

Jim

__________________
The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

An Ivory from Pitsford Pirate. Is there something I should know?

I think he feared it was a pinkish Biocraft line....

I think you can rule out line and rod as causes.

__________________
Around the steel no tortur'd worm shall twine,
No blood of living insect stain my line;
Let me, less cruel, cast feather'd hook,
With pliant rod athwart the pebbled brook,
Silent along the mazy margin stray,
And with fur-wrought fly delude the prey

dont shoot to much line make sure and remember the stop in your stroke is sooooooooo important make sure its is a stop and not a slow down

Have you tried a WF7?

Your line may need stretching to take the memory out.

Hi,
It's always difficult to tell what is causing a particular casting fault without actually seeing it, however the squiggles/ zigzags you describe are most commonly caused by applying power too early in the forward stroke. What happens is the rod tip bends slightly early and tends to throw the top of the loop high rather than forward. The line goes where the rod tip goes and if the rod tip is bent too early in the stroke, it will send the line slightly upwards losing directional power, causing it settle in the zig zags you describe. (during instruction we call this a wiggly line) Also, this type of cast or movement will be used deliberately by experienced casters to play slack line near the end of the fly-line and leader as and when required.

Practise with the length of line you are comfortable with and only add a metre at a time ( dont try harder - try smoother ).

Andrew