Frank, my biggiest bass on flyrod was caught in in the face 20 MPH wind. I only casted 40 to 50 feet. You need to double haul, and cast low, below the wind. On the windy day aim your cast for short distances.

If wind is on you casting arm, I cast facing land and shoot my backcast into the water. It just as good as my foward cast.

The first 3 year of fly fishing I caught nothing. Some where in my third year I started catching. so keep at it. When you self teach it takes longer.

I did the same thing as you. I practice in a parking lot in GK in the winter. One of the excercises that I did was to shoot 40 ft of line and just keep the fly line in the air for as long as possiable, later adding double hauling. This will develop your time.

Lefty kreh has a small booklet. It a good book. I try to find the name of it. The book added distance to my cast. My casting was good, but my stance wasn't. He show how to lean into the backcast an then into foward cast. It did help.

I got to the point of cast a 90 to a 100 feet. But stop trying due to too much line in the basket and the tangles where headachs. I only flyfished once this year and seem my timing was off and was not able to pass the 80 feet mark. I will fly fish alot more next year. I regret that I didn't this year.