T.R. has a wealth of angling experience, both in freshwater and the salt. He’s a great example of an experienced angler with serious flaws in his casting stroke. This is quite common, and serves as a reminder that it’s always possible to catch fish without being a great caster. But given his current casting stroke, T.R. knows well the limits of the angling situations he can handle, especially in the salt. Admirably, he’d like to expand his abilities to deal with tough conditions.
T.R. has two fundamental stroke problems: excessive use of his wrist and utilizing his elbow as the main pivot point of the stroke. Relying too much on the wrist to accelerate the rod is a recipe for fatigue, especially when casting in wind, at distance, and with heavier equipment. Pivoting in the elbow typically leads to tailing loops, wind knots, and the fly ticking the rod. It also restricts the trajectory adjustments that can be made on both backcasts and forward casts. Even more insidious, it can lead to tennis elbow.
Adopting the shoulder as the main pivot point—never the elbow!—is the first step toward efficient mechanics. Doing so engages the larger muscles of the arm, thereby relieving stress on T.R.’s forearm and reducing the need for so much wrist action. If T.R. can pivot efficiently in the shoulder his elbow would then move vertically through the stroke (assuming he casts in the vertical plane, as in this video), eliminating almost all tailing loops and allowing him great flexibility to adjust his trajectory. Since much of the necessary rod acceleration would now come from the larger muscles of the arm, T.R. would also find his wrist use becomes more efficient as well (we are always seeking a balance between wrist, forearm and upper arm use).
For comparison, fundamentally sound mechanics can be seen here: 
• Casting Stroke Analysis—Dave Schultz (clic… , as well as in many of the other videos I’ve posted on my channel.
