Casting Away

If you haven't taken a casting lesson in a while, you should. I did so Saturday morning.
Our primary instructor was Dayle Mazzarella, an FFF Master Casting Instructor, who winters in Tampa Bay and summers in Wyoming.
Dayle's taught fly tying at Tampa Bay on the Fly. I didn't sit in on those sessions, but I should have. He's a fabulous teacher.
He can demonstrate good and bad, differentiate between the two and he's got a methodology for how people learn.
A lot anglers can cast well, but not a lot of them can teach. Dayle does both well. That's rare. Teaching's a skill just like anything else. Too often it's taken for granted.
The class can't be summarized in a single blog post, but the big thing he emphasized is this: Less is more. A shorter casting arc and less effort usually result in a cleaner, more efficient stroke. Furthermore, less practice is better than a lot of practice --- if you have a goal for each session. Too many of us practice without a plan. Much of that, unfortunately, is wasted.
My lesson plan: Break down my stroke and practice each element piece by piece. First, I need to shorten my stroke and gradually lengthen it. More on that later.