CI written exam practice questions
The FFI CI Study Guide ends with Appendix D — review questions, and the closest thing to a published syllabus for the written (paper) exam. These are its Sample Questions by Topic, all 33 of them, one card each: six on loop control, six on line control, five on roll casts, three on accuracy, five on distance and seven on the teaching tasks.
Each card gives the answer the guide supports, in the terms the guide uses, and says where it comes from. Where the guide gives a number or a limit, the answer carries it; where it does not, the answer says what the outcome depends on instead of inventing a figure.
Two things worth knowing before you use them:
- These are FFI’s own published sample questions, not stolen exam papers. The real written exam’s 35 questions are not published. The study guide is explicit that mastering its material is the preparation: “If you have mastered the material in this guide, you should know the answers to the written exam.”
- The written exam covers casting mechanics, fly tackle, knots, teaching and fishing knowledge. The questions here lean on mechanics and teaching because that is what Appendix D samples; read the paper exam page for the syllabus, test-day sequence and retake rules.
Search a word, filter by topic tag, or read a topic straight through — cards are ordered by topic and then by the order the appendix lists them.
- What are the rod tip paths that produce a narrow loop, wide loop and tailing loop? A straight rod tip path gives a narrow loop, a convex (domed) path gives a wide loop, and a concave path that dips gives a tailing loop. Read the full answer
- Name two actions that result in a tailing loop. Improper (uneven) force application — usually too slow early then too fast — and a casting arc that is too narrow for the bend in the rod. Read the full answer
- How does the path of the rod tip relate to the size of the loop? The rod tip path sets the loop: straight gives a narrow loop, a convex domed path opens it into a wide loop, and a concave dip makes a tailing loop. Read the full answer
- How does the 180-degree principle apply to overhead casting? At the start of every casting stroke the fly line must be closely aligned with the intended rod tip path, laterally and vertically, so all the energy drives the line toward the target. Read the full answer
- If the casting arc is too wide for the bend of the rod, which loop shape results? A wide loop — the rod tip travels up and over in a convex dome and the fly leg curves upward. Read the full answer
- Comparing a bamboo rod with a fast-action graphite rod, which needs the wider casting arc when false casting similar loops? The bamboo rod. It bends more under the same load, and the casting arc must match how much the rod bends. Read the full answer
- What is a mend? A mend is manipulating the fly line layout by rod movement after loop formation on a delivery cast; it affects the rod leg, not the fly leg. Read the full answer
- Why would you slip line, or not slip line, during a reach mend? Slip line to hold the fly at distance while the rod reaches; do not slip when you want a fixed amount of line and a shorter, precise landing. Read the full answer
- What fishing situation would you use a pile cast? Use a pile cast to heap slack line on the water from the cast alone — classically when fishing downstream, where the slack gives a longer drag-free drift. Read the full answer
- What is an elliptical cast, and when might you use it? An elliptical cast (Belgian or oval) runs a low back cast plane straight into a more vertical forward cast with no pause — the split planes stop back-cast ticking and carry bulky flies. Read the full answer
- What are the fishing benefits of learning to cast from the vertical plane to a more horizontal plane? A lower rod plane puts the line where an overhead cast cannot — under overhanging cover, and safely in wind — so you can fish water you can see but not reach. Read the full answer
- What casting adjustments are needed when casting from a vertical plane to a horizontal plane? Keep the 180-degree principle in the new plane, move the rod flat instead of down-and-up, keep the low plane off the ground, and widen the arc and stroke if you speed up. Read the full answer
- When would you want to use a reach mend? Use a reach mend in moving water to land the line and leader upstream of the fly — it buys a longer drag-free drift and drops the fly into the feeding lane while it is still in the air. Read the full answer
- Describe the 180-degree principle for anchored casts as it applies to the roll cast. Line the anchor, the D Loop and the forward delivery up on the target line: with all three aligned laterally, a roll cast delivers safely, accurately and efficiently. Read the full answer
- In what fishing situation would you use a roll cast pickup? When the fly and leader have sunk, have gone slack or have snagged: the roll cast pickup peels them off the water and gets the line back in the air. Read the full answer
- If too much force is applied too early during a roll cast, what happens to the loop? It comes out wide: early force domes the rod tip path, so the fly leg curves upward and the line falls in a puddle instead of unrolling to the target. Read the full answer
- What are at least three reasons we do a roll cast? Five from the guide: no room for an aerial back cast, to clear slack, to raise a sunk line, to free a snagged fly, and to lift a bulky fly with minimal disturbance. Read the full answer
- Is a roll cast a good change-of-direction cast? Not generally: it is defined as an anchored cast without a substantial change of direction, and at around 40 ft the most you can turn is approximately 15 degrees. Read the full answer
- How does fly line trajectory affect accuracy? It decides where the loop unrolls: a flat trajectory leaves the fly high above the target with a long fall to go, while a trajectory tilted down at the target unrolls it much closer. Read the full answer
- What changes in timing (pause) occur when casting from 20 ft to 45 ft at similar casting speed? At similar casting speed the pause gets longer as the line gets longer: 45 ft of line takes longer to unroll than 20 ft, so the next casting stroke starts later. Read the full answer
- How do I correct my fly landing to the right or left of the target? A left or right miss is a tracking error, not an aiming error: the rod tip path is curving sideways in the horizontal plane, so straighten the tip path and aim the reel at the target. Read the full answer
- How much line can we typically shoot? The guide gives no typical figure — a shoot is as long as the line speed and the amount of line you already have moving can carry it, and for the 75 ft task it plans on shooting 10-15 ft. Read the full answer
- When casting a distance of 75 ft, approximately how much line is carried in the air during false casting? Carry about 60-65 ft in the air and let the delivery shoot the last 10-15 ft — the guide's planning figure for the 75 ft task. Read the full answer
- As the casting distance increases, what happens to the length of the haul? The haul gets longer as the carried line gets longer — haul length grows with distance, and the forward and back hauls should stay the same length as each other. Read the full answer
- When teaching the double haul, how do you teach when the haul begins? Tie the haul to the stroke your student can already feel: the haul begins when the casting stroke begins and finishes when it finishes, with the hauling hand mirroring the rod hand. Read the full answer
- What happens if the haul is too early? The guide names no fault here, but from the mechanics it teaches an early haul spends its line speed before the loop forms and gives the line back during the stroke, bending the fly leg upward into a wider loop. Read the full answer
- When you are demonstrating a cast, where should the observer stand relative to you and the sun? Put the observer beside and slightly behind you on your non-casting-arm side, clear of the rod plane, with the sun behind their shoulder so the loop is lit and neither of you looks into it. Read the full answer
- What is the biggest risk in your instructional approach when teaching a beginner? Overload: telling a beginner more than they can act on, so they spend the lesson practising faults instead of one clean repetition. Read the full answer
- What teaching tools would you use to demonstrate rod tip path to a beginner? Take it to the grass in slow motion with the Horizontal Casting Drill: a tape measure and cones mark the straight, domed and dipped tip paths, backed up by static aids and pantomime. Read the full answer
- When would the PULD (Pickup and Laydown) cast be used? It is both a fishing cast — presenting the fly or changing direction slightly without false casting — and the foundation cast that teaches every overhead cast how to start and stop. Read the full answer
- Where should an instructor stand to best identify poor tracking? On the caster–target line, close behind or close in front of the caster — never square to the side, where a sideways tip path looks straight. Read the full answer
- Define Gammel's Five Essentials and integrate each into the Task 21 adjustment from 30 ft to 50 ft. Straight tip path, an arc that varies with the length of line past the tip, smooth force, minimal slack and a longer pause — at 50 ft you change the arc, the force and the pause. Read the full answer
- What is the most important concept to convey in teaching Task 22 when casting with wind? Wind is managed by two things you control: the loop you send into it — straight fly leg, more line speed, the right trajectory — and which side of your body the line travels on. Read the full answer
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