Howdoweplaythis Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hey everyone, I've wanted to get into surf fishing for a while. I recently bought myself a 10 foot surf rod and loaded it with 20lb mono and headed down to Narrabeen beach today. I found that i couldnt cast very far, probably only around 20 or so metres - not far enough to get past the first breaker. I can cast further with my SP rod with a heavy jighead. The swell was pretty big and found that my bait was getting washed around pretty fast. Why arent I able to cast far? Is 10 foot too short? Mono too thick? Maybe it's my technique? I'm using pillies on ganged hooks with a star sinker, targeting salmon and tailor. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieR Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hey mate - I am fairly new to beach fishing too but will try best to help a bit - Did you find the line was slipping out of your hand half way through your cast? I was having this problem so I upgraded to 3m of 40lb leader - I use braid so sort of necessary or I would cut my fingers off lol. I find it quite hard to cast a whole pilly AND a 112gm star sinker - So for a 10ft rod I would lose one or the other and downgrade. e.g lose the star sinker and switch to a large running ball sinker or lose the pillie and go with beach worms or whole prawns/smaller baits .. I havent used anything bigger than a 10ft rod so thats really all I can add .. try find a gutter and your bait wont wash around as much and dont forget most gutters are less than 20m from shore - yoh dont need to cast to New Zealand to catch fish! (sorry if any of rhe above is incorrect - It is just what I have learnt with my limited beach fishing experience) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisherman Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hey everyone, I've wanted to get into surf fishing for a while. I recently bought myself a 10 foot surf rod and loaded it with 20lb mono and headed down to Narrabeen beach today. I found that i couldnt cast very far, probably only around 20 or so metres - not far enough to get past the first breaker. I can cast further with my SP rod with a heavy jighead. The swell was pretty big and found that my bait was getting washed around pretty fast. Why arent I able to cast far? Is 10 foot too short? Mono too thick? Maybe it's my technique? I'm using pillies on ganged hooks with a star sinker, targeting salmon and tailor. Thanks! You probably could drop your line down to 15lb, that would help a bit, 10 ft is a bit short but you should be able to crack a cast out, don't be afraid to belt it out, what's your rod rated at? Try putting on a single hook with half a pillie, you'll still get the same fish, sometimes there's a balance issue when casting and using a whole pillie, the cast loses distance because of the wobble going on between the pillie and the sinker. Fishingphase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdoweplaythis Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 (edited) my rod is rated for 6-10 kg line. Should i be using braid or mono? The guy at the store said that 10foot should still be long enough to get me into the zone A bit confused about gutters. I can see a wave breaking in the distance, then again in the middle, then again at the shore. Where abouts is the gutter? I found from standing on land that i couldnt get it past the whitewash on the shore, not very far out! Edited April 4, 2013 by Howdoweplaythis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdoweplaythis Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 Beach fishing is harder than i thought it would be! but looks to be good fun once i get the hang of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieR Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Jump on youtube and search for "beach fishing tips" and "beach fishing gutters" They show you how to find gutters (a bit) and the gear, technique etc .. I learnt a lot from youtube. Also one afternoon I went down to the cronilla surf club and spent a few hours chatting to a.few different surfers / life savers / locals etc who taugh me a lot about gutters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benji-martin Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 What type of rig are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robofish Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 There are also some good casting videos on YouTube. The most important thing is to 'let the rod do the work', punch with the hand that is around the reel and pull with the other. You will work it out mate, and as much as I love boat fishing, there is something special about catching nice fish from the beach. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongrass18ft Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Hi mate, A larger rod 14ft will give you a big advantage in casting distance Plus your reel choice will make the difference too,a reel with a large deep spool is best. your mono is fine i fish 40lb mono for more security with no problems on a old seamartin reel it casts miles with ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howdoweplaythis Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 I was using a running sinker rig. would paternoster help with casting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisherman Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 A paternoster rig is a good surf rig, set one hook up with a bit of bait and the other with a surf popper, you will get results. Fishingphase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robofish Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 +1 for the paternoster and popper - you will be surprised by how many fish will hit the popper just dancing in the surf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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