Practice Casting?

[Jay88]

Hey all,

Hope everyone had a killer weekend and caught some beasts! I went down to the harbour, had a few hits, but couldn't hook up.

Now, I am pretty okay with casting with my 6-7ft rods, but when it comes to my beach rod..12ft...I can not get the distance I want, my other rods over cast it...

I watched tons of videos and still wondering what else I can do to cast that beast... and I have 20LB mono on main as well. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

I am going to the park this weekend to practice cast, yep fishing is an art form

Jay

[Guest no one]

Hey all,

Hope everyone had a killer weekend and caught some beasts! I went down to the harbour, had a few hits, but couldn't hook up.

Now, I am pretty okay with casting with my 6-7ft rods, but when it comes to my beach rod..12ft...I can not get the distance I want, my other rods over cast it...

I watched tons of videos and still wondering what else I can do to cast that beast... and I have 20LB mono on main as well. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

I am going to the park this weekend to practice cast, yep fishing is an art form

Jay

Weight... Too much or too little will hinder your casting more than you think.

There are loads of variables, including what rig? If your bait - say a whole squid in this example, is whole foot away from the weight, when you cast the force is being split between 2 different weights which reduces over all force in turn reducing range. If its a running rig and the weight and bait are together you'll get more range.

Also - I would practice in the park, it stops people from walking within 100 meters of you and in turn means youre taking up 100 meters of a park for yourself, if you want to practice id go to the rocks or beach - although i wouldnt recommend the rocks with the 2m swell forecast this weekend!

[mrsswordfisherman]

Plenty of parkland around that no-one walks around in - find one of those.

We used one for a Casting workshop we did a few years ago (Campbelltown way)

[Scratchie]

One thing that may help. Make sure your spool is full. If it is only half full, then this can reduce your distance. However, over full can have an adverse affect also.

Cheers scratchie!!!

[Jay88]

Yeah I agree with tef1on, I might just send a sinker into someones face. Like casting with smaller rods, I can send them flying, but 12ft rod... I might just go down to a quiter park and see if theres anyone around and do practice casts.

A good cast apparantly can make the difference of finding the hole or not. Cheers guys!

[Krispy !]

tbh mate if youre fishing off a wharf or boat casting distance isn't important at all, its only useful if youre casting at a school of fish on the surface or off the rocks or beach

[amkr]

^ I can't cast for crap.... so now I'm looking to buy a boat

[Krispy !]

^ I can't cast for crap.... so now I'm looking to buy a boat

Ever since I went to New Zealand for kings I found that I became a much better caster, casting poppers for hours on end and the need for accuracy really drilled it into me, its all about practice

[cameldownunder]

Sling shot: Don't cast from a static position where you hold the rod at the back. Start from a position where the rod is in the front, swing the rod back, with as much strength as you can while still holding the line, and when you feel the maximum weight, sling-shot forward.

[rockfisherman]

I think leverage is important, so the hand doing the work should be further up past the grip on the blank, all depending on the rod...

And don't be afraid to put some oomph! Into it.

Harry

[krause]

Start small. Do casts at half strength and get a hang of the length. I know it might sound silly, but ive watch mates try and learn, and they go straight for power.

Power is the key, BUT only if you can apply it appropriately. Start with small cast, and work your way out. My thoughts anyway good luck

[Mike89]

When I got my first rod earlier this year - a big 10ft Shimano outfit - I couldn't get any distance at all. I was so frustrated because that's why I bought such a long rod - I thought it would enable me to cast a mile.

Practice makes perfect - I found after enough sessions I could get a great distance and reasonable accuracy on a variety of weights without thinking about it. For me I found it was about knowing where your hands should be and how to feel when it's time to release. It's definitely different rod to rod though in my experience.

Find a spot and give it a bash.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Mike89

[Twinfisher 4.9]

Practice, Practice and then some practice, Not sure of the type of reel you are using but do not be embarrassed about practicing in the local park. Did it for a long time and it works.

[RichieR]

My biggest issue when using a 12ft rod + lots of weight (full pilchard + star sinker) is that during my swing, the weight of the load would cause the line to slip out of my hand that is holding the line against the rod grip. Sometimes I get really nasty braid cuts.

I bought some casting gloves for the beach and it has helped A LOT.

I only use the right hand glove and it gives me extra grip. Nothing worse than line slicing open your soft, wet skin between your fingers..

[Rock&Beach]

Hi mate an old friend of mine who was Australian casting champion told me to put a piece of wooden dowel in place of the bait when casting in the park. It replicates the bait through the air.

Do not agree with the sling shot method you may end up with a hook in the head.

Hard to comment without rod and reel type about cast distance.

Try loading up the line before casting so there is no slack stops the jerkiness and improves accuracy. Just take one step forward and move your momentum forward the rod should do all the work.

Sometimes the harder you try and the faster you go the worse it gets

Most times off the beach or rocks you only need to cast between 40-70 meters any further and you risk throwing off the pilchard.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[SgtBundy]

I tried practice casting once in the reserve opposite my house - got plenty of weird looks from the neighbours and every driver was a comedian with the same "caught anything yet?" (this is 55km from the nearest beach). In the end I found without adding the air drag of the bait it was not much of a help - that was the biggest factor for me but that was trying to haul out large slabs of mullet. I found cutting them into thinner wedge shapes and putting them on so it would fly pointy end first made a big difference. Things like pilchards fly a lot better but unless I am using gang hooks I don't like putting huge power into them because it just tears them off the hooks.

As others have said line on spool is a factor - a topped up spool works noticeably better.

I got some good advice from fellow fishraiders on casting methods and after a bit of practice I think I have got my technique going based on their teachings. Still not massive distance but usually reliable enough for my needs.

[Crossfire63]

Its all about practice, not power.

Its technique rather than brute strength.

Heres a quick easy method that will have you casting further pretty quickly with some practice.

Find somewhere quiet and go practice.

If you go to the park and practice you'll need to replace your line after a while as the grass is extremely harsh on Mono Line

Dont expect your gear to cast like a lot of what you see on Youtube unless you fork out for a top quality casting rod ($600 to $1100) but casts of 75 to 100m are easily doable on your average gear.

Even field casters still go practise casting sessions. I had a practice yesterday in one of the local ponds while the kids were riding their bikes around the park. Pretty confident I can drop a lure into a bucket at 30m now. Had one smart barsteward tell me that there were no fish in there. I responded with "Nah I think I caught the last one last week"

[Twinfisher 4.9]

If using pillies, try using bait thread (or sold under another name). It is elastic, holds the bait on well and doesn't seem to affect bites. And again, for casting, practice and yes, don't try too hard.....it will come with experience.