First, I would have someone working at a fly shop or at a fly club or a good fly fishing guide cast your outfit and tell you if it is balanced or any good.

Then I would get some good help with your casting. Maybe only an hour lesson at a time.

With a weight forward 5 floating line you should be able to cast a fly or small piece of yarn about 60 feet (measured) with 2 back casts.

The biggest complaint we get from guides is when they get clients who can't cast very well and this makes their job very hard.

Finally, we got to the point that we would talk people out of going on some of our group trips unless they worked on their tackle and their casting.

This is something to do every so often until you are happy with your casting.



Jeff Putnam, Mike Powers and Andy Guibord teach fly casting in the Sacramento area.


On Saturdays you can go to some of the casting clubs in California or in your state.

The Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco is a good start.

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