distance no big deal

[bobby1951]

to many people seem to think you need to be casting 150 /200 yards to be catching fish and try to keep up with the chap next to them this leads to them trying to hard and thus more power less yardage .relaxe enjoy the fishing enjoy the company all the rest will come tight lines.bob

[crazyplums]

to many people seem to think you need to be casting 150 /200 yards to be catching fish and try to keep up with the chap next to them this leads to them trying to hard and thus more power less yardage .relaxe enjoy the fishing enjoy the company all the rest will come tight lines.bob

whilst i agree with the sentiment, in reality (where i fish at least) you might have to cast 100+ yards to just get over the surf, further still to get into the fish !

[Rich pickins]

to many people seem to think you need to be casting 150 /200 yards to be catching fish and try to keep up with the chap next to them this leads to them trying to hard and thus more power less yardage .relaxe enjoy the fishing enjoy the company all the rest will come tight lines.bob

Kinda got to agree with Crazyplums mate!
Down here in Barry, South Wales we have the 2nd highest rise and fall of tides in the world. It is amazing to see. The tides rise about 13 metres a go! You can just imagine what that looks like when the tide goes in and out. Its a f./,.k./,n LONG way! If you are not a distance caster your chances on many marks are much limited.
Where you live and do your fishing very much depends on whether you have to cast far.
All the best,
Rich

[stan the man]

before i started to learn to pendulum cast,i remember watching a few guy's catching cod on swansea breakwater.each of them was pendulum casting,and each of them....catching cod.all i was catching was the occasional whiting,which prompted me to learn the pendulum cast.ok...it isn't the be all and end all of fishing,but its a worth having in your armoury.if the fish are close in,anyone can drop short,but if they're a long way out..and your ability is limited,your screwed!

[lobbit]

i love to fish end off
but i do sometimes cast short throuigh laziness but its fun when a tackle junkie comes along and after a few casts i whack it out and comment that theres not much out there either is there mate

[robq]

Distance is very important on our coast most of the time, however you can also catch them behind the first wave too !! I enjoy casting in the summer and get a good buzz from sending a lead a long way. Remember the distance caster can always drop shorter if he wants, what does the shorter caster do when the fish are at range ??

[yogi]

I would like to say , if you are able to cast 160/170 yds you don't always have to, if you need to but cant you are stumped

[jay666]

to many people seem to think you need to be casting 150 /200 yards to be catching fish and try to keep up with the chap next to them this leads to them trying to hard and thus more power less yardage .relaxe enjoy the fishing enjoy the company all the rest will come tight lines.bob

I suppose it all depends on where you are fishing mate

[Bagstar]

This sounds the same to me as blokes who say size doesn't matter! They only say that because they have a small todger!!! People who say distance doesn't matter can't cast very far. :)

[cain]

This sounds the same to me as blokes who say size doesn't matter! They only say that because they have a small todger!!! People who say distance doesn't matter can't cast very far. :)

my thoughts exactly:clap3:

[lobbit]

This sounds the same to me as blokes who say size doesn't matter! They only say that because they have a small todger!!! People who say distance doesn't matter can't cast very far. :)

but have big todgers :unsure: :)

[rich the fish]

i can cast say the lengh of a football pitch with just the weight dont know how lond that is tho ???????? when baited up and a few beeds and swivels i can only get past the half way line if you know what i mean its still good enough for the bass on the beach and rays in the tamar but would like to cast a bit more or is this the norm distance most people get . i have a mag 525 and good rods so its not down to the gear ,or is it just me trying to put to much into the cast when i have baited up

[xcrisx]

just because you can get 200 yards doesnt mean youre guaranteed to be into a fish. you can cast 200 yards all day and if theres nothing there thats what you will catch.

ive caught more and bigger fish than most people ive been fishing with and next too at half the distance theyre at, purely from luck.

remember, the fish dont know theyre 20, 50 or 250 yards from the shore, theyre just where they are and you have to try and find them.

[keegy]

true. but if the fish are at 60yds and you can cast that far you will get them, but if the fish are feeding at say 160yds and you cant cast that far, what will you get. ..the big 0.

[xcrisx]

yeah, but thats the point. they might be anywhere. just being able to cast 160yards is no use if theyre at 150 or 170.

its pure luck if you find them.

[JimmyC]

I wouldn't say just because you can cast a max of 160yds that is the only distance you fish at. They can search all the distance inbetween.
If there is a sandbank at 140yds you need to get over then blasting over it may be the way to fish that venue. If you cant reach 140yds?????:unsure:
But on another venue if the "caster" is also a good angler he will vary his distance until he finds the fish. He does have a greater option of where to fish because he can cast a decent distance.
If he knows the venue he may know to fish the gutter on the flood and need to blast on the ebb. Fishing is about catching fish not an ego trip because you can outcast the geeza(or gal) next to you.
In the end it is a great option to have if there is no fish close in.:notworthy

Jim C:)

[DAVE H]

just because you can get 200 yards doesnt mean youre guaranteed to be into a fish. you can cast 200 yards all day and if theres nothing there thats what you will catch.

ive caught more and bigger fish than most people ive been fishing with and next too at half the distance theyre at, purely from luck.

remember, the fish dont know theyre 20, 50 or 250 yards from the shore, theyre just where they are and you have to try and find them.


AND your best catch is a 3lb pollack.
I have the skill of fishing at long range
but you must read the mark you are fishing you need to smell the coffee
we can fish from 180yds to under our feet
which meens we can cover more ground = more fish

[Dave Oldman]

it's got to be an advantage to be able to cast a long way.i could cast a 1 and a half football pitches when i was a kid with average equipment.now i'm a lot older(and bigger!)it goes a bit further with better gear.i can sort of pendalum but not properly.i'd like to learn to do it right.
a mate of mine learned how to do it and could cast 247 yards.he said it improved his catches ten fold.
as it's been said before in this thread,if the fish ain't close in,you won't catch any!....dave.:)

[JimmyC]

Dave, Kent Sport cast can help you,
http://www.kentsportcast.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.html

Its fun as well as helping you catch more fish.

Jim C

[Dave Oldman]

jimmy,where about's do they hold the casting comp's on that link?.....dave.

[King Of Leon]

i cant pendulum cast yet, but will be learning to shortly. its definatly an advantage to have.

[robq]

You will always come up against guys who will tell you that there is no need to cast further than 60 yards and that they catch as much as anybody else. Usually they are anti long range casting and tut and cuss at those who swing the lead. They also often believe that the big casters always fish at max range and are not intelligent enough to drop one shorter when required, but I find it quite funny to see them trying to cast as far as they can every cast though even if it is only 60 yards !! The phrase 'narrow minded' springs to mind !!

[John Mason]

Distance or lack of can be critical in this part of the world where the beaches are shallow and mostly sand, and target fish include bass, rays, turbot, flounder, dab, whiting, codling and dogfish.

If it's flat calm, banging out as far as possible is the way to go. Nothing's being washed out of the sand so the fish will be foraging over a wide area. There's much more marine life towards and below the low water mark than there is higher up the beach, so getting a bait into the more populated area makes sense. However, apart from when vast whiting shoals are moving through, flat calms tend to be poor hereabouts.

If a gentle to moderate surf, with say 3 breakers, it's common to watch visiting anglers wade out beyond the feeding zone just to cast. The fish are in the water-tables inshore of the breakers, feeding on sandeels and shrimps etc swept in from the breakers. Good sized fish are feeding in only a couple of feet of water, 20-40yds from dry sand, because it's where most of the food is.

If a heavy surf, this inshore water is full of suspended sand which the fish don't much like, and they are also wary of getting stranded, but further out the sea's heavy enough to displace food from the sandbanks, so casting out to those pays off (if the sea isn't full of floating weed)!

In a moderate to heavy surf it pays to fish one rod 30-40 yards out and the other 100 plus to try and take advantage of both factors. That's how it goes round here, anyway.

Cheers - John

[DoubleShotDamo]

Must just add that when you CAN cast well, and people know you can, when you catch fish they always assume you have caught them a long way out! :uhuh:

[John Mason]

Must just add that when you CAN cast well, and people know you can, when you catch fish they always assume you have caught them a long way out! :uhuh:

Danno, that is so very true. Quick inverse version:

Was at a local beach a few years back, with some visitors fishing nearby, and one came over for a chat as I'd just landed & returned a tidy ray. I went to cast again, and he said "Christ that's a small cast, what will you get there? I tried to explain the fish were close in due to various factors, and next thing the rod tip was bouncing nicely and in came a 5-lb turbot. The guy was gobsmacked to say the least!

If you fish sandy beaches, anywhere, fish in the surf, wherever that happens to be, is my advice :)

Cheers - John

[xcrisx]

hahahahahahha!! anti range casting and narrow minded!!!

rob q, youve made my day.

i dont give a flying one how far you can cast and im certainly not anti distance casting, (what does that even mean anyway?) and its hardly narrow minded to state that fish arent always at the limit of your range and that being able to cast that far means you will catch better and bigger fish.

the reason i said that theres no need to cast 160 plus yards is that there really is no need, and it makes other novice anglers who read this stuff feel that they are somehow inedequate cast wise and will be embarrased to stand next to a distance caster and that will go some way to spoiling thier days fishing.

theres some people here, no names and all that, who are supremely arrogant when it comes to casting, claiming that anybody who cant or doesnt see the point in lobbing a line out half a mile or so is somehow beneath them.

nobody cares how far you can go. they really dont. if you can do it then well done, but its hardly important.

[oldchukka]

xcrisx, i have probably caught more fish under my rod tip than any where else, but there are one or two good marks i know where i would,nt attempt to fish unless i could cast a good distance. i,m sure quite a few posts on here have tried to make this point with the best intentions but, long distance casting isnt the be all and end all when it comes to fishing, its personal choice ---surely

[xcrisx]

aye chukka, most of us catch our best fish close to the shore, but there are too many people who feel that being able to cast 200 yards is the be and end all of fishing and ridicule anybody who cant or make snide remarks or claim theyre jealous and narrow minded.

get a grip.

[inford]

All Being Able To Cast A Bait A Good Distance Is Put Another String In Your Bow , Its Not The Be All And End All

Some Places You Need It Others You Dont And If You Are Fishing In A Place That Its Needed And You Cant Do It You Will Blank

The Reason Learnt To Cast Was To Try To Catch More Fish

Not Long After Getting My First 200yd Cast I Went To Slapton Sands And Caught A 6 1/2 Plaice At Long Range My Mate Who Could Not Cast Blanked

Ive Aslo Caught 3lb Sole From Chesil At Around 40yrds

On Beaches I Normaly Fish 2 Rods One Ate 40/50 Yrds The Other As Far As I Can Hit It

[mick.p]

Sad part i read is those that say they CAN'T cast. ANYONE can cast at least 150yards, IF they want to.

It's not rocket science, and you don't need to be a superman.

My wife Carol is a tiny person, less then 9 stone, she cast at the UKSF Light Line Challenge - 4th July 2004 and came 2nd place in the UK.

There's NO excuses for not being able to cast, Anyone can do it. All you need is hand on tuition.

[Rob]

Distance really isn't the be all and end all. I had a great sesh last weekend just dropping a whole squid down the side of a pier and had loads of doggies, zero casting.

I also caught about 8 different species last year on a float cast no more than 6 feet out.

It's simple. If you have a choice of fishing a beach where you can't cast far enough to reach the fish, or fishing a venue where the fish are under your feet, go where the fish are within your range. ;)

In your spare time when you can't get to the sea, have a few chucks in a field somewhere and stick a peg in the ground 100 yards away and see if you can reach it with a cast. Eventually you will, so then move the peg further away. THEN go and have a crack at that beach, this time with your new casting skills coupled with all the stuff you learned catching fish under your feet.

Now you can go anywhere and catch fish. :)

[smart201]

I guess the only right answer on how far to cast, is to cast where the Fish are ! The various scenarios are endless, but as already stated, if the Fish are a long way out, then short casters will not catch - no matter how much water craft they possess. Medium range casters can catch a huge amount of fish if they are good anglers - that is to say they have a good understanding of what they want to catch, and maximise their chances by fishing certain marks at certain times with good bait. A scenario that sees an angler fishing a remote mark, or a popular one at some unfriendly hour will see his bait competing with few others and any fish in the area will have a good chance of being caught. However, the same angler fishing a popular mark will be putting his bait in the area shared by 95% of other anglers. Even with say a big peeler bait enticing fish from downtide, they will have to swim past many baits to get to his. Commanding a spot say 130rds out, he will be in his own zone. Some of the fish here may even be wary of coming in another 40 - 50 yrds because of the constant barage of leads going into the water - these fish picking up the scent stand a good chance of coming to his baits. I believe that any further out than 150 yrds with bait is detrimental in 95% of cases, and is just fueling an ego - I seem to remember John Holden writing some time ago that he thought that most beaches seemed to have a gully around about the 120 - 140rd mark, as well as one sometimes much closer in. I believe the biggest advantage to big casters is being able to fish at 80 - 100yrds in rough weather / big seas during the winter - this is when the good Cod catches are still taken on occasion - most of these are never witnissed by those of us who are unable to fish in these conditions because of lack of casting range.
For those of you that are still unconvinced, think of a local beach to you that only produces at low tide, or never at all. I bet a big caster would surprise a few people by catching over High Water, cos he could reach that particular feature, of could catch during the day when everyone else had to fish at night. Just to round off though, not too many Tournament men are noted top anglers, but many top matchmen are good casters. Also I have had many experiences of Bass close in - by that I mean a maximum of 1 - 2 rod lengths out, so I know the value of fishing where the fish are.
Tight lines,
Mart.

[spinyeel]

What's the point of driving a golf ball 300 yards if you can't putt?Fishing is a science,not the Olympics.

[Ravelling Tangler]

So it's handy to be able to cast (a bait) far but
you have to know or find out how far to cast
on the particular mark on the tide you are there

Otherwise casting skill is wasted.

So how do you find out ? casting one rod maximum and the other 30-40 isn't accurate enough - is it ?
trying 140...130...120...110...100...90...80...70...60... 50...40...30...20...10 will take a long time (if you leave it out 10 to 15 mins each time) 2 and a half to 3 hours. The distance needed may change during that time and you "should" be casting a distance you tried a couple of hours ago.

Some marks you know well and casting anything except the distance you know is a "just in case" action. But other marks ?

If you think you know how to "read" a beach at low tide, does your conclusion (of where to cast, when) match your mates' ideas ? Have you checked ?

[oldchukka]

this subject seems to be going round in circles, it would have been nice if all of us had kept it as a debate instead of turning it into an argument. if someone wants to cast further--get help. if someone is happy with their casting good on ya. the main thing is to be happy with your fishing. if you fancy tournament casting join a club and enjoy it, if you dont, get out fishing . its nice to be given free advice, or to offer it, its up to the individual if they want to accept or decline it.

[keegy]

good on ya bill. it has been going round in circles for a wee while now.

[Ian Houlton]

What's the point of driving a golf ball 300 yards if you can't putt?Fishing is a science,not the Olympics.


unless you get your ball there you are not going to learn are you?