casting

[Wild Bill]

After you optimize your equipment, you can learn something from the fly casters. They talk about the "speed up and stop". As you bring the rod forward, increase the speed and then stop abruptly. Also arc the line slightly upwards. I have had guys on my boat not casting very far because they move the rod like swinging a baseball bat and never really snap it at the end of the cast. Try it. You may see a big difference.

[Slipsinker]

Can't comment on AI anglers, most of my surf experience is from Montauk and the south shore of LI, my point was to help folks visualize the distance, I am not suggesting that you can or can't cast that far, but if you are interested in a casting wager.....

jAbsolutely Lou. I'll PM you after while.

[blue lou]

jAbsolutely Lou. I'll PM you after while.

We are goin' to Sizzler!......

[Seahunter]

The top five reason people have trouble casting for distance.

1. Technique
2. Technique
3. Technique
4. Technique
5. Technique

Once you perfect your technique, you can start looking at your equipment selection

Having said that, the biggest mistake people make is not match the rod to the payload. The optimum casting weight for most blanks is limited to plus or minus an ounce or so, if that. To make things worse, a large percentage of rods are incorrectly rated by the manufacturer. Just because a rod is rated to throw X-Y ounces doesn’t mean it can or will very well.

I have had guys on my boat not casting very far because they move the rod like swinging a baseball bat and never really snap it at the end of the cast. Try it. You may see a big difference.

Good way to create bird's nest

[Wild Bill]

Spinning reel Clyde--no bird's nest, longer distance. I was not talking about Hatteras Heavers. The OP did not really provide enough info to answer his question properly. I was thinking of the guys I sometimes take fishing on my boat with 7' rods. The slow baseball swing is not effective for distance with a spinning rod. A speed up and quick stop launches lures a long way and does not cause any problems.

[Charlie S]

You should also be sure that your reel is properly spooled. You should have no more than 1/8 " of spool showing. It also helps to have the reel spooled by a pro. Line twist, as it's coming off, will greatly affect casting distance.

[Slipsinker]

You don't need 40lb line. The guys trolling for spring rock are only using 30. Try 20 on a surf rod if your try to reach the suds up at the base of the damn. Other than that 15lb braid should be plenty.

Gerald trolling is lot different than distance casting. I use 40# not for the weight of the fish but to prevent snapping the line during distance casting. In the surf I use shock leader but for Susky cats I tie directly to 40# braid.

[240 LTS]

Too little info from the OP to provide a proper helpful answer.

There are so many factors that make up a "Long distance cast".
Some you can not buy, like a trained thumb or finger.

Don't fret though. As soon as you make that perfect long distance out of this world cast, some bass fisherman will be working his way up the bank your standing on, flipping only using 20' of line right to the shore edge and catching fish.

Why is that, shore anglers cast out while boat anglers cast to the shore?
Anglers are funny sort of people.

And yes, the grass is always greener. Why do you think we burn so much gas running all over the bay?

.

[flycatcher]

There's a new fishing line that's advertising longer casting distance, Berkley Nanofil. It has no memory and is neither monofilament nor braid. It also has a reputation for failing abysmally at the knot. Distance isn't everything, but sometimes it makes all the difference. Often in river situations fish hug the shoreline as bait hides there. Structure is also important. When surf fishing in the ocean distance is often more important but kingfish (whiting, sea mullet) and pompano often come right into the wash. I have also caught fluke in the surf at Cape Hatteras where you could extend the rod, drop the bait straight down into the water, and drag it onto the beach and catch a fish. If you waded out to knee deep the fish were all behind you. That was a long time ago and caught more flounder that day than any other day in my entire life.

[tommyv1]

Casting distance for your particular gear can be very confusing. To relate to your light action rod, when I am bass fishing with a spinning rod, I am use to casting with a 6 ft light action pinnacle rod. I replaced it with a six foot light action saint croix rod recently. I am amazed by the casting distance of this fast action rod with light lures. Thursday I went to chicamicomico for some bass fishing for its first use and I cast into the sticker bushes many times because I am not use to casting that far with the same lure.