Basics · a card
How is casting distance measured in the CI exam?
From your front toe to the yarn, not from the rod tip — so a 40 ft cast leaves only about 23 ft of fly line out.
The tape starts at your front toe and runs to the yarn, not from the rod tip. That is why the distances on the exam are smaller than they look.
What the instructor says
- Subtract the rod and the leader. With a 9 ft rod and an 8 ft leader, a 40 ft cast from front toe to yarn leaves roughly 23 ft of fly line out.
- The 75 ft task is shorter than it sounds. With the fly pulled out to 80 ft, only about 60 ft of line has to be out.
- A cut-down line is enough. That is why you can cut the back 10 ft off the line and still make the distance task work.
Putting it to work
- Lay the tape from your front toe out to the yarn, exactly as the examiner will.
- At 40 ft, check that only about 23 ft of line is outside the tip.
- At 75 ft, check that about 60 ft is out.
Source
From the FFI CI walkthrough series by Dayle Mazzarella (Chapter 3 — FFI Casting Instructor Certification Tasks, Fly Fishing Coach International), lesson 1 part 1, 00:08:16. See the video library for the series and the CI exam section for the tasks; terms follow the FFI Fly Casting Definitions.