With the caster stopped at the backcast position, the assistant should stand just behind the caster and grasp the rod just above the handle. Providing resistance to the forward stroke, the assistant holds the rod back while the caster tries moving the hand and arm up, down, closer, or further from the shoulder, then drive forward and through the stroke. Casters should seek their most comfortable range of movement in this exercise. Direction control is most enhanced with the rod more perpendicular, while extra power can be gained with a sidearm slant during the cast. Tempo Having looked at loops and stroke, the next emphasis should be to evaluate the tempo or cycle time of the cast.
Many casters have a tendency to cast a little too slowly front to back.
Instead of slowing down, it would be even better to quicken the actual stroke, and wait the same time for the line to straighten on the backcast. The faster the line moves, the more we can feel the rod working and less effect a wind will have. The next time you practice accuracy, test your tempo, try a faster cycle time cast. Sometimes you may find it necessary to lengthen the leader tippet to stop from ticking. The added line speed will cause the leader to kick over the leader much harder, so the tippet adjustment is your way to compensate for the added power and speed.