I just recently saw Lefty and he was saying that the forward cast is two part.

1. stopping the forward cast so that your line is parallel to the water
2. letting your line float down onto the water, so as not to let it splash down.

I saw him cast and his line barely made a ripple in the water when it came down. As far as lifting went, he brought the rod tip up in a quick snap so the line did not drag the surface of the water. It was pretty impressive to watch him, especially considering we had quite a wind that day. Just my observations.