which size lead for casting practice

[hobbit]

Been teaching myself to pendulum cast on the field and gaining distance, but once on the beach with trace and bait the distace falls short to about 70-80 yards
Would it help if i use a heavyer lead and shock leader to match when i practice.
On the field i can cast the full length of a football pitch plus, about 100yrds and a bit. help needed

[diamond dave]

Just stay with a 150g lead & 80lb shockleader & concentrate on technique & smoothness rather than overall distance. The distance will come as you progress.

[AndrewJS]

I practise with a 6oz lead and also with a hockey ball with a screw eye glued into it. The hockey ball doesn't go as far as a plain lead, is safer in a public area and you can reel it back to you!

[diamond dave]

Yip, that as well. But thats for lazy buggers tho' ;)

[Rich pickins]

I practise with a 6oz lead and also with a hockey ball with a screw eye glued into it. The hockey ball doesn't go as far as a plain lead, is safer in a public area and you can reel it back to you!

....Are you having a laugh?!?! :unsure: I`ve never heard of that one!
I wouldn`t like to be standing next to you when you`re chucking that about!

[tack4]

hockey balll plus screw = approx 150g

flies less due to lack of aerodynamics and a good tool for practice

just make sure scew is well arraldited in tho'

[dai56]

hockey balll plus screw = approx 150g

flies less due to lack of aerodynamics and a good tool for practice

just make sure scew is well arraldited in tho'

sounds better than my golf balls in a sock think i will try this one thanks mate

[Ginge]

I practise with a 6oz lead and also with a hockey ball with a screw eye glued into it. The hockey ball doesn't go as far as a plain lead, is safer in a public area and you can reel it back to you!

Were did you get the Hockey ball from mate?

Ben

[rabby]

i got my hockey ball in jjb sports £4.99.....i have been told to us an 175g or 200g it slows things down an gives u more time to get ur arms in the right place as u cast have tryed it and got some good results:secret:

[salmon]

Been teaching myself to pendulum cast on the field and gaining distance, but once on the beach with trace and bait the distace falls short to about 70-80 yards
Would it help if i use a heavyer lead and shock leader to match when i practice.
On the field i can cast the full length of a football pitch plus, about 100yrds and a bit. help needed

i kno that using a using a baited up trace decreases distance but it surely shouldnt decrease it that much.

football pitch + 100+ abit= atleast 210 yards =. if not more

surely it shouldnt drop to 70-80yards

[AndrewJS]

Loads of hockey balls on ebay. I also use a lacrosse ball. Used to have a leather American baseball with a large treble hook pushed all the way into it attached to 150lb mono and a swivel.

[i hate whiting]

i use 6 and 7oz when casting, i usually cast into the sea or over the beach.

[Jamie Donnelly]

7oz?!?!?! god the tide must be huge!!

the biggest i use is a 6oz gripper, smallest probley about 4oz (for beach casting) when fishing of the pier i go right down to 1 or 2 ozs

Jamie

[mick.p]

I think you need to practice casting with all sizes of weights, to cover various conditions and bait sizes.


Normally i use, 6 or 7 oz to haul out three baits.
If with a strong onshore wind and big sea i go up to 8oz.

Reasonably calm days, with little tide run, down to 5oz.

Lighter tackle, down to 3-4oz.or less.

All categories cast different, some slow, some very fast and you need to know how each size is going to perform. Your reel will probably need setting up differently.
You need to be careful when power casting with the bigger leads such as 8oz, you need 80lb leader, + 100lb swivels and a good rod.
Take it easy as you can hurt yourself.

[rayking]

Been teaching myself to pendulum cast on the field and gaining distance, but once on the beach with trace and bait the distace falls short to about 70-80 yards
Would it help if i use a heavyer lead and shock leader to match when i practice.
On the field i can cast the full length of a football pitch plus, about 100yrds and a bit. help needed

i just use the same weight as the one i fish with , usually between 6 - 8 oz .

[hobbit]

i kno that using a using a baited up trace decreases distance but it surely shouldnt decrease it that much.

football pitch + 100+ abit= atleast 210 yards =. if not more

surely it shouldnt drop to 70-80yards I ment a football pitch is about a 100yrds, not the pitch plus 100yrds

[DoZZa]

7oz?!?!?! god the tide must be huge!!

the biggest i use is a 6oz gripper, smallest probley about 4oz (for beach casting) when fishing of the pier i go right down to 1 or 2 ozs

Jamie

If you ever fish off the back of Capstone in Ilfracombe you will even have trouble holding bottom with a 7oz gripper, even on small tides, the tide rip through there is awesome.

I usually use 5oz when practicing casting, seems to be the best for me.

[Ravelling Tangler]

micky p. correct me if I'm wrong, but where you put
"Take it easy as you can hurt yourself." you weren't talking about accidents due to tackle failure or stumbling, but sports injuries (like torn rotator cuff or strained back) due to trying to put a lot of power in when the basic movement is wrong.

hobbit
That's another reason to spend a couple or hours with an instructor - most of them know which bad habits can lead to strains (as opposed to just losing you distance)

By the way, you may be able to pick up a dense sponge rubber ball (weight about 5 to 5.5 oz) cheaper thana hockey ball ...perhaps in a toy shop
on the other hand £5 is 'nothing' compared to the cost of rod & reel and line....

[mick.p]

micky p. correct me if I'm wrong, but where you put
"Take it easy as you can hurt yourself." you weren't talking about accidents due to tackle failure or stumbling, but sports injuries (like torn rotator cuff or strained back) due to trying to put a lot of power in when the basic movement is wrong.

hobbit
That's another reason to spend a couple or hours with an instructor - most of them know which bad habits can lead to strains (as opposed to just losing you distance)

By the way, you may be able to pick up a dense sponge rubber ball (weight about 5 to 5.5 oz) cheaper thana hockey ball ...perhaps in a toy shop
on the other hand £5 is 'nothing' compared to the cost of rod & reel and line....


Jeremy
Sorry if that read wrong.
Yes i was talking about injuries to yourself. 8oz as you know, is a big old lump of lead to power cast. Get it wrong and expect to get hurt.

As for accidents due to tackle failure, i would hate to see what damage an 8oz lead would do.
Results of a wild cracked off 4oz crashing into the rooftop of a building was amazing, tiles everywhere.

My advice to everyone starting off.
1st step to take is, get insurance before you even think about swinging a weight.

[inford]

the main thing when casting bigger leads ie 200g isto take you time let the rod do the work and not to try to hit it to early .also casting bigger leads improves your timing .and if your timing impoves on the bigger leads you will cast the smaller leads ie 150 better

dav vicary has cast 16oz lead 160 meters

[i hate whiting]

7oz?!?!?! god the tide must be huge!!

the biggest i use is a 6oz gripper, smallest probley about 4oz (for beach casting) when fishing of the pier i go right down to 1 or 2 ozs

Jamie



when i cast with my good rod which is a quite stiff beast of a rough ground rod you need a good lead to load it better. i use 7oz when fishing in the cleddau river as there is a vast amount of concentrated water which blasts in and out.(estury)

off the beach i normally use 3 or 4 oz weights but i dont cast them far so dont need to practice casting with them

[Ravelling Tangler]

is that Brunel Quay in your photo, or "the other side" (not known as "the dark side" before anyone asks)



P.S. Brunel Quay at Neyland is opposite Hobbs point, isn't it ?

[Ravelling Tangler]

the main thing when casting bigger leads ie 200g isto take you time let the rod do the work and not to try to hit it to early .also casting bigger leads improves your timing .and if your timing impoves on the bigger leads you will cast the smaller leads ie 150 better

dav vicary has cast 16oz lead 160 meters


whew ! the most I ever cast was 12 oz (Chesil in a SSW force 9 - we hadn't listened to the weather forecast and weren't going to let a bit of wind "beat us")
It was surprisingly easy on a Conoflex DC8 rod, but I doubt if I got further than 60 yards

Unfortunatley I didn't have gripper wires on any leads heavier than 8oz so it was back at the waters edge within minutes. My pal managed to get 8 oz wired out about 35 yards - it was still in foaming, churning white water and yet he caught a small whiting !

Any smaller leads were likely to end up behind us !
Note to self: if I stop listening to weather forecasts, I must start carrying 14oz or 16oz WIRED weight with me (just the one)

[i hate whiting]

is that Brunel Quay in your photo, or "the other side" (not known as "the dark side" before anyone asks)

are you talking to me???

if so, no its hobbs point in pembs, west wales

[Kermit]

I've been in the feild trying to pendulum cast and hitting around 120 yards with a 5oz lead. I was quite pleased with this untill I went to the local tackle shop and was told that was a OTG lob for him. So I went back to the drawing board, slowed the whole cast down so it was nice and smoth and was quite suprised with the outcome. 100 yards with no effort at all. The more pratice I have the better it gets. I now average 140 & i'm using nowhere near as much power as I was while TRYING to pendulum & I aint had one Birdie :clap2:

I'm sticking to OTG untill i can get some lessions....

[oldchukka]

i,ve mentioned this before. go to a pet or toy shop ---- get a solid rubber ball.
get it weighed in shop till you find one at say 150 grms.
thread a short piece of shock-leader through ball.
put a stopper one end to stop leader from pulling out.
put a link on the end to be attached to your main shockleader, thats it.
this is an aid to help improve technique and will limit damage to surface you are casting on and help slow down your cast.
for measuring distance you need to use a lead weight, i suggest 150grms.
as for using the heavier leads, surely these should be used for fishing where conditions for example stormy weather and a hard tide run requires them.
the weights i use when coaching are 150grms or 125grms only.
p.s dont use a power ball to practice, or you wiil get 50yds of bounce added to your distance and the dreaded birds nest to boot.

[sallysludgebucket]

Were did you get the Hockey ball from mate?

Ben


Poundland do em, cricket balls from their weigh about right as well, if under I drill and add a few copper nails. They also sell picture hanging kits that have really long screw in hooks that are ace to finish the dummy. As said, dont forget the aroldite, superglue has no gap filling properties what so ever and can become brittle.

Only way I can practice in the Severn Valley currently, the grounds so wet a lead would bury itself so deep you would need a JCB to retrieve !

[keegy]

a hockey ball from jjb sports , exact weight 150/175 gram, insert a curtain hook,(stainless steel. ) with araldite.

[ferdi]

I put this on a while ago - I push a 6oz lead into a length of foam pipe insulation. Either wrap it up very tight with insulating tape (red is good, as it makes it very visible), or bind loads of line round it. I usually have a bit spare after a few birds nests :):). The leads fly well, but won't sink into the ground unless its pure mud (I practice on a school field).

ferdi

[DAVE H]

still at it then ferdi i liked the idea when you showed it to me
dave..

[Kermit]

Only way I can practice in the Severn Valley currently, the grounds so wet a lead would bury itself so deep you would need a JCB to retrieve !



When I practice, just before the lead hits the ground I tend to strike as if I would when I get a fish on. just not as hard, only enough to take the energy from the lead so it don't get stuck in the mud.

tight lines

[Rajabatis]

Been teaching myself to pendulum cast on the field and gaining distance, but once on the beach with trace and bait the distace falls short to about 70-80 yards
Would it help if i use a heavyer lead and shock leader to match when i practice.
On the field i can cast the full length of a football pitch plus, about 100yrds and a bit. help needed
When i'm practising i use 150grm lead and a simulated rubber sponge bait on a paternoster rig.
Otherwise a bare lead is just that. It won't catch much on it's own and using it doesn't tell you much other than flattering your ego- see how far I can cast! You are not simulating actual fishing casting.
I cast with the wind. Walk and wind in then turn and cast against the wind and so on...... You soon get an idea how good you are in actual fishing conditions this way.

Once you get proficient 100-120yds into the wind with bait is a veryy good cast!
That's worth 150yds with the wind.

[hobbit]

When i'm practising i use 150grm lead and a simulated rubber sponge bait on a paternoster rig.
Otherwise a bare lead is just that. It won't catch much on it's own and using it doesn't tell you much other than flattering your ego- see how far I can cast! You are not simulating actual fishing casting.
I cast with the wind. Walk and wind in then turn and cast against the wind and so on...... You soon get an idea how good you are in actual fishing conditions this way.

Once you get proficient 100-120yds into the wind with bait is a veryy good cast!
That's worth 150yds with the wind. Thanks Rajabatis and others for all your tips, i will be trying them out on the field soon. thanks again all of you.

[Timtu]

Kermit, if you are fishing with big baits go up to a 6oz (170gm)lead to allow for bait drag during the cast.