Make Your Practice Sessions Frequent But Brief

As with any sport, fly-casting requires practice. How you practice is also important.

Based on my own experience, I can tell you the temptation is to practice long and hard, making the same cast time after time. And that's bad for a couple reasons.

Most important is that you get tired, and when you're tired, you tend to make mistakes. And when you keep repeating mistakes, you risk turning those errors into bad habits that are hard to break.

Intense practice sessions also pose a physical risk. Never mind that fly-fishing is supposed to be a "light tackle" sport. I'm one of those fly-casters who can cite a history of repetitive stress injuries. Specifically, tennis elbow. Wrist and rotator cuff problems can also occur. Fortunately, I've never required surgery for my casting injuries, but I know casters who have.

Rather than invite such trouble, I routinely advocate sessions that are frequent but brief. Fifteen minutes has always struck me as a good target time. That's not to say you can never go beyond 15 minutes. Just use some discretion, and beware of wearing yourself out.

I also advocate a bit of variety.

Don't just make the same standard overhead cast time after time. Work on your roll cast and off-shoulder roll cast one day, then overhead casts on another. If you're an intermediate or more advanced caster, make an overhead cast while trying to vary the size of your loop, from tight to wide then tight again.

The double haul also deserves practice, but don't forget to spend some time on accuracy. Three or four rags tossed on the lawn will make convenient targets.

The possibilities are many, but I'm sure you get the idea. Just keep your mind fresh, as well as your muscles.