Semi-Light Tackle Casting Overhead

[marshie]

Gday guys,

I spin from the rocks a lot and normally use a 4000 sized eggbeater matched to a 10ft graphite stick. Using 14lb fireline, I find that this set-up works great casting wise but in some circumstances often has the tendency to pull hooks from leaping mouths - even when lures are rigged with singles. Was thinking if it was possible, even for shits & giggles, to have a legitimate casting overhead that could throw 40g lures with something like 15lb penn 10x? Was under the impression that most casting overheads throw 80g and 60g lures better...

Cheers,

Marshie

p.s (realise the common-sense solution is to spool the threadline with mono, but humour me haha)

[bharris]

hi mate

have a look at the daiwa sealine SL-SHB its a new version of an old lbg work horse or shimano speedmaster i think its called both are made for high speed spinning

[caranx]

You could use a baitcaster....I take that out for some fun and it works off the rocks.

[HighSpeedSpin]

hi mate

have a look at the daiwa sealine SL-SHB its a new version of an old lbg work horse or shimano speedmaster i think its called both are made for high speed spinning

Spot on there mate

I have the old SL30SH and I run 15lb penn 10x on it

it is a nice reel to cast but if you have never used an overhead for HSS you will need to practice......A LOT

One suggestion I would make is use the large red break blocks on the centrifugal brakes and definitelly use heavier oil in the bearings as this reduces the over runs (birdsnests) I use red rocket fuel but i have heard of people using motor oil. make sure you only put 1-2 drops though as more then this the reel will slow down too much and you will lose distance. you can comfortably cast as low as 25g lures with this reel and i have thrown as heavy as 85g and works really well

Good luck mate and hope this was a little bit helpfull;-)

[abecedarian]

I have a 50 sized diawa saltist spooled with 30lb line and it will cast a 40gm lure no worries. If you want the big distances then you need a bit more weight, but it'll more or less be about the same as an egg beater. A smaller sized reel like the 20 or 30 sized diawa would cast even better, and don't forget the abu reels, they cast quite nicely. But all of that is also heavily dependent on the rod you have too, a rubbish rod won't let the reel do it's work nearly as well.

Thing is though, changing to an overhead isn't going to fix your problem of pulling hooks. More likely it will cause you to drop more because they're more complicated to use (at lease to begin with) as you have to lay the line yourself on retrieval (most of the time a good HSS reel doesn't have a level wind). Maybe a better approach is to look at your technique and angle your rod to the side when the fish comes to the surface to get as much line in the water as possible. That way when the fish jumps it's still dragging line through water which will help maintain pressure on the hook and reduce the chances of the hook being thrown. Just a thought...

Edited October 17, 2011 by abecedarian

[HighSpeedSpin]

I have a 50 sized diawa saltist spooled with 30lb line and it will cast a 40gm lure no worries. If you want the big distances then you need a bit more weight, but it'll more or less be about the same as an egg beater. A smaller sized reel like the 20 or 30 sized diawa would cast even better, and don't forget the abu reels, they cast quite nicely. But all of that is also heavily dependent on the rod you have too, a rubbish rod won't let the reel do it's work nearly as well.

Thing is though, changing to an overhead isn't going to fix your problem of pulling hooks. More likely it will cause you to drop more because they're more complicated to use (at lease to begin with) as you have to lay the line yourself on retrieval (most of the time a good HSS reel doesn't have a level wind). Maybe a better approach is to look at your technique and angle your rod to the side when the fish comes to the surface to get as much line in the water as possible. That way when the fish jumps it's still dragging line through water which will help maintain pressure on the hook and reduce the chances of the hook being thrown. Just a thought...

That's so true. I used to have a fibreglass rod for a couple of years then i bit the bullet and got a custom graphote rod and the difference is chalk & cheese. the effort required to cast is minimal now and i cast further and more accurately with the graphite rod.

I also forgot to mention that by the time i learned to cast consistently with the overheads i wasted a LOT of line but in the end it is worth it:-)now i can't imagine spinning with spin reels, feels wrong;-p

[marshie]

Cheers for the replies everyone, much appreciated.

Yup the rod angles/drag would make a big difference, though sometimes im as high as 15-20m off the water and therefore forced to have a semi high line angle. I guess at the end of the day I just want to improve my angling skills (read 'buy more tackle' haha) and think there would be a great deal of satisfaction in learning to use a casting overhead. I'm kinda in two minds about non-stretch line like gelspun and braid - they definetly get more distance but the trade-off is less abrasion resistance and stretch, which i think is sometimes beneficial when trying to 'drop back' the lure after a missed strike.

Will definately have a play with those daiwas, had a look online and am impressed with reports of toughness.

Stu

[marshie]

Sorry to keep buzzing, but what kind of rods are you guys running the HSS overheads off? I'm having trouble finding relatively cheap ones (ie under 300) that can clear the ledges i fish 10ft+ ?

Cheers,

Stu

[HighSpeedSpin]

Sorry to keep buzzing, but what kind of rods are you guys running the HSS overheads off? I'm having trouble finding relatively cheap ones (ie under 300) that can clear the ledges i fish 10ft+ ?

Cheers,

Stu

I use a custom CD rods graphcast 4 which is 9ft6in and it is an awesome rod. This one cost me roughly $450 built but my old rod is a 10ft FSU4120 which is a fibreglass rod and that one you can pick up really cheap. From memory mine cost me $120.

Make sure that which ever rod you get the action is fast as this helps greatly when casting