When was the last time you just casted?

Golfers go to the driving range. Not just professionals, either. Once-a-month golfers might stop by the range a few times to hit a bucket of balls. Swing after swing, you can deliberately work out kinks in your technique. It is practice, but it is also fun.

Fly casting really isn’t any different. On the water is not the best time to implement a tweak or try to master an entirely new cast. There are fish to be had, and lots of other variables to contend with. A lunch break on the lawn or a few hours on a local pond provides the right environment to hammer out some casting practice.

But it is important to go out there with some goals or ideas in mind. Here are two articles that talk about casting practice, and one that deals with how casting can influence your fly rod choice:

6 Ways to Approach Teaching Fly Casting

Certainly, you can have your friend – the potential angler – sign up for a class through a local fly shop or conservation organization. Or, you can buy them lunch, go to a park, and help them get the fundamentals in view.But good intentions also require some forethought. Have you ever honestly considered every component part that goes into a fly cast? It isn’t as easy as handing them a rod and telling them to “just cast it.” You being a good caster also doesn’t translate into you being a good teacher. Here are six things to think about before you try to help somebody figure out this vitally important (and fun) part of fly fishing.

The Worst. Fly. Rod. Ever. (maybe)

…there aren’t a lot of real-life fly fishing situations where you need to dump 90 feet with a 5-weight. Maybe you have had to plop a BWO down in the next county over. But I was never faced with that particular scenario when chasing trout. But hey, I guess I should chalk that up to not doing all I could do. I’m not that intense. Maybe this rod was built with real fly fishers in mind. All I was doing was casting real far.

Fly Casting Practice: Literally Pick up a Book

If you either don’t fish in the winter or don’t fish often, there is no reason why you can’t add casting to your routine of gear cleaning and YouTube daydreaming. Do you have a yard? If your yard is frozen, do you have access to a large room? A warehouse at work, your gym’s racquetball court, or your church’s sanctuary (not during service, of course) could all accommodate some practice time. Even fifteen minutes can be helpful. Fifteen minutes of casting off the water is sometimes more beneficial than hours of casting on the water. Reason being, you’re thinking about casting – not fishing.