One of the major factors in how far a cast can be made is how much line can you shoot. The practical issue with shooting line is it laying on the ground, gravel, weeds/sticks, grass, still water, moving water, or a boat deck/ platform? Will the the line peel up smoothly and shoot or get hung up? AND, how high above where the line is laying are you and the water you're casting on.
All of these things play a part in fishing and not just how far someone can cast under ideal circumstances. It's difficult to shoot long lengths of line when you're wading in a river up to your thighs and the line has drifted below you. It's easy to cast far standing on a boat with a flat surface, or on grass, where you can coil out the line you're going to shoot.
With that said, under most conditions, with a 8 1/2' or 9' 5wt I can consistently cast up to 70' + ... no problem. With my 9' 8wt rod (underlined} with a 7 wt WF fly line I can cast 80' or 90' consistently.
Over the years I've found that the longest cast possible, most of the time, isn't what's needed to catch fish and especially in rivers. It's far more important to get the right drift. When your fishing lakes with dry flies you can't slap the water with a long cast and sink the fly. Wet flies in lakes is a different story. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rules.
I went through the shooting head phase about 45 years ago but when I became experienced at actually catching fish I veered away from it. I never fished where you HAD to make long casts to catch fish. I also never bought a shooting basket. Occasionally I'll run into a circumstance where I can't cast far enough but that's when I search for fish that can be reached and there's almost always a few.
That's my two cents.
