Effectively Casting Conventional Reel ?

[steelfish]

Well I happened to have an 8.5' Ugly Stik Big Game rod that use with my vintage Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5500 C3 baitcaster. Can that rod considered to be within better range for the 900H ? Thank you

well, you have to take into consideration a lot of things, but mostly the line used, the weight used to cast and reel capabilities.

900h its no the best caster but it will cast decent distance with the proper lead weight and smaller line.

if your ugly stick can trow the required lead weight then its good to go.
check the specs of the rod and if can send 6oz and considering is a 100% glass rod you can use 6oz + bait with no worries, even 7oz
I dont see a reason to go with a longer rod if the reel is not capable of long distances.

[thorhammer]

Moe, stick it up on the Ugly and give it a shot....at worst you get a good laugh based on my experiment!!!!

J

[Bryan Young]

The 900H is a bit huge for casting.  I know guys that I grew up with in Hawaii that can cast 100+ yards with 114H, 113H, 112H, and Jigmasters...and including their Newell equivalents.

It's a matter of having the right rod, lead weight, and the strength and timing to do it.

You may be able to find some YouTube videos of Hawaiian Shore Casting to give you an idea.

[The Moe]

LOL!

Will do!

I got the 900H mounted on the Ugly Stik Big Game rod as seen in pictures. I have a 6.5 oz weight wrapped with electric tape to minimize snagging. 30# mono line and 36# sacrificial steel leader.

I will be practice casting in the yard tomorrow morning after I tweak my drag drop. Wish me luck!

[steelfish]

I have a 6.5 oz weight wrapped with electric tape to minimize snagging. 30# mono line

rule of thumb in surf fishing is 10 lb line per 1oz weight to cast.. in order to avoid having your line snap at the middle of the cast and hit someone in the beach or yourself, you have to stay always under that rule.

thats mean it you want to cast 6.5oz at least your line should be 70lb, the best way to acomplish lost cast under this rule is to use shock leaders of the required poundage and main line of your choice.

on your set up you MUST do the next:
30# mono main line then 70/80# shock leader (which at least have to be as long as to made 2 complete turns on the spools and let your lead sit at the middle of your rod), then your bait rig and lead.


** thats apply if you want to cast as strong and as far as you can, if you just swing your lead moderately to reach 20-40yd then is not necesary.

[The Moe]

Steelfish,

20-40 yards is almost an ideal casting range for my application. So It looks like I can do without the shock leader for this setup since I don't normally want/can perform a full power cast due to location limitations (Mainly fishing off the bank for lake blue and mud cats).

Surprisingly enough, this rig pictured here did not feel too cumbersome in my hand. I have yet to cast it but it I didn't get the feeling that it would be too much harder than casting a decent size round framed baitcaster.

Real quick though, when I retrieve my line after a cast, and since these conventional reels lack the worm guide mechanism by design, do I need the manually guide my line as I reel it into the spool? You know, left and right for even spooling or should I just let physics take care of it for me. I just hate it when my line overlap or catch when I recast you know..

Moe
   

[Shark Hunter]

Yes,
You have to put the line back on the spool by going side to side manually, or it will bunch up in one spot.

[Bryan Young]

rule of thumb in surf fishing is 10 lb line per 1oz weight to cast.. in order to avoid having your line snap at the middle of the cast and hit someone in the beach or yourself, you have to stay always under that rule.

thats mean it you want to cast 6.5oz at least your line should be 70lb, the best way to acomplish lost cast under this rule is to use shock leaders of the required poundage and main line of your choice.

Really?  I'm totally under that rule.  I cast 5-6 oz lead with 30# main and 20# lead line with 25#-30# leader for normal and 50# leader for larger fish.  My average casting distance is 75 yards with a jigmaster sized reel and 13' surf rod (Fenwick 1689).

I undersize the lead line because I want the fish to break the lead line if the lead is indeed stuck in the reef (which it usually is).

So far, my best cast is when I backlash and the lead line breaks...from the lead's perspective of course.

[steelfish]

Really?  I'm totally under that rule.  I cast 5-6 oz lead with 30# main and 20# lead line with 25#-30# leader for normal and 50# leader for larger fish.  My average casting distance is 75 yards with a jigmaster sized reel and 13' surf rod (Fenwick 1689).

I undersize the lead line because I want the fish to break the lead line if the lead is indeed stuck in the reef (which it usually is).

So far, my best cast is when I backlash and the lead line breaks...from the lead's perspective of course.

well thats the Rule of the thumb not mine.
I think it depends on the style of cast you made, some casts are soft and stops suddenly, the you have the hatteras cast, OTG cast, powercast, etc, etc

I fish on spectra line on my surf fishing big setup and never anything heavier than 6oz, my normal main line is 50# braid and a long shock leader of 65# braid or 80# braid like 20 yds and at the very end a short mono leader for abrasion on rocky bottoms 3ft -4ft 30-40# mono

but normally just casting 3oz lead plus bait, so no worries no shock leaders on 50# main line spectra.

[CapeFish]

The 900H is a bit huge for casting.  I know guys that I grew up with in Hawaii that can cast 100+ yards with 114H, 113H, 112H, and Jigmasters...and including their Newell equivalents.

It's a matter of having the right rod, lead weight, and the strength and timing to do it.

You may be able to find some YouTube videos of Hawaiian Shore Casting to give you an idea.

We fish that way as well, you need the right rod and sinker weight and you can achieve incredible distances, placing the reel low down on the rod makes like tournament casters do makes a huge difference, so does having a small reel winch with trigger to help you get a better grip. Casting with an 8 foot rod and a 900h reel you can only basically lob your bait from a peer. Also keep in mind that scaling down on the tackle helps your pickup rate. Sometimes it helps to have smaller baits and lighter lines, even for big sharks, they don't always go for the biggest bait and 20/0 hook

[The Moe]

Original poster here..

So, I went out to practice casting this rig out on the river bank this morning. Epic fail. Could not achieve more than 10 yards of unpredictable casting distance no matter what I try. Again this was the Sealine 900h freshly rebuild. 8.5' Ugly stick big game rod. 30# mono. 6.5 Oz led and a little  bluegill bait. I tried many drag settings, fully open drag and no spool resistance. Even different casting techniques with no luck.

My observations where that the spool did not initiate a good bailing speed upon initial release.  Causing the rod tip to dive sharply down lobbing the tackle just a few yards below me. Over-spinning is also a problem due to the intentional lack of resistance and the huge mass of the spool itself. I thing the rod action and the led weight where not appropriate for the reel.

Seems like I needed a longer, heavier action rod with more weight to charge the reel better and force the bailing faster. And avoid rod tip downing tendincies. Or even better. A smaller reel...

[RowdyW]

The 900H is a trolling reel for large game & is not at all suited to making a casting reel out of it except for short distances. Also as line weight increases casting distance decreases. For fishing from a pier or the beach I would recommend a spinning reel like a 950-9500 size or larger if shark fishing as you originally said. With 40-50 lb. line (for sharks) you will get a decent casting distance. With 30 lb line you will get even more distance. Put the spinner on a 10-11 ft. spinning style surf rod that can sling at least 6 oz. of lead and go for it. Don't forget a steel leader. The 900H is a great reel but it's place is on a boat for trolling or deep dropping. For what you want to do I think the spinner would give you more enjoyment and no worries about backlash & birdnests. IMO

[steelfish]

.........Seems like I needed a longer, heavier action rod with more weight to charge the reel better and force the bailing faster. And avoid rod tip downing tendincies. Or even better. A smaller reel...

we only learn from experience.. this is part of your learning process.

now, if change your perpective, if you want, now you can sell this reel that you got at bargain prices and with that money get something that will bring you more satisfaction to your fishing time.

spinner reel, a smallers casting reel, old school 500l, saline 50h, etc.

[cwillis85]

In my experience, which isn't a ton, I really have been favoring my Squall 15 on a 12' Ugly stik surf rod with 30lb braid and a short mono leader. The Squall has cast control that has worked well for me. I have only been fishing from the beach for a few months but have had good success casting this setup, I got lucky and was able to get this whole setup under $100 but I think retail on the whole thing is about $150. I have a 750ss on a 10' rod that also cast great with 45lb braid but I like having the clicker on the Squall since I fish mostly live bait from the beach. Just something that has worked well for me during my time learning to cast from the beach.

[Shark Hunter]

I have seen it done like this Moe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QFEeB8gMgE&feature=player_detailpage