Effectively Casting Conventional Reel ?

Started by The Moe, July 01, 2015, 05:59:16 PM

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The Moe

Lol! Yeah that would work wonderfully  ;D

yeah. I will be listening the 900h for sale as bad as I hate to do it. I really loved the design and construction of this reel. Maybe someone else would have fun using it on a boat somewhere on the ocean. I'll try to do some studying on the best value reel for my application.  Thank you all!

otownjoe

Moe , congratulations on your find.I cast big reels from piers and the surf for sharks and grouper. with a 900 h I think 30 yards would be a reasonable distance to expect.I've found 50# test line with a 8oz weight to be a good setup on a 8 ft to 10 ft rod.my experience is that line heavier the 50 cuts down on distance and anything lighter increases backlash.I would go heavier than 8oz if current was a factor but never lower.    when you cast you want the reel in freespool with the clicker off .your drag should be preset based on how much resistance you want at hookset.I've found that the biggest reduction in distance comes from the distance between the weight and the bait.if the leader is to long it's hard to get the proper swing and the energy you just created is not focused.I try not to have more than a 3ft leader. The most difficult part for me is keeping the thumb on the spool of a tall reel.releasing the thumb at proper time to achieve a nice arching cast is something that will come with experience. From what you described it sounds like you might be releasing too  late.we used to call this a educated thumb. If you don't get thumb burns while your learning your not throwing hard enough.   good luck Joe

Rancanfish

#32
Great thread regarding casting.  The 900h is not the right reel as you learned.

If you decide to sell, let me know.  I could maybe trade for a more appropriate reel for you.

Ran




Wow, guess I killed that thread.... 8)
I woke today and suddenly nothing happened.

The Moe

Thank you guys for all your replies!

Well, I went out again and tried making some adjustments on the weight, drag, cast and release timing with limited improvements. Right now, it seems like I if I still wanted to use this real as a caster I need to source a heavier rod. And work and a stronger and better timed cast. So far, it looks like I'd be better off with a more appropriately sized baitcaster. So I'm listing the 900H for sell tomorrow.

This is probably not the right section for selling but I am willing to let the 900H go for $75.00 plus shipping if anyone was interested. Meanwhile I'll be looking for a heavy baitcaster or spinner rod combo to take the 900H spot in my garage.

Thanks!

Rancanfish

Moe I am PM'ing my email address to request a couple of pics of the 900h. Your price seems reasonable.
I woke today and suddenly nothing happened.

Jeri

Hi Guys,

Surf casting is a hugely variable concept, and the most often overlooked point is that it is the rod that makes the cast, not the reel. The reel is just there to supply line as desired by the sinker and bait, as the rod has passed the power from you in the cast.

Having said the above, once you hit the beach, nearly every application of surf fishing there is a desire for distance or more distance, and it is usually the rod that is going to give that to you. Distance to a degree is achieved by length of rod, some parts of the world 10-12 foot rods are the norm, while others 12-14 foot and longer are the norm, a lot depends on target species and the baits being used.

Even here in southern Africa, where we all are questing for distance to put reasonably large baits out for sharks and fish, we have a huge range of 14 foot rods, and while most will work, the better combinations are those that don't over stress the angler with heavy sinkers. Rod and reel and line combinations which work with 5-6oz sinker are nearly always going to out perform the heavier or lighter combinations – on distance. The point here is balance and not to 'over gun' yourself.

Reels are best left to personal choice, as the difference between good multipliers and fixed spool reels these days are few, it is just a matter of personal choice – and the angler's skill. With either multiplier or fixed spool reel it is best not to go too big, as they just take the rod and reel combination out of balance, and that straight away limits casting distance. The only problem with that statement is when you need much bigger capacity reels for the target you are looking to catch – like sharks, when perhaps bottom loading the reel with braid and then top loading with nylon will help – the thinner braid gives you that extra capacity, but you don't really want to be fighting sharks straight through on braid on the beach or pier – your doctor or chiropractor will become your new best friend!!!

Casting with multipliers is a skill in itself, and a lot of learning and time is spent on mastering it, especially when combined with various surf casting techniques – and if you go that route, expect to spend that time – there are no shortcuts. Multiplier reels with internal braking systems like centrifugal or magnetic will be a godsend in that situation, rather than unbraked reels. That said, we still have a percentage of our surf fishing population fishing well with reels like the Penn 500, but they do end up changing over to more modern designs eventually, and reap great reward. Avoid looking for reels with fantastic spin speeds, as these, unless braked will only cause huge heartache.

Fixed spool reels tend to come in either standard deep spool type of the more dedicated long-cast variety, the long-cast styles are easily better at giving distance, although they do have a limit on capacity of about 300 yards of line, but then that is usually more than enough.

On lines, nylon is more forgiving – the thicker you go with a multiplier the less overwinds you are going to have while learning. Braid on fixed spools needs to be kept down in size to benefit from the bite detection, as outright strength is generally not an issue with a surf rod, as you can't pull seriously heavy loads with a long rod – you will struggle to actually pull more than 20lb at the tip of the rod, so lines more than 30lb are rarely needed.

One last thing on safety, always fit a casting leader of mono to the front section of your line to carry the sinker and bait load. The casting leader takes the snatch load out of the cast, and stops you shooting off the sinker during the cast – and potentially hurtling down the beach to impact with an innocent bystander. The general rule of thumb for casting leaders is between 8 to 10lbs of strength for every 1oz of sinker – so a 5 oz sinker would need between a 40-50 lb casting leader. The leader needs to be the full length of the rod and at least 2 turns of the reel.


Hope that helps.

Cheers from sunny Africa


Jeri

Makule

The Moe, first off, make sure you have the spool filled with line.  Second, take a look at some Facebook groups for Hawaii casting such as 808 Shore Casters, Big Island Style Shorecasting, Stricklyslidebait808.  Some have videos showing people casting, and have discussions about it.
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