Here is the DC/Northern Virginia/Maryland area, there is a webgroup called the Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders. There is a forum where you can get information on places to fish, what is being caught, what equipment is out there, what flies are working and who is out there fishing. Recently, there has been a few people trying to line up a casting session where you bring what fiberglass equipment you have and you get to try what everyone else brings. Despite the really cold temperatures this morning (12 degree F), four of us on the forum got together to cast. I brought the D. Lewis Performance Rods 6'6" 3/4wt 3 piece, the C. Barclay Glass 3wt 3 piece, and the Orvis Superfine Glass 7'0" 3wt.
Lucky for me I am not a person concerned with my image and I am very receptive to constructive criticism - I heard "SLOW DOWN, THIS AIN'T GRAPHITE" more than a few times during the shared casting - but when I did slow down, did I get a huge smile on my face as the rods started throwing controlled tight loops. There were Fenwicks (the 7'6" 4wt that Bruce brought was a gem), a half-built McFarland (wonderful rod that Carl Z was still building), a sibling rod to my D. Lewis 6'6" - a 7'0" Lamiglas S Glass 3/4wt (Art seems to think there were not many of these - I just know the 6'6" is the sweetest rod I own because it likes my casting cadence), an Eagle Claw Featherlight 5/6wt that I found casts a DT6 as sweet as silk, a tiny Lamiflex that Bruce had yet to fix the reel seat he stripped off of it years ago - but that rod could cast a line and pull wide smiles from me, and many more.
And last but certainly not least, Carl brought out some fly rods built out of spinning rod blanks that made me look like a casting god (at least I like to think so) - tadpoles!!! I can't remember the last time I was that cold - a few hours of casting and I had frozen sinuses and locked fingers, but the experience was invaluable - in getting more experience with different rods, learning for more seasoned casters on how to improve my own casting, and meeting some cool new people. I thought about pulling the waders on and trying to catch my first fish of the year - but I didn't want to risk a skunk with the temps so cold, or reduce the effectiveness of my casting muscles and miss out on casting the different rods. Definitely time well spent!
Originally, I wanted to catch fish, but with the rains and really cold temperatures, the water was not conducive for hooking up - lots of current and sediment, oh and really cold.
So to salvage the 35 minute one way trip - I switched to practice casting. Taking the time to just cast without worrying about looking for fish to fool definitely makes you analyze your mechanics. I found that I was getting too many tailing loops on my forward casts. I've since hit youtube looking for corrective measures and on line lessons. And so, I went fishing for the first time in 2014 and got skunked by the fish (sucks). But I did get a bit better at casting (important). The Superfine went in the mail to the next loan recipient and I am eagerly awaiting the next rod (checkout the Fiberglass Manifesto for the rod loan program). I packed up and left just before the rain hit. 
