For short casts you aim about four feet above the water (or lawn). As your casts get longer aim higher to allow the line and fly more time to reach the target. Learning to aim accurately is a hallmark of expert casting. You should spend considerable practice time learning to aim and to hit targets on the lawn.

 

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Using the practice steps you should be able to teach yourself how to cast the line, leader, and yarn (fly) from 15 to 30 feet in your first hour of practice. Now you can present a fly to bass and panfish in a pond or to fish in a stream or on the ocean.

Expert casting takes practice, but 15 minutes a day (every day in summer) of practice can make you an expert caster in one season. Here are some helpful tips when practicing casting or when fishing.

1. Wear protective glasses (polarized sunglasses) to prevent eye injury.
2. Push yourself to greater (measured) distances in casting the yarn fly only after you achieve competence at the shorter distances--15 feet, then 20, then 30 and so on.
3. Have a good caster watch and critique your casting.

Basic casting errors and how to correct them:
Problem: Backcast dropping to the lawn or water.
Fault: The rod tip is flopping over (pointing too low), sending the cast to the ground.
Correction: Stop the rod tip high. Keep a firm casting wrist.

Problem: Tailing loops.
Fault: Stroking the rod too hard or too soon. Correction: Stroke more gently. Allow the line time to straighten out in the backcast completely before stroking the forward cast.

Problem: Fly snaps off with a crack in the backcast.
Fault and Correction: Same as for tailing loops.

Problem: The cast dies before reaching the target.
Fault: Underpowered cast caused by loose line or by a floppy wrist stroke. Corrections: Tighten the line before the pickup for the backcast. Use a firm wrist stroke on the backcast and forward cast and stop the rod immediately after the stroke.

Aiming the Cast
Unless it's windy, you should not aim your cast directly at your target; instead, aim just above it. The longer the cast, the higher you should aim.