Strictly Come Casting with Alain Storey

[dustin.brace]

Alain, it's a good thing that you live in the UK; I think that my wife would come after you if you lived in the US. This looks like my kind of thing. Thanks for getting us all interested!

[Bryan Young]

Hi Alain, okay, I got it up to

you will need spool  0.31 or 15lbs mainline   &  a spool of 0.75 or 80lbs leader line     now heat up the end of the leader with a match to form a Blob then twist your main line 4 times round the leader bring the tag end back upto the Blob to form a loop  trap with finger and thumb.

  Then get lost from

then twist 4 times inside the loop   wet the line and pull tight slowly

[willybendit]

Hi Bryan   i hope to post pictures  when you see them you will cotton on     I  Hope    Ha Ha    like tying a uni knot   tightlines Alain

[willybendit]

Hi Dustin     would your wife come after me with love in her eye`s        Or a dagger in her hand      by the time we get through       it will be a dagger        just wait until we start converting reels    lots to teach before then     tightlines Alain      Here we are  pictures of tying a leader knot 



the Blob



4 Twists inside the knot



pulling the knot towards the Blob



Knot  now up to the Blob



Knot now onto one side of the spool 4 turns across



Now criss cross back over the spool  you should have 8 turns on the spool

[dustin.brace]

Alain,
What kind of reel do you suggest? I am assuming that what I have isn't quite ideal...

[willybendit]

Hi Dustin    i have ABU 6500 ct mag elites  the green ones  also the blue elites  these are the ones that we convert into full tournament reels   I will post pictures as and when we are ready      all you should be doing now is making sure you can tye the leader knot   What reel do you have     hope not a shimano tiagra 50          nice little baitcaster will do for now as you progress then you can go for a better reel   you can use a spinning reel    think you call them overheads ? and conventionals      we call them spinning and multiplyers  thanks for your interest from the pictures i posted you trim off the lefthand tag end of the line     tightlines Alain     if there is anything your not sure about then  email me (alain@dash.fsbusiness.co.uk)  and ill get straight back to you    that goes for anyone

[dustin.brace]

Well I have several reels. Penn 555, 500, 200, 140, 26. I also have some junky spinning reels. Do you think that any of the Penns will work?

[willybendit]

Hi dustin    im not sure on the penn reels as i dont no what the model numbers are  in the uk  we use penn 515 525   whats the biggest spinning reel you have   as long as it holds 200+ yards of 15lbs line that will do for now   full it up and tye a 75/80lbs leader on  you need 6 turns of leader on the spool put the reel on your rod thread the leader through the rod eyes and come back down  and cut off at the reel   

[Bryan Young]

Dustin, your Penn 500 will do.  You will probaby need to use low friction lube on the bushings.  I know guys tossing 120 yard with these reels.  Will not travel as far as reels with actual bearings, but you can get a good distance with it.

[franky]

Dustin, your Penn 500 will do.  I know guys tossing 120 yard with these reels.  Will not travel as far as reels with actual bearings, but you can get a good distance with it.

Yes, I will attest to that!  

I believe the Penn 500 is refferred to as the jigmaster reel.  Here in Hawaii, lots of people use that reel with 40 lb test mainline.  We mount the reel on a medium heavy or a heavy stiff 13 foot surf casting rod and use a 6 ounce bank lead.  That puppy will travel 120 yards.  

Dustin, give it a try!   but becareful not to snag something on your back swing. 

[willybendit]

Hi Franky  are you into casting            Dustin are we all sorted now    ill have to go and find my old fixed spool reel  not used in 30 odd years   now and show you how to set the spool and leader   ready for casting      Bryan have you got the leader knot sorted   the six  ounce lead will do fine for now

[franky]

Yeah, i actually enjoy casting.  Lots of times, I would just go to the harbor at night and throw some lead....no bait, no hook...only the lead.  A lot of the guys fishing at the harbor are just watching me throw lead and some are thinking...

I tell them...forget the fishing, this casting thing is pretty addicting.  Its kinda like hitting a golf ball right on the sweet spot of the club.  The feel....the sound....the smoothness!  

Don't get me wrong, I am no way hitting two football field lengths, but I know I can go at least one goal post to the next goal post.

A few years back, this guy Don B. (great tournament distance caster) taught me some of the techniques for the pendulum cast.  I tried it and had some difficulty especially with the bigger outfits (Penn HLW 113 or the Newell 646 with 60 or 80 lb test line and 9 or 10 ounce lead).  

I think if you're using the small mitchell tournament reels with 12 lb test mainline spliced to a 80 lb test shock leader using a 4 or a 5 ounce lead, it would be easier to control the pendulum cast as you are coming around with that huge arch.

With the bigger gear, I tend to use a hatteras   cast.  Kind of like a modified pendulum.  Rather than swinging forward and letting the lead come all the way back and then start the huge rotation, I would just swing back about two o clock and just come forward.  Oh, and don't forget to add the ol "Ki Yah!  " just before you cast.

Anyway, with a well maintained reel, thanks to this wonderful site, it makes the whole casting experience....

Recently, I have been busy with work.  I have been wanting to go to the football field with a tape measure to get actual measurements since I have applied the TSI lube on my bearings.  Its been over a month and I have not re-lubed the bearings.  I want to see the results of how the lube holds up.  I did not forget, I will keep everyone posted.  Wish me luck, I hope I don't snag anything on my back swing.  

[dustin.brace]

I actually have a 525 Mag, so I will give that a try. I have no idea where to try it out though, the beach is a place I suppose but I dont know of anyone in SoCal that actually does tournament casting.

[Bryan Young]

Sorry, I've had some computer troubles.  I haven't had the chance to try the knot again, but will this weekend.

[CapeFish]

We mainly use anything from a Daiwa Sl30 to a Trinidad 50 for surfcasting in South Africa. The general setup will be something like a Daiwa SL50 or a torium 30 loaded with about 40lb line (if you are going for big fish you will spool it with around 500m-600m spectra for backing and 200m 40lb topshot and 1mm leader). There are people here that can cast Trinidad 50 with 1.5mm windon leader and 0.6mm mainline very far. Perhaps even close to 120m. Namibian anglers fish with similar tackle from the shore.

we fish with the reel at the bottom, generally fitting trigger winches to our rods. Rods are stiff and can cast an 8oz lead with mackerel head