I'm hoping to go on my first long range trip. My question is how far is a great cast with bait ? Being a sardine or other light bait. I need if possible the actual distance from any that might know this...Jeff
Been on my fair share of trips, so much of that depends on the gear you're using. Tough question to answer. It can range from 30-40 yards with dialed in light gear to almost nothing with heavy tackle. The old school method with a clothes pin is a good way to practice before you go. Take the set-up and clip the clothes pin to the end of the line(it's about the weight of a sardine) and start casting. If the clothes comes off when you're casting you're putting too much mustard on it. Not perfect but pretty close, you should at least have a feel for it.
IMO live bait casting for distance on a long range boat is somewhat over rated. More often than not when I get a primo bait on LR tips I will do a underhand lob to get the bait a little ways away from the boat something like 15 to 25 yards. This way the bait will hopefully swim away from the boat and not try to hide under it. If the bait swims back to the boat or under it I will try to cast the same bait out again. If the third time the bait swims back to the boat, and this can happen in a few minutes, I take off that bait no matter how good it looks or swims and get another one. If your bait is hiding under the boat it is time to change it. There is the rare time that fish will boil just outside of a underhand lob and won't pickup baits that are just dropped off the side. This seldom happens but I have seen it. So casts of around 30-40 yards can get you bit on bait when boiling fish won't touch other baits. But, like I said this is a rare case indeed.
Casting mostly comes into play on LR boats when one fishes artificials like surface iron, wahoo bombs and such. The weight of these lures will help in casting distance and for the most part these lures are fished on longer rods which also aids in longer casts.
Don't worry about chucking a bait a good distance, for me I want a fresh lively bait when it reaches the zone where the fish are biting.
Many times a bait slapping the water on a nice cast stuns it, leaving it weak. Believe it or not game fish want to eat the strongest most healthy bait they can get and will leave other weak baits behind.
Many times the best fishing I do on a LR boat is at the bait tank because this gets me bit more often.
Swami & SoCal, thank you both very much. I'm very aware the type of gear used comes into play here. SoCal thanks for your personal input on this that comes from the earned wisdom of one who's been there.
I mean that !
Guys I'm presently casting a wood clothes pin with 60 lb. Ande Monster, backed with 80 hollow braid, 30 plus yards on a 8' UC Tilefish. Acheiving about the same on my 7' UC CP70HP's. This done with an Andros 12n & a standard model. Can acheive the same or close to it with my US113's. I can hit well past 40 but not consistantly with out backlash on my Andros.
I was lead to believe by 2 fellas on another forum that this was not far enough.
I was beginning to wonder if they both were full of something other than the truth. The manner with which they spoke of this was that all who did well on the long range boats could cast their light & lively baits past 35 yards. I can do this with my 25n's. But I was wanting to feel confident I could do it going a step or two up in the gear & line range. Making a certain combo that much more versatile.
Any way I was at one point doubting if I would ever have the ability to make a long range trip worth my time. Thats what I get for not coming here first with my questions...Jeff
30-40 yards is more than plenty. Like so-cal was saying ,depending on where and what your fishing for casting a sardine may not be that important. Main thing is to pay attention to what's working and listening to the crew.
Most importantly,your'e on vacation, relax,take it in, the days click by quickly.
my best cast with a bait and a 30 pound rig is 25 yards. with 40 or 50 pound gear, i drop down to 15 yards really quick. forget 60!
I am a Floridian and have only been on two 10 day trips and like others have said, it is not the initial casting distance but how your bait swims and how you manipulate the spool to let it swim. For a long time fisherman but a long range novice, I always did very well. Learning to keep your line away from others and out of tangles is more important IMO.
I really appreciate the great advice. Alan, while i fish my Andros 12's here in Kansas on the river with 60 they would be my 40 & 50 lb. reels on any off shore trip.
Listening to the crew is great advice being that I'm hard headed at times...Jeff
Quote from: conchydong on May 20, 2017, 12:15:29 AM
For a long time fisherman but a long range novice, I always did very well. Learning to keep your line away from others and out of tangles is more important IMO.
I have wondered a lot about fishing that close to others while on those boats how best to tend your line & keep out of others line.
Distance on the cast is overrated. If you swing for the fences your bait will be too traumatized after whacking the water to swim for you. A good bait lobbed out there with a soft landing that swims away from the boat is a wonderful thing. When you feel him getting nervous you better be ready!
Quote from: Rivverrat on May 20, 2017, 12:23:47 AM
Quote from: conchydong on May 20, 2017, 12:15:29 AM
For a long time fisherman but a long range novice, I always did very well. Learning to keep your line away from others and out of tangles is more important IMO.
I have wondered a lot about fishing that close to others while on those boats how best to tend your line & keep out of others line.
That's why I like white spectra. I can see it, the other fishermen can see it, and the deckies can see it. Green is too stealthy in a crowd... no one can see it and it's much easier to get in a tangle.
Quote from: Rivverrat on May 20, 2017, 12:23:47 AM
Quote from: conchydong on May 20, 2017, 12:15:29 AM
For a long time fisherman but a long range novice, I always did very well. Learning to keep your line away from others and out of tangles is more important IMO.
I have wondered a lot about fishing that close to others while on those boats how best to tend your line & keep out of others line.
There is a saying on many sport boats here in So Cal, "no angles no tangles" the meaning of this is to keep yourself in line with your bait the best as you can. If the boat is fishing on a drift you want to cast out or let your bait out on the stern of the boat. All sport boats I have been on drift stern first so once your bait is in the water you will have to move to keep your line as strait as possible from your rod to your bait, this is known as the "tuna shuffle" another term used here in So Cal. Some baits swim better than others, some people may have added some weight or someone may cast further than others. What ever the case you will need at times to go over or under others so your lines don't get crossed. This happens all the time so if your line is over someone step back from the rail, raise the tip of your rod high and let the person next to you your going over. On the other hand if someone needs to go over you lower your rod tip, step close to the rail and let them over.
Ok, since I'm all about the sayings in this post here is another "if the wind is in your face your in the right place". Lets say the boat stops on a troll strike and you want to get a bait out there. With the wind in your face the boat will be drifting away from your bait. If you get a bait out with the wind at your back sooner or later the boat will drift over your bait where you most likely will tangle others fishing the correct side of the boat or you get bit and the fish rubs the line across the hull and you lose your fish, if you tangle others when you do this most people won't be very happy with you.
This type of stuff is a normal everyday fishing on sporties here.
Now if you are looking to never get tangled with another person on the boat this is easy, don't fish sport boats. No matter how good you do the tuna shuffle, go over and under others there will be times that tangles happens. But, by doing the above you are less likely to wrap others.
If your on a fish when a tangle happens let the deckhands know ASAP and they should be there in short order to sort it out. If you tangle someone on a fish never crank your reel so your line becomes tight. This will most likely saw off the fish on the other line. But you also don't many yards of your line wrapping others while your in the tangle with the hooked fish. Wind in as much line as you can without becoming tight on the line with the hooked fish. By this time the deckhands should be there and will let you know what to do.
Edit: It's my bed time I have to work early tomorrow so if anyone would like to add anything that would be great. I did not get into fishing when the boat is on the hook, anchored, so if anyone has tips on this that would be nice. If not I will add some stuff about fishing on the hook in a day or two.
Here's a bit about trolling, likely you'll be doing some of that. First they'll have "boat rods" available you can use likely rigged up with a lure of some sort so you don't need to go hog wild buying a bunch of stuff. It will likely look kind of funky from use and the lure may be a bit chewed up but it should work fine. Not much to it,let the deck hand let it out at first so it's in the right zone. I've always though the corner rods get bit better but who knows. Pretty strait forward stuff here. They'll have a rotation so normally 4 are trolling at a time.
Fishing the "slide". When the trolling rods go off wait a few seconds and fire out a bait or lure as the boat slides to a stop. Keep your reel in free spool but pay attention as you line goes out in case it gets bit. Best to go out on the wind in your face side. If there's alot of people fishing the slide it can get ugly so it may be best to wait until a minute or two the boat settles and avoid the chaos. If fishing for wahoo embrace the chaos it may be the best way to get bit.
If you're going on a longer trip likely you'll have some travel days at the begining and they'll have seminars in the galley to explain just about everything. Pay attention. You should have plenty of time to rig your gear and whatnot. You'll find most passengers are a lot like this website,more than willing to help show you what they're doing and offer advice. The deckhands are there for you too with anything you might need.
Slumps!! Everyone has them when you can't get bit or you losing fish or whatever. Don't get frustrated,keep at it,and do something to break out of it.
Take a break,have a cool drink and relax for awhile.
Sheridan
Good luck on your trip Jeff! 8)
Quote from: mo65 on May 20, 2017, 01:55:58 PM
Good luck on your trip Jeff! 8)
Thanks Mo!
However it looks like I might have to put this off for now. My son Luke comes first. Luke has been been recieveing a huge benefit from the private high school he attends. Scholarship he was getting is no longer available. But God has blessed me with a fantastic part time job that will go very well with other stuff I do....So well see how this pans out over time.
Anywho....Keep the advice coming. Some of this stuff is common knowledge for most who have fished any size boat with more than 3 people with multiple lines out. It is always a good thing to hear it described or gone over by someone else. Not to mention fishing a large boat will be a new situation & experience for me.
I'm not to concerned about gear I've got the 30 - 50 lb. more than covered. Though not ideal my US113's can easily cover 60 lb. line with a short topper. I would use Daron's, gifted to me 114 for 80. That way I can lay claim to giving this reel a propper fishing.
Keep it coming fellas thid thread has turned out better than I could have imagined....Jeff
Very good information.....Bill
Ok, we went over no angles, tuna shuffle and which side of the boat to fish, wind in your face.
Like I said before all sport boats drift stern first, so you drop/cast off the stern and depending which way the wind is blowing will determine if you move toward the port or starboard side of the boat and up the rail as you move to keep your line in front of you. I think this is pretty clear and most will get the the hang of this very quick.
Now on the other hand if the boat is anchored (fishing on the hook) either closer to shore, on high spots or around islands the way the line goes out in the water will be different than when on a drift. When anchored all the fishing lines will want to go to the stern of the boat. In most cases this is the direction of the current. So as you can see if 20-25 people all get their lines out sooner or later all those lines will be heading off the stern and there is no way 20 or more people can fish off that small of an area. Fishing on the hook is where I see the most tangles happen. How I try to avoid this is to get my line out around mid ship or off the bow. I try to get my line as far away from the boat as I can without damaging the bait. This way as my bait swims out hopefully by the time I reach the crowed stern my bait has either been picked up or its time to change it.
One other thing I feel that is very important to avoid tangles is to stay in contact with your bait. By this I mean if you can't feel your bait swimming on your line you are not in contact with it. By not staying in contact with your bait only bad things can happen. The most common things are you have dumped too much line into the water and you have no idea where your bait is, you have a dead bait on your hook or you are already wrapped with someone. Any of these cases are not good so if you don't feel your bait swimming it's time to check on it. I have seen many people new to our left coast style of fishing say "look my line is still going out my bait must be ok. This is in fact not the case, after several/many yards of line are in the water the current will pull on your line just like a bait swimming. If you can't feel the bait swimming something is wrong.
Like Mark said when you feel your bait get nervous get ready. I can tell by this statement he knows how to stay in contact with his bait. Why? How else would he know what a nervous bait feels like if he was not in contact with it? You must be in contact with your bait at all times to increase your odds of catching and most importantly for the theme of this thread, stay out of as many tangles as you can.
Of course staying in contact with your bait applies to fly lining live fin bait. I won't go into fishing the squirts (squid) or dropper loop rigs in this thread. But, these last two are more about keeping slack out of your line.
With the level of info here I wonder if we might sticky this thread ? .... Jeff