Penn conventional reels! Agh!

[mangutzfish]

I'm very new to conventional reels.  Recently I found a Jigmaster and a 113HL on ebay really cheap.  Today I went out to Long Beach to practice casting.  Casting with the 113HL is work!  I think I could barely get about 10ft with 40# line and a 4oz weight.  With the Jigmaster, I got about 25ft on a surface jig.  Alot easier, but still nowhere near as much as with a spinning reel.  How far am I supposed to be able to cast with these things?  Can anyone give anyone give any pointers?

[Norcal Pescador]

Welcome aboard. You're on one of my favorite subjects: fish tacos!  
Oh yeah, casting. The first thing is to check is the freespool time on your reels. If you're not freespooling at least 30 seconds, your reel needs help (a good cleaning, bearings lubed with a good reel oil and checking the bearings for end play adjustment). If your reels are okay, then it's a matter of practice, practice, practice. If you have your weight on about 3-4 feet of line hanging from the rod tip-top, that will give you a good amount of loading on the rod and inertia to get the weight out there on your cast. All of this helps to "educate" your thumb to the point of preventing backlash and not dragging the spool to a stop too soon. Soon you should be able to cast 50 feet without any problem then eventually 100 feet without difficulty. And the longer the rod the more leverage to get the lure/bait/sinker out there. Is the line fresh and relatively flexible? Practice with the Jigmaster and 20-25# line. When you get get much better, then it will be easier with the 40# line. It's still a bit of a challenge with the 40# just because it's stiffer and doesn't want to come off the reel or go through the guides as easily as a smaller diameter line.  Practice, timing, practice, movement, practice and hand/eye coordination, are all needed to get you there.
This was quick, basic, and down and dirty. The great casters out there will have more helpful ideas.

[mangutzfish]

Hey Norcal Pescador, I appreciate your insight.  Both reels have been serviced so I guess I have to practice, practice, practice as you said.  100ft?  Damn, I just might have to stick in an extra practice!

[broadway]

     I'm not a great caster, but as Norcal said, check the adjustable bearing (non-handle side) to get it dialed in.  You want about a mm (tiny amount) between the spool and the side plates... just enough so they don't rub and the spool spins freely.  Hold the reel with two hands, and push with your thumbs on the inside of the spool walls (side to side), and you'll get it right.  Good luck and don't forget to practice a little 
Dom

[Alto Mare]

I'm very new to conventional reels.  Recently I found a Jigmaster and a 113HL on ebay really cheap.  Today I went out to Long Beach to practice casting.  Casting with the 113HL is work!  I think I could barely get about 10ft with 40# line and a 4oz weight.  With the Jigmaster, I got about 25ft on a surface jig.  Alot easier, but still nowhere near as much as with a spinning reel.  How far am I supposed to be able to cast with these things?  Can anyone give anyone give any pointers?

You might want to put that 113HL on the shelf for now and practice with the Jigmaster, a plastic spool and lighter line (17 to 20 lb.) might help on that Jigmaster. For the rest, just do as my buddies mentioned and you'll be fine.

[mangutzfish]

Thanks alot fellas.  I think I'll only be using the 113HL for rockfish for now.  I don't need to cast it just drop the weight straight down.  I'm not giving up on that Jigmaster though.  I took it out to the front yard to practice a bit.  I hit the neighbors truck...  Maybe not such a good idea.

[Bryan Young]

Find a park to practice.  Even bette if you live near the ocean or lake.  Much easier on line than grass.

[CapeFish]

I'm very new to conventional reels.  Recently I found a Jigmaster and a 113HL on ebay really cheap.  Today I went out to Long Beach to practice casting.  Casting with the 113HL is work!  I think I could barely get about 10ft with 40# line and a 4oz weight.  With the Jigmaster, I got about 25ft on a surface jig.  Alot easier, but still nowhere near as much as with a spinning reel.  How far am I supposed to be able to cast with these things?  Can anyone give anyone give any pointers?

A 4oz sinker is a bit on the light side to get a 113hl spool going. You need to look at a 7oz sinker rather or perhaps even 8 or 9. It is really not a great casting reel and unless you are going to target big sharks rather look at a smaller reel.  A jigmaster can actually cast darn far, in capable hands you can look at 130m or even more.

O yes what rod are you using? With both those reels if you are going to cast from the rocks or beach you must look at a rod that is 12ft or even longer and capable of handling those big 7-9 oz sinkers especially if you are seriously going to consider fishing with the 113 from the beach. We actually went playing around yesterday on a sprotsfield and with not too much difficulty hit 100m with a Trinidad 50 and 8oz and +- 50lb line and with smaller Torium 30/20 and Quantum 20 we were managing to get around 130m and a bit more.

[wallacewt]

what about joining a club.youll, get hands on help.

[mangutzfish]

I'm using an Ugly Stick Tiger 7' rated at 20-50#.
Wallacewt, if you can recommend any clubs in SoCal, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks again fellas!

[Norcal Pescador]

Thanks alot fellas.  I think I'll only be using the 113HL for rockfish for now.  I don't need to cast it just drop the weight straight down.  I'm not giving up on that Jigmaster though.  I took it out to the front yard to practice a bit.  I hit the neighbors truck...  Maybe not such a good idea.

How far was the truck?   You should do fine with the Jigmaster. My brother-in-law used his 500 for surf fishing - 4 oz. sinker on 17# mono with a 40# shock leader and an 11 foot rod. He always had a respectable launch. You can get some distance with the Tiger rod, it may not be 130 meters, but it will take ........... practice.
You should be able to find out about some clubs online, at good saltwater tackle stores/charters, or maybe the yellow pages. (Wallace is from down under.)
Good luck.
Rob

[mangutzfish]

Actually, the truck was about 50-60 feet away.  Thanks Norcal.

[Alto Mare]

Wait and see what happens when you get good at it.  here in the NE guys on the boats keep their distance from the jettys during a striper run. I've done a little surf fishing  and noticed that those guys on the sand are  not concerned about anybody being in their way. That 5 oz. weight has to feel like a bullet when it hits, I hate to be on the other end of it.

[Norcal Pescador]

Actually, the truck was about 50-60 feet away.  Thanks Norcal.

See what practice does? You've doubled your distance with the jigmaster already!
Rob

[franky]

Hello all,

Its been awhile, I've been very busy writing my grant and good news is...It scored a 92.5% and got awarded.  

I havn't been out lately, but I plan to put some R&R this weekend.

Anyway, if you are going to use the jigmaster or the 113 from shore, I would suggest using a longer pole than a 7 footer.

Lots of guys in Hawaii use the jigmaster and the 113 from shore.  

For the jigmaster, people commonly use 40 lb test mainline and a 6 ounce lead.  That puppy will go over 100 yards easily....um...with practice and the right technique.

For the 113 reel, people commonly use between 50 to 80 lb mainline and between an 8 ounce and 10 ounce lead, respectively.  This reel will also bomb over 100 yards with practice and the right technique.

The standard shorecasting rod that we use for both of the reels is 13 feet in length.