I have issues...

[flybinder]

First off, JC's and some of the other suggestions, probably saved you from worse than bad casting habits......... NOT,going over to Lord Hise's, no doubt saved you from lowering your standards, down to "fish kicking" instead of casting. (He'll explain that to you, glady).
Second, "helping with casting and not standing right next to the person asking the questions, is like improving a golf swing, while talking on the phone.
But, a few things, come to mind........... "Your rod's been repaired with "JB Weld"!? How long is the leader and what weight/size is it, that keeps "piling up"? What type, age, weight, design line are you casting? A #8 fly isn't all that big, for a 7'6" 4wt. but how heavy is it, compared to leader/tippet length and weight? Wind resistant?
"The guides on my rod, don't line up, just right" ??
I, dunno, but it seems, by what you've described and asked about, there's a lot of "variables" left unanswered.
By the way, another "variable",..."How long have you been fly casting and did you have any good instruction,when you started out"?

[Z]

Joe, first off, any stick that is repaired with JB weld... hummm.. and ya wonder why it's not aligned correct.
Try focusing your eyes 6ft or so above where you want the fly to go on your forward cast, this might help with that darn tailing loop.

Z

[joerogrz]

Paul, my Dad taught me and neither one of us have had any "professional" instruction. I learned when I was a kid, and gave it up until 2005ish and then I relearned by teaching myself.

At that time my rod was brand new, now it has been broke 2 or 3 times, I forget, and un-professionally repaired by myself and my Dad. Once it breaks in the same spot that many times, it's time for it to not break anymore, hence the JB Weld.

As for the eyes not lining up... When the rod was "fixed" with the JB Weld, it was put back together and the JB was allowed to set, but the eyes were off a little bit. The rod was broke at the ferrule, and it just wasn't lined up correctly when it was put back together. No big problem there, I want a new rod anyway....

As for the line, it's brand new Orvis Green Mountain line that was sent to me by another FAOL member. Before that I had some Scientific Angler Ultra 4 on it which was about 2 years old, but taken care of.
The leader was about 5 ft long and made of 8lb test micro-filament which has the diameter of 1lb test mono. This was one of the leaders I furled. Here is a link to give you an idea of the line I used to make these.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...395&id=0011779

When I said it was a #8 fly, I meant the hook size. I'm not sure how to categorize flies when I tie them. I know the material adds extra weight, but I didn't think it would be that much.

As for the eyes not lining up... When the rod was "fixed" with the JB Weld, it was put back together and the JB was allowed to set, but the eyes were off a little bit. The rod was broke at the ferrule, and it just wasn't lined up correctly when it was put back together. No big problem there, I want a new rod anyway....

As for fish-kicking and bad habits.... It could be worse....

[joerogrz]

Joe, first off, any stick that is repaired with JB weld... hummm.. and ya wonder why it's not aligned correct.
Try focusing your eyes 6ft or so above where you want the fly to go on your forward cast, this might help with that darn tailing loop.

Z

Well I wasn't present when it was repaired and had I been, they would have been straight. Unfortunately, my Dad's eyesight isn't the greatest being that his age is up there. I was actually going to trash the rod until he decided to JB Weld it. We like to experiment.

[Big Bad Wulff]

Go warm-water fishing. You HAVE to cast to catch anything...unlike stream fishing where casting "may not" be quite as 'necessary'. YOu will learn how to cast effectively very quickly.

[shorthaul]

I have other issues besides my crappy casting and the liquor store. Who knows a trip to the liquor store here may fix my casting....Hopefully with this new job, .

Joe---im thinking af checking that out here also---after enough of that stuff---my casting looks better ---to me anyways

a few of the tailing loop problems come from "wrist casting" throughout the stroke---overpowering the rod directly off the back cast and have the angle between the back loop and front loop be less than 180 degrees

the book that helped me cast better was "Flyfishing Strategies" by swisher and richards---i lent it out and it never came back and i never got any better

[joerogrz]

I'm actually using 4x tippet. Before that it was 6lb mono.... It's how I learned....

[Z]

Joe, sorry my humor was lost in my last post!

A broken rod is just that. Graphite fibers can not be welded back together.

You need a new fly rod!

Z

[joerogrz]

Z- I understand. I seem to have lost my sense of humor here lately anyways....

JC- I took you up on your dare, and it helped... Instead of getting a tailing loop almost every time, now it's just every other time. Practice makes perfect!! Seriously though I did try it today and I could see a difference there. It isn't perfect yet, and may never be, but it is a definite improvement. Thanks!!

Jack- Got your video today, which is irrelevant to this post, but I watched it twice and think I have a good handle on rod building. Excuse the pun.

Everyone else, and Paul- Thank you for your help! I hope I can contribute as much as everyone has helped me.

By the way.... I was a little underpowered on my casting. I had to hit my hand until it hurt, right?

[old geezer]

3wt rod fly size 12-28
4wt 10-26
5wt 8-24
6wt 6-20
7wt 4-16
8wt 1/0-12

Hope this helps

Philip