Spinning reels for distance casting

Started by Swami805, March 25, 2021, 11:56:50 AM

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Swami805

I'm not a spinning reel guy but I'm thinking it might be fun it try distance casting and be a good excuse to buy more stuff.
What's the best size reel to use? I know it depends somewhat on line size so say for 50-65lb braid.
I would think there's some friction from the spool lip as the line comes off the spool.Is that true?
I've seem some reels with tall spools, is that some thing to consider or just a gimmick?  Does a wider spool help?
I've got a couple 13' blanks to play with so I'll refer to the "Logic" thread for guidance on that.
Also what's a good size weight to use? I'm thinking 2-3 ounces with a torpedo shape?
Thanks in advance!
Do what you can with that you have where you are

Cor

I have never fished with a spinning reel but from experience the following:-

Generally they outcast conventional reels by a good margin, .....

Often the light shorter rods, using 30 lb braid, < 2 oz weight effortlessly cast 100 mt.
Cornelis

thorhammer

Sheridan, question is what will you fish for, and how choppy will the water be. Typically, drum fishing in NC with a rig that long, I'd go at least 7000 size reel, and more likely 8-9000 size, with 50-80 lb braid (usually 65) and a about 15 feet of mono shock leader. The tall cone shaped spools appear to feed line easier, and i think Penn has come out with those spools in the SS or Slammer line, can't recall which. 5-6 oz and bait seems to through the best for me, but it depends on the size and shape of the bait, and the weight. Torpedo-shapes like bank sinker throw better than storm / pyramids, but don't hold bottom as well. Sputniks are good for this too.

Once in a blue moon, I'll fish a big Quick like a 5000, but 99.9 % I'm using SS or Slammers if I'm surf-spinning: 9500SS, 850SS, 750, 650, 5500 and 760 Slammers. For certain they sling a lighter weight /  smaller bait better. A 5000 / 6000 size Abu will too- however, you lose on the back-end with those reels reeling it home very slowly.

Gfish

#3
JMO, spinners are better for birdsnest avoidence when chucking into the wind. JMO, a tall, narrower spool with the slow ossilation winding system seems to reduce casting friction at the reel and up to the first guide. I have a too plasticy Shimano Ultegra that is made like this and throws braid with an 1-2oz. plug a country mile(a nice Loomis 10.5' rod with great load-snap back capability helps). Should be interesting if I get a big ol Ulua on it someday, will the reel hold-up?
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Swami805

I'll be fishing off the local pier,  not really targeting Anything particular, that changes as the water warms.  This is more of a quest for maximum distance.  Just dragging small grubs close to the bottom can be effective for lots of things. Like a Carolina rig with a fixed torpedo sinker
Do what you can with that you have where you are

happyhooker

Lighter (read: thinner) line usually improves distance.  Less air resistance, I suppose.  If all you want is distance and not fishablilty, why not a 1-2 oz. weight on 4 or 6 lb. test?  You'll have to watch out for snap offs, of course.

Frank

philaroman

#6
#1!!!!!!!!  PROTECT YOUR FINGER !!!!!!!!!
a robust cast w/ spinning tackle, 65# braid & 2-3 oz. will slice you bad enough
to ruin your day...  6-8 oz. might cause permanent damage  :(
duct tape on index works to start...  then, modified glove or finger guard (archery?)
then, rod-mounted Breakaway Cannon is well worth $20+, for prolonged/extended casting

otherwise, VERY generally...
taller/shallower spools are better for distance; usually involves
some sort of more-partsy/finicky/expensive oscillation system


Quote from: Gfish on March 25, 2021, 02:41:57 PM
JMO, spinners are better for birdsnest avoidence when chucking into the wind. JMO, a tall, narrower spool with the slow ossilation winding system seems to reduce friction. I have a too plasticy Shimano Ultegra that is made like this and throws braid with an 1-2oz. plug a country mile(a nice Loomis 10.5' rod with great load-snap back capability helps). Should be interesting if I get a big ol Ulua on it someday, will the reel hold-up?

older Biomaster/Ultegra was JDM Stradic
4000FG w/ braid to 25# fluoro held up to a cow ray...  even w/ felt
I'm sure I had the drag up to low teens, for quite a while

steelfish

Quote from: Swami805 on March 25, 2021, 11:56:50 AM
I'm not a spinning reel guy but I'm thinking it might be fun it try distance casting and be a good excuse to buy more stuff.
What's the best size reel to use? I know it depends somewhat on line size so say for 50-65lb braid.
I would think there's some friction from the spool lip as the line comes off the spool.Is that true?
I've seem some reels with tall spools, is that some thing to consider or just a gimmick?  Does a wider spool help?
I've got a couple 13' blanks to play with so I'll refer to the "Logic" thread for guidance on that.
Also what's a good size weight to use? I'm thinking 2-3 ounces with a torpedo shape?
Thanks in advance!


you just opened the Pandora box !! its a whole world about long distance casting with spinning reels.
you can find a lot of info with the guys in Striperonline .com on the subforum/section of distance casting.

before I started repairing reels which led me to meet local guys with charter service and started fishing in boats I was more into surf fishing (yep 10x cheaper), so I know something about long distance casting but far from being a pro as our friend Jeri from South africa

do you know the line rating of those 13ft rods?
some are for heavy weights "heavers" and some other are for medium-light lines

-- Best reel to buy is kind hard to answer because there are reel totally made form distance casting with a tall but shallow spool so, the line wont rub on the spool lip that hard, but some of the best ones and specialized ones are kind of hard to get in USA, mostly normal on UK and rest of Europe, but if you search Penn, okuma and daiwa have some models for the USA market, but wont see those reels catching big fishes from the shore, those reels are more common on dry land tournaments than actually fishing with them.
then you have some good spinning reels for surfishing with the spool not as shallow and tall but still more larger in length than a normal spinning BOAT reel.

again, to answer what is the best sinker weight for your rod depends on the specs of each rod, the idea is to use the sinker that "charge" the tip of your rod in order to "activate" the catapult action of the rod with your cast, if you use a 2oz sinker and your rod is a heaver which needs 4oz at least to cast better then with only 2oz sinker you will be only casting what the force of your arm give without the help of the action of the rod (like trying to use a broomstick and a sinker attached) thats why you see pictures of long rods totally bent behind the caster with the sinker attached, that bend on the rod is which will be sending the sinker to the moon.

so, sinker weight is totally attached to the specs of each rod, now the recommended line also depends if you are more into the maximun distance or a good distance for actually fishing for a good fish. for maximum distance use 15# mono and 40-50# mono shock leader, the leader lenght needs to have at least 2-3 rounds on your spool and still 3/4 average of the length of your rod so you can adjust as needed to make your cast depending on the technique used, as OTG cast (off the ground), pendulum, powercast, etc.
if you are going to use braided line then you can use 20 - 40#  with a braided line leader of 80-100#
the rule of the thumb for the leader is to use 10x the sinker weight in order to avoid breakages on the cast and hurt yourself or someone near from you, this only apply to surf fishing looking for the best distance on which you apply a lot of force on the cast and you can have a 3oz sinker traveling away at 150mph directly to the head of someone or something.
so, 10# leader or line for 1oz lure/sinker,   20# leader for 2oz ,  30# of 3oz, etc if you can go with a bigger leader than your normal sinker weight used the better although some guys swear they can cast 4oz on a powercast with no worries and 25# mono line with no leader, maybe they are not casting that hard or the line is extremely strong but I prefer to keep my line on those "rule of the thumb" specs for less worries.
and of couse dont forget finger protection for those strong powercast with heavy sinkers, better to find some Leather finger protection than those cheap plastic ones, a braid line with a 5oz sinker on a powercast will slice a plastic protective glove easily.

I actually started fishing from the shore with spinning reels, but since here in Sea of Cortez we dont have strong wings I switched to surf fishing with casting reels, after you have the basic training with the spinning reel for surf casting using a casting reels is like going from driving an automatic car to a manual one, its more fun and entertaining while fishing and with good reels and training you can outcast the spinning reel guys on the shore the problem will ALWAYS be the wind no matter how good you are or how expensive gear you have, on a windy day a spinning guy will be fishing and you might not.

my current surf fishing spinning rods is a Tsumani airwave 9ft and a Shimano sonora 4000 reel with 40# braid and 60# braid shock leader and for baitcasting surf fishing I use a 12.6ft rainshadow rod and a daiwa saltist 20h or abu 6500c3

my previous (now sold) spinning surf fishing gear was a Cabelas predator 12ft carp rod and a daiwa emcast sport (which have the long and kind of shallow spool), I normally cast 3oz plus bait with that combo to the moon.
but since my shore fishing only have small fish I downsized my surfishing gear to my current which is a 14ft salmon rod for 1oz lure and 10ft salmon rod 1oz lure and 4000 and 2500 sized spinning reels





The Baja Guy

oc1

#8
Sheridan, why would you want to use a spinner if you already have the experience and skills to use conventional?  Pursuit of more distance is a worthy goal but those really serious about distance use conventional reels. Spinning reels do not necessarily give you more distance.  

If the object is to find something new and different to do, then you might as well make it interesting and look for the longest push-button spincast reel.

Swami805

Spincasting, that would add a new wrinkle. Somehow I was under the impression that the spinning guys were getting more distance these days.  Just want to try something different.
The blank I have is a 13' all glass old Conolon, feels like a nice 40lb rod, about a size 14 tip so it's plenty beefy with a nice bend.  Should fit the bill.
I'm going to take a look a a few reels I can buy in the States, something good for 65lb braid since I have a few thousand yard of it.
Should be a good new rabbit hole
Thanks for the tips everyone
Do what you can with that you have where you are

steelfish

compadre Sheridan, this okuma surf reel looks pretty good, similar to daiwa emblem pro and emcast sport which are two good surf fishing reel, this one is not expensive and not too heavy, available in Tackledirect USA 
The Baja Guy

Ron Jones

I watch casting contests from time to time. The pros seem to all use conventionals, but there are some individuals throwing spinners a long way these days.



The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

MarkT

It doesn't count if you either 1) cast off the bait or 2) don't actually try to catch anything. I guess people get in contests like that when they either don't have water with fish or they can't catch anything anyway!
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

wailua boy

This guy casts pretty well for a vintage era spinner and at $3 plus shipping not bad.

Ron Jones

Tha
Quote from: MarkT on March 29, 2021, 12:30:48 AM
It doesn't count if you either 1) cast off the bait or 2) don't actually try to catch anything. I guess people get in contests like that when they either don't have water with fish or they can't catch anything anyway!
t's like saying people race cars because they have nowhere else to go!

Anytime there is someone driving the state of the art in technique and equipment it is good for those who practically apply the equipment. Besides, watching a 300+ yard cast is kinda amazing.

The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"