[Ajohn]

I've tried a number of things for this and haven't been to happy about any of them as stuff happens.

Some one suggested a tennis ball in some thread but they only weigh about 1oz which isn't enough really. My dog eats rubber balls and there are some available in pet shops that are hollow, a bit spikey and have a small bell in them. Haven't bought one for ages, she destroys them in about 10mins. One of the girls in the pet shop weighed one for me and it comes out at about 4ozs so I've bought one. Cheap for a pet toy at £1.20 and it should last some time providing the dog doesn't get hold of it. Should be easy to add additional weight too if needed as there is a large hole in one end.

Will try it next week - to many kids on the playing fields on weekends - must keep and eye out for dogs too

John

 

[seancodbod]

One of the lads on Mackys site is a tournament caster,in fact I think hes on this site too as "Dave H",and he uses a modified hockey ball.

 

[seancodbod]

Found a link,have a look at this-

http://macky1.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=casting&action=display&thread=1167483214

 

[AndrewJS]

I use hockey and lacrosse balls with a screw eye wound in with Araldite. Both balls are just over 5oz. The pink lacrosse balls are easy to find if you crack off. Also have a baseball with a large treble hook on 150lb nylon pushed through it.

 

[Ajohn]

Think I'll stick with the pet toy as mentioned. If it hits anything it's unlikely to do any damage even with a 1oz lead ball in it.

John

 

[RadioKaos]

Think I'll stick with the pet toy as mentioned. If it hits anything it's unlikely to do any damage even with a 1oz lead ball in it.

John

:g:
I would be very cautious with a 1 oz lead ball in the crevice of that ball, if it is not securely fixed in it may pop out during a cast and it will propel across the beach/field like a bullet. :nonono:

 

[dabhanded]

hi mackey, clicked on your link but asks for user name ie login details etc
john

 

[Ajohn]

Fair point radio but I don't think that there is much chance of it coming out. I would hope that anybody who tries it will thinks about that aspect. I think they will find that the lead will only go in with difficulty and centrifugal force will look after the rest. Me I'm just going to use it as it comes.

One of the main things I like about it is the hole in each end making it suitable for retaining on the line with a loop in the trace. There is also enough give to avoid serious injury. I'm not too keen on screwing things into balls as they may well come out.

John

 

[Ajohn]

This is it by the way

 

[arc]

looking at the pic Ajohn does the loop of line go round the outside of the ball ?
Surely this is not a very safe practice as everytime the ball lands you risk damaging the line .

 

[Ajohn]

Yes and no there is a much smaller hole on the other side of the ball. The loop goes in the big hole out of the small hole back round the ball then the trace goes through the loop. I looped it through twice and tightened and adjusted it so that it was central.

It's 70lb greased weasel. I will keep an eye on it but it's very tough stuff and if that doesn't work out there will be several other ways of doing the same thing. I should add that I favour the loop because it doesn't involve anything that's hard. Practice weights are a bit tricky.


John

 

[sallysludgebucket]

I have been using an oblong dog toy as well as an adapted Poundland cricket ball, great fun and they dont sink in when the grounds waterlogged. One weighs in at 5oz the other 6oz.

Caught a poodle and Jack Russel last time out ! PMSL owners were highly amused, put up a hell of a fight, can I put doggy on my species list ?

 

[robq]

I have been thinking about getting a hockey ball for feild practice for a while now. My question is how far do they go for an equivalent cast with the same weight lead ?? If I cast 200 yards with a 150g lead then how far would a ball of the same weight go?
Also do you need to slow your reels down a touch ?

 

[AndrewJS]

I use a 'slow' fishing reel. I was hitting about 140yds with a hockey ball when my 150g lead was going 200yds. As you get used to the hockey ball it will go a long way.

 

[rich the fish]

This is it by the way

this looks spot on for the field for casting why dont you fill it with mastic or grip fill should be fine then

 

[lobbit]

what about a bag of sand taped up into a more aero dynamic shape

 

[Ajohn]

There are all sorts of soft things that could be put into it to gain 1 to 2 ozs of weight. Providing a 1oz ball can just go in with a firm push that should be ok too.

There are loads of other dog toys too that might prove suitable but I wanted one that was hollow and had some give in it.

On distance with balls etc it all comes down to air resistance which goes up with a power law. Can't remember but I think it's a square law. So twice the speed means 4 times the drag. So the longer the cast the more effect this would have.

I've always wondered just how fast a 5oz lead must travel at launch to reach 100,200 and 300yds. If I remember me maths correctly the weight doesn't actually matter except in this instance where the line is following it.

John

 

[Ajohn]

I have just tried it. It works well. Very easy to see what the trajectory is and it can be reeled back in fairly easily. Had problem because the shock leader as it's for a trace at least 4ft long - only 6ins on the ball.
I was using my old abu sirius and a shimano carbomatic. The sirius is a typical softish beach rod that works well with fairly easy overhead casts and a multiplier and the carbomatic is a fixed spool with a spool lock and a 1ins long spool. The rod is hard work with a fixed spool. Distances came out at about 70yds for my own overhead and about 105 for a ground cast with a bit of a following wind. Couldn't get on with the sleeper - trajectory was way too low and hampered all the time by too short a shock leader.
Given the rod and reel I suspect this is more or less the same as I would get with an unclipped bait except the 70yd overhead seems a bit long for the rod. The wind may have something to do with that. I would have also expected the ground cast to be longer.
One interesting thing is that 1/4 hr is enough practice for me. (right shoulder aches) I can't be using my left arm as much as I aught.

Dog walkers were something of a problem - lady playing about right were the ball would land. She went on eventually and once she saw how far it went came back smartish with the dog on a lead. A golfer decided to go some where else. It pays to be careful.

John

 

[Ajohn]

Have to revise the 105 above more careful measurement come out at 95. The 70 is about right. Moved to the rugby pitch now.
I tried my daiwa awb129pm today. This is an amorphous whisker rod and is representative of many high end pendulum match rod. Couldn't get a good ground cast today best was 80yds. My own overhead went 90 casting moderately easily as did a unitech which I'm sure I haven't got right yet. It seems to be down to starting the cast with the left had and waiting on the right. That put a good 20yds on it.
Tried a few pendulum casts and one just cleared the 100 the rest about 90. I seem to need a very high swing, well over head height. Look like I need to brush up the ground cast 1st.
I didn't use much body movement on any of them.

The ball came of the loop while I was reeling it in. If you use one make sure that the line goes twice through the loop and pull very tight. It will put a set in the line and stop that happening. The line on the ball knotted too so I changed it.

John

 

[sinkingslowly]

I use a tennis ball but with a little twist.
Cut a small slit in the ball, pop in whatever weight you want cast (5oz for me) but leave the weight loop sticking out of the slit.
Bind the whole thing with insulating tape - finished.
Your line is attached directly to the weight with more danger of a crack off than normal and if all the tape & stuff fails then the empty ball will simply fly off the weight - no danger.
Total cost:- scrap with the dog to get its tennis ball.