Gig,

A very valid question.

Ken has a good point, ... 45 feet is starting to get out there ...especially if you need to mend ... Try scouting out the lie to see if you can possibly cast from another position. Curve your line in the cast to lay a mend down. If not, Practice Practice ... Practice .

Don't get discouraged, ... imho, over 50% of ff's don't mend or don't know how to ...

Start from the beginning ...

To be able to manipulate the line effectively, ...throw you mend AFTER the line hits the water and with your rod horizontal. If you start the movement with the rod up in the air,you'll be "mending" the slack J from your rod tip to the water, instead of the line which is out there.

To "throw" the belly into the line you need a bit of autority. The first few times on a relatively short line, you'll probably end up flicking the fly upstream. I use 9 and 10 ft rods, so that helps too.

A gentle easy mend is done with a smooth looping motion. To "shoot" the belly "out there" you need a bit more "flick" in the wrist to throw the line around.

Sounds more difficult than it really is.

Hope this helps.

Also try ...
What the Hell is Mending? - J. Castwell's Article - Fly Angler's OnLine [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst031405.html:96b8d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/cst/cst031405.html[/url:96b8d]

Controlled Slack - Line Mending - Ladyfisher's Article - 033103" [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/ldy/ldy033103.html:96b8d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/ldy/ldy033103.html[/url:96b8d]

Drift 'n Drag - Work with it not against it - FAOL's Our Man In Canada #303 [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/canada/index.html:96b8d]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/canada/index.html[/url:96b8d]

and specificially for dries:
Fly Fishing Techniques: A Mending Primer - MidCurrent [url=http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/techniques/monahan_mending.aspx:96b8d]http://www.midcurrent.com/articles/techniques/monahan_mending.aspx[/url:96b8d]

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Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:96b8d]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:96b8d]


[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 10 June 2005).]

[This message has been edited by fcch (edited 10 June 2005).]