The most humbling thing you can do is cast on a marked field, and see how far you throw for real. I did it in the off season about 2 years ago. I can cast pretty well. Using a 3 oz plug, my average was around 92 yards with a good throwing 11' rod and an Emblem Pro.
That being said, I did go to a Century demo last spring, and there was someone there throwing a very aerodynamic plug around 450 feet, using the 12' SPOD rod. I'm pretty good at estimating distance over the Cape Cod Canal. But, he was throwing from the paved surface road, about 10' or so above the water, with good footing and nothing in the way behind him. I don't know what the Century rep had on the reel for line, though. I didn't try the rod, as I have zero interest in a 12' rod.
