[ibrahimaslan7]

Just a quick question......
Had a crap fishing session that turned into casting practice with brighton cast, its too difficult to judge distance just by guessing but I know my Daiwa Emcast reel has a 106cm retrieve per 1 crank turn.
So my question is, is this a reliable way to judge distance?

I counted 144 cranks on the retrieve which I calculate as about 155+yds, which I didn't know I could do!
If anyone can tell me if they use this way for judgind distances it would help as I've always wanted to know the exact distance I can cast

 

[gary2010]

u couldnt count the distance like this because when there more line on the reel it will be pulling more line in.

think of it like wrapping line round a tree on the retrieve and think of it as wraping it round a pencil on the retrive, obviously the tree will pull more like in per a turn.

 

[Mackeminexile]

Only reliable way to measure distance is to go to a casting day and get a measure on court.

Casting on the beach / into the sea you can probably take a good 30 to 50 yards off what you think you've cast because of the wind bow and tidal effect on your line. 100 yards is a LOT further than most people think and I'd bet 95% of people who say they are casting 100 yards on the beach with bait on are getting nowhere near that.

 

[Guest]

A 100 yards is about the length of a football pitch; and as you say.........a lot further than most people estimate.

 

[ibrahimaslan7]

u couldnt count the distance like this because when there more line on the reel it will be pulling more line in.

think of it like wrapping line round a tree on the retrieve and think of it as wraping it round a pencil on the retrive, obviously the tree will pull more like in per a turn.

I know it couldn't be used as an exact judegement due to amount of line on the reel, but in that case how would Daiwa's claim of 106cm per crank be calculated? would this be with an empty or full spool?

I counted the cranks as soon as the lead hit the water and took off 10 cranks to take up any slack line.
I don't really need an exact distance but just a rough guide, and I was only using a lead, no bait and rig which I know would cause a lot of extra drag

 

[Ianpick]

You can measure the exact distance of a cast over water this way.

Make your cast and wait til the lead hits the bottom then reel in til you feel the weight.

Now put a small piece of insulating tape on the spool taping the line down.

Now reel it in and dump the weight on the beach, walk along the beach releasing the line until you get to the tape and pace it back.

 

[the crusty crab]

The claim by daiwa is the maximum, in other words when the spool is full, otherwise they'd claim a higher number.
You can use the count to your benefit though, simply keep trying to get a higher count. I thought I was doing about 200 yards with 250 turns on my reel, it equated to 175 yards because of the spool gaining less line when empty. I cast on the beach for most practises, but use a field for estimating the measurement. I cast, walk to the lead counting turns, then walk back to the start counting paces.
Paces aren't exactly accurate, but better than nothing. I'll be going to the nearest casting meet to be sure.

 

[smart201]

Only reliable way to measure distance is to go to a casting day and get a measure on court.

Casting on the beach / into the sea you can probably take a good 30 to 50 yards off what you think you've cast because of the wind bow and tidal effect on your line. 100 yards is a LOT further than most people think and I'd bet 95% of people who say they are casting 100 yards on the beach with bait on are getting nowhere near that.

As above really. Even though we are in the days of 300 yrd casts at Tournaments, the VAST majority of anglers fishing off the beach never achieve 100 yrds with bait. Back in the days when the 100 yrd barrier was the aim, and casting was just beginning to take off, most found that when they cast over measured courts, they were lucky to break the 100 yrd barrier with lead alone, so they were actually fishing at 60 - 70 yrds only. Guys that can throw >200 yrds with lead alone are not exactly rare, but in the grand scheme of things, are very few and far between - and good luck to them for putting in the time and effort to achieve this. Any chuck with bait over the 100 yrd mark is still a good effort, and in many (not all) places is the only way to catch.

I still think a good way to judge distance is to buy 100m (110 yrds) of line on a spool, wind it onto a halfish full multiplier, tie on a leader and see if you can cast the knot out (not the leader knot! :wiggle: ). If so, you are on the right track - if the knot is hitting the water out in front of you, you are up round the 140 - 150 mark when the rod is held high.

Mart.

 

[robq]

load your reel up as normal and add your shock leader. and putt the reel onto a butt section or a short spinning rod etc .

Next go into the garden and stick into the ground 2 banksticks or garden canes etc exactly 10 yards apart.

Then unwind the line off your reel around these the amount of times you want and then tie a stopknot at the desired distance or distances. say 150, 175 and 200 yards. When you have cast and wound up your slack this will give a relatively good estimate.

Unless you crack off and then its back to square one !!

 

[Guest]

i got a ground wheely measurer thing from mod fix or screw fix cnt remember.. 15quid cheap 1.. does 999mtrs. dnt think any1 could cast that

 

[Folky]

What about one of those clip on line counters, cast out then clip it on and reel in?

 

[Ianpick]

i got a ground wheely measurer thing from mod fix or screw fix cnt remember.. 15quid cheap 1.. does 999mtrs. dnt think any1 could cast that

Love to see you use it over water!!

 

[Miz Git]

if your lucky enough to have a rugby pitch locally practice on that...dead ball line to dbl should be 130 yards...once you can get this uner your belt..............Fishing wise learn the topography of your quarry...fish like sole, flounders and even bass will tend to look for the easy life out of the tideway and can often be found in the gutter at the bottom of the slope, maybe only 20-30 metres out.........cod on the other hand tend to stay in the tideway so look for where the tide run/drop off is in front of you. Fish like whiting will launch an invasion en masse so look to catch them at a comfortable distance, normally with a bit of depth over them...eg. 5 metres or so.

 

[ibrahimaslan7]

What about one of those clip on line counters, cast out then clip it on and reel in?

I thought they only came on flashy boat reels, if they exist where could I find one?

 

[Jaybull]

ebay m8 £9.99

 

[the_cod_father]

There's only one exact way to find out how far you're casting and that's to go to a field and measure it out using one of them metre wheel things, or a tape measure. I did this using a 10 metre tape measure, but with a tape measure you'll need 2 tent pegs and 2 markers. And if you want to know how far you're getting with bait, just take up one of your fishing rigs to the field and bait it up with a jellyworm (or some old frozen worms if you don't mind) and put a grip lead on and give it a cast.
Hope this helps.
Elliot.

 

[hitandhope]

There's a useful toy on google earth, a distance measure.

I checked our council footie pitches with it, the 18yd and 6yd lines tally so it's good enough - the pitch is 110 yards (they vary but are usually about this) and you can note down how far the markings are. For example, from the goal line on one to the centre circle on the next is 175 yards. My best is 172 yardsish - as I was 4 steps short.

Another way would be to buy a pedometer for a few quid off ebay, if you walk over a measured distance like a 100m track it can calculate the distance for you if you pace it out.

As for measuring distance on the beach I'd worry about a line counter snagging during casting, and with the depth, walking back to the rodrest and the line bow I reckon it'd be 30 yards over anyway. One way of doing it would be to cast a dummy rig with a jellyworm or something as bait on the field and measure that, minus hooks in case of a snapoff.

As someone else said, counting reel turns isn't really accurate unless the line level stays the same - so maybe ok for big fixed spools with very fine braid but not much else.

 

[paulus]

There's only one exact way to find out how far you're casting and that's to go to a field and measure it out using one of them metre wheel things, or a tape measure. I did this using a 10 metre tape measure, but with a tape measure you'll need 2 tent pegs and 2 markers. And if you want to know how far you're getting with bait, just take up one of your fishing rigs to the field and bait it up with a jellyworm (or some old frozen worms if you don't mind) and put a grip lead on and give it a cast.
Hope this helps.
Elliot.

that's the way i would do it. SIMPLES

 

[big brad]

apart from boosting ones EGO does it really matter the exact distance you cast off of the beach. if you can go to the beach and cast out a rig and catch fish who really cares if you are casting 70yds or 170 yds.
i know it is good for the ego to say i cast 150 yds, but i for one just inwardly smile and nod when people claim these distances.
i have cast 270 yds on a casting court, and after a long layoff i am now back into the 260's and going upwards.
all i do when asked how far out are you fishing is to say "over 100 yds".
it saves a lot of discussion.

 

[ibrahimaslan7]

apart from boosting ones EGO does it really matter the exact distance you cast off of the beach. if you can go to the beach and cast out a rig and catch fish who really cares if you are casting 70yds or 170 yds.
i know it is good for the ego to say i cast 150 yds, but i for one just inwardly smile and nod when people claim these distances.
i have cast 270 yds on a casting court, and after a long layoff i am now back into the 260's and going upwards.
all i do when asked how far out are you fishing is to say "over 100 yds".
it saves a lot of discussion.

I know exactly what you mean, I'd just like to know for myself not really for anyone else. But like you say, as long as I'm within range of fish then it doesn't matter!
I'm fairly sure I can do 100yds but I doubt much more than that