I agree completely that distance is not a requirement here in the northeast. At times, that's where the fish are and I'm sure we've all been in situations where the fish were breaking another 10 yards beyond our best & smoothest cast. There is a time & place for it.
My question is fishin' eels. I think that most of us would agree
that the eel is pretty effective and that all of us that fish eels will often find hits & runs coming at the last few feet of the cast. Not always at the end of the cast but like S-J said, a lot of fish are caught at your feet too.
But getting back to fish at the end of the cast, if I were able to find another 10-20 reliable feet in a cast, I'm thinking a 10+ percent hit rate - knowhadimean?