well, needless to say, some of the responses pissed me off... so today, i decided to cast in the yard for a minute with 1 line on the spool that was on the Hardy...

Salmo, i messed up, its an #8/9 Marquis, not a # 7, but that probably doesnt matter much...

i tried different grip positions, and made sure not to snap my wrist...

i got about 60-80 feet out... not good by any means, but better than i was doing with another line last season...

i think i will get a versi tip for the spare spool, and use the bright orange line on the hardy for floating... i still have the peach rocket taper line on the Cortland, and it looks fine, no cracks, kinks, nothing... but i know for a fact its over 15 years old and is likely the +333 line, and from what ive heard, isnt very good line...

and just to get things straight, i didnt buy these rods, i got them because my dad dropped dead on Christmas Eve... cool present huh?

he was a phenomenal caster, but like i said, i never really got into it when he was around, so i missed out...

im going to take the 7100 to the lake tommorow, and try casting from a boat... ill let you know if i catch anything...

i dont have the money, or time to take classes right now, its just not an option... so, ill probably end up just giving up and putting the rods in the closet for another 10 years.... thanks for the help....