see, that's why I like this board. instead of just recommending what I asked for, you gave me more information that, now that you say it, makes sense. I never put the "shape" of the line being at the front to mean that I needed to put the full taper in the air in order to shoot, but when you say that and I think about it, it makes perfect sense. if the first thirty feet are the heaviest per foot, then I guess I do need to get all of that in the air. it isn't often that I really need to cast more than thirty feet, but the fact that I can't leads me to think that there are lots of things wrong with my casting, hence the dvd. thanks for both the suggestion AND the extra info!

-c