I Just Couldn't Leave It Alone

[Decker]

Nice thread. Mo!   I like proportions of the 99 Silver Beach and have converted two Jigmasters to that width.  Must be a "golden mean" thing...   

How can a chrome spool get more casting distance?    Like a freight train barreling down the tracks

[mo65]

How can a chrome spool get more casting distance?    Like a freight train barreling down the tracks

   Good analogy Joe. Never in my hands, but a skilled caster could take advantage of that heavy spool's inertia and really let 'er fly.

[Decker]

How can a chrome spool get more casting distance?    Like a freight train barreling down the tracks

  Good analogy Joe. Never in my hands, but a skilled caster could take advantage of that heavy spool's inertia and really let 'er fly.

A skilled caster or someone who just doesn't know better  As a kid I used to cast the chrome-spooled Penns -- a 9 levelwind and some heavier ones I don't recall.  I liked to cast with the bait clicker on to slow it down a bit Ah, the good old days

[Ron Jones]

I started all my kids with chrome spools and the bushings good and tight. I could only cast the things 40 yards or so, but it helped them work on fundamentals. They're all getting better and better.
Ron

[grekim]

Nice thread. Mo!   I like proportions of the 99 Silver Beach and have converted two Jigmasters to that width.  Must be a "golden mean" thing...   

How can a chrome spool get more casting distance?    Like a freight train barreling down the tracks

With the plastic, I felt like the spool would sometimes stop spinning a good distance before the lure hit the water.  With the chrome the momentum keeps going until I stop it when it hits the water.   Maybe with an optimized bearing tension it would not matter and I could get the same distance.

[Decker]

I started all my kids with chrome spools and the bushings good and tight. I could only cast the things 40 yards or so, but it helped them work on fundamentals. They're all getting better and better.
Ron

Interesting to hear your experience, Ron.  You're a brave man .

With the plastic, I felt like the spool would sometimes stop spinning a good distance before the lure hit the water.  With the chrome the momentum keeps going until I stop it when it hits the water.   Maybe with an optimized bearing tension it would not matter and I could get the same distance.

I really did know anyone did that deliberately.  Guess you need to hit the brakes pretty hard as soon as the bait hits the water.

[Ron Jones]

If the spool stops early, ou didn't swing hard enough!
Honestly, that is the deal, these light spools spin fast and will keep spinning with enough power and lubrication. That adds up to long distances, especially with light baits.
Ron

[Rivverrat]

Guys I could be wrong its been a while since I've tossed out a bait with Penn or any reel with a plastic spool. But I believe the plastic spool thrown with a bait that slices through the wind will cast further that the heavier ones. Again I may be wrong this is based on memory & was never measured... Jeff

[grekim]

Sorry Mo, I really did not want to hijack your thread.  Let me just say that some of it has to do with your casting style.  Momentum is mass times velocity, so slow speed with big mass can have the same momentum as fast speed with small mass.   So yes, if I cast with more speed I should be able to achieve the same momentum with the plastic reel.  I didn't change my style, so that's why I think it didn't go as far.   

[Bryan Young]

That's one nightly nice reel. Plastic spools are great and easy to cast. They were designed for linen lines and you made it work for mono. I should have kept some of them plastic spools.

[oc1]

Sorry Mo, I really did not want to hijack your thread.  Let me just say that some of it has to do with your casting style.  Momentum is mass times velocity, so slow speed with big mass can have the same momentum as fast speed with small mass.   So yes, if I cast with more speed I should be able to achieve the same momentum with the plastic reel.  I didn't change my style, so that's why I think it didn't go as far.  

The swinging rod creates a force to propel the weight.  The lighter spool requires less force to get it spinning so it accelerates quickly and the initial start-up speed is higher.  A heavy spool requires more force to get it spinning so it accelerates more slowly and the start-up speed is lower.  

The maximum speed of the spool (the so-called start-up speed, be it fast or slow) peaks quickly and the spool then begins to decelerate.  Likewise, the casting weight being flung through the air accelerates very quickly and then begins to decelerate.  So, when the start-up speed of the spool is higher, the initial speed of the casting weight flying through the air is also higher.

The thumb, or spool tension, or magnetic brakes or centrifugal brakes are used to slow the spool so it does not peel off line faster than the weight can pull the line through the guides.  If the spool is peeling off line faster than the casting weight can carry it away, there is an over-run and the beginnings of a backlash. But, if too much braking is applied to the spool it decelerates the casting weight unnecessarily and casting distance is lost.

A casting weight with a higher initial speed can pull line through the guides faster so less braking of the spool is required.  A casting weight with a higher initial speed and without unnecessary spool braking will travel farther.

-steve

[Gfish]

Agree Steve. Casting distance = speed of spool, line & object being cast. Gravity is a constant always pushin down at the same rate(32ft/second squared) on the object bein cast, so the faster somethin you cast moves, the further it travels before it hits the water. Then there's all that other stuff like casting angle, wind resistance, mass a the object, etc., etc.

[grekim]

It really is a complex question and I like Steve's answer.  It is a two part problem, at the very least (1)  achieving the initial spool speed and (2) the frictional forces that slow it down.

When I cast, whether right or wrong, I believe I am applying the most thumb pressure just after the lure starts its trajectory.  When it is near the end of the trajectory I am usually barely applying pressure.  Again, this a LB 60 or Surmaster say, so no brakes.  So, I want that spool spinning at a moderate speed throughout the entire trip.  If it's too fast it blows up.

As Gfish said, an object with faster initial velocity will of course go farther (given the same angle and neglecting air resistance).  A high powered rifle bullet has the same time of flight as a handgun, both falling at the same rate, but the rifle travels farther laterally in that time.  What makes the reel problem more complex is the frictional forces can be varied after the lure launches.

There is some maximum spool speed that you can achieve before you get a blow up...another complex problem.  Let's say you get that great initial speed with the plastic, but you have to squash it because you will start to get a blow up.   So, now consider the metal and and plastic spool both with the same maximum rotational speed above which you would backlash on either, and tell me which has more momenum and potential to go farther.,,,

[mo65]

   Wow...you guys have practically written a book on casting data here...but my original concern was the plastic spool's strength. It seems like any time a Penn plastic spool is mentioned, usually the comments are more like "toss that thing in the trash" or "those are worthless". I almost sense a little plastic love! HA!! I was hoping to hook a fish big enough to really strain that spool. I saw an add on the facebooks where a guy was pulling his truck with his catfish combo...maybe I can try that...

[Reel 224]

   Wow...you guys have practically written a book on casting data here...but my original concern was the plastic spool's strength. It seems like any time a Penn plastic spool is mentioned, usually the comments are more like "toss that thing in the trash" or "those are worthless". I almost sense a little plastic love! HA!! I was hoping to hook a fish big enough to really strain that spool. I saw an add on the facebooks where a guy was pulling his truck with his catfish combo...maybe I can try that...

............................Joe