False Casts Waste Time

After taking a casting lesson I can now achieve twice the distance with much greater accuracy. But during my lesson I was somewhat reprimanded for false casting. Why was this?
Keith Atkinson

Nick Hart answers: That sounds like a successful lesson although the instructor in question should really have explained why they were reprimanding you for false casting!

It is possible that you were false casting a number of times which means that your fly line is spending considerable time in the air, rather than in the water, wasting valuable fishing time.

Excessive false casting also has no benefit for the overall cast. Once a proportion of head section and possibly a short segment of running line (based on a weight forward line) are extended beyond the tip section of the rod there is little point in further false casting and shooting of line. Continual false casting is also likely to upset your timing.

As a general rule no more than two to three false casts should be used to extend well into the line and an accomplished caster can achieve a considerable distance with just one.

Reprinted with permission of Trout Fisherman magazine.