How to Cast Farther When Fishing

When it comes to fishing, the time spent on the waters matters, but so is practice. If you want to get your mitts on a trophy catch, you have to place your baits in the perfect spot. Therefore, you have to cast farther for two reasons:

• Longer casts keep you away from the target, thereby minimizing the chances of the fish getting spooked.
• The farther someone can cast, the easier it will be to place their baits in the perfect spot.

The secret to getting the most out of your fishing tools is to make sure they are in sync. Here, therefore, are the tips on how to cast far when fishing:

Combine the right rod with a well-conditioned line

Pay attention to the weight of the rod: A rod that is too light won’t propel the bait over long distances, but at the same time, a rod that is too heavy is surely going to come up short by not loading correctly.

The other tip is to get more line off the spool: This is achieved by filling up the reel’s spool such that you get more line each turn. Get as much yardage on your spool as you can; therefore, fill it up all the way to the rim. Remember that the closer you get that line to the rim of the spool the easier it is going to travel and the less resistance it’s going to get against that spool edge

Minimize friction in the bearings of your reel. Line lubricants are essential for increasing your casting range. Fail to clean and lubricate your reels, and the damn friction will eat away at your casting distance, and bang goes any find hopes of placing baits where you want to. Lubricate the reel so it can travel across itself a lot better. Lubricate your guides, too, to get them going a lot quicker

Utilize braid on your spinning rod

When it comes to your spinning rod, the secret is to utilize braided lines. This is not because braids cast so much better than fluorocarbons and monofilament. It’s because braids have a much thinner diameter on average.

With smaller diameters, you can fit more line on the reel, thereby getting more distance on your casts. The gain in casting range and yardage due to braids is a precious advantage for reeling in more fish because that thinner line is going to travel a lot farther for you. That’s why up-and-coming anglers swear by braided fishing lines. That while monofilaments are the most user-friendly types of fishing lines, braided lines make it easy to score a trophy catch.

Utilize a leader line and try to go half the length of your rod such that the double uni knot is about half a foot from the top of the reel This will give you a 4.5–5 feet leader that reduces the line visibility such that you won’t spook the fish. No fish is going to go for bait if the line is visible. Using a leader, therefore, allows for better bait presentation.

The other advantage of a 4.5–5 ft leader is it keeps the uni knot from getting down inside your spool to interrupt your casting speed.

Choose the best braids

When it comes to braids for your casting lines. The older braids often are four-strand braids, more of a square, and abrasive and will likely cut into your stuff.

Modern braids are more hydrodynamic. They are 7-strand or 8-strand braids, more rounded and cast a lot better than the earlier generation braids. Modern braids are also more hydrodynamic, which means that with a crosswind on a flatter surface, the tightly wrapped 8-strand brain is going to be more hydrodynamic with the crosswind. The 4-strand braid, on the other hand, gets flat when squeezed, providing more surface for the crosswind.

The size of the line matters: While line materials matter because a 30-pound braid outperforms a 20-pound fluorocarbon line, a 20-pound braid travels farther than a 30-pound braid. When it comes to comparison of lines from the same material, thinner and lighter lines are the best, they face less drag and can be easily be pulled off the reel by the weight of the bait and force from the recoil action on the road.

Rod length and rod action

Use long rods: You want a classic, medieval-like catapult action that sends your bait out there a lot further. The longer the rod you get, the bigger the motion and load you can cast. Longer roads make it easier to catapult bigger baits a lot further as the motion is less snappy and more of a smooth acceleration forcing your tip down and increasing the casting distance.

For the smaller and shorter rod, you are going to need the best rod action to get good catapult action. Your motion has to be critical here so that the bait travels over long distances. To increase casting distance with smaller rod setups, one-arm casts are not suitable for getting overall giant distances.

Tomahawk chops are also advised against. That is a horrible way to do an overhand cast. The secret is to come around from an angle such that you are rotating your body. So, imagine it like the act of throwing a baseball, not chopping but pitching to the target at an angle.

Don’t throw too hard

Go for smooth casts: You don’t have to throw hard to get more distance with your cast. When it comes to baitcasting tackle, the spool spins with the baitcaster; you want it to spin smoothly, and for long so you get longer casts. Therefore, instead of throwing hard, go for smooth casts with balanced spool speed.

Wet the braid first: That first cast with braided lines should be over a short distance. Just to get your braided lines wet. A wet braid is going to help you with the crosswind. It is going to prevent the wind from blowing your line too much out; a wet line has a weight that helps it travel a lot better for you.

Rod action is critical for getting more distance into your cast. Long casts are oftentimes more moderate or moderate fast, which means that the rod bends right in the middle or slightly up. Extra fast action that bends the rod at the tip is not suitable for getting longer casts.

The middle of the rod has more glass than carbon fiber. Fiberglass loads up a little bit better and accelerates after you get that bait on them. The middle part of the rod is designed for that big and smoother cast instead of the snap cast.

Move the lure halfway down towards the rod.

If the lure length is shorter, you are more likely to end up with a snap cast than a long cast. Shorter lure length is useful for targeting. But if you want to go with a much longer cast, you have to combine baseball-like pitching action with a much more lure length.

Move the lure half down your rod so that it loads up a lot better for you on that two-hand cast. Turn, arms up, and accelerate, pointing straight at where you are casting and let the line travel farther for you. When casting, always point directly at your target so that the line faces less resistance from the guides.

Here is the complete rod action on how to cast farther

Remember, 8 factors affect the casting distance; these include Rod Action, Wind, Rod Length, Line Material & Size, Bait Weight Shape & Size, and Rod Distance from Tip to Lure. Therefore, get the right rod, line, and reel. Pick a lure that is going to land at the approved position. Next, get that double uni knot in position as advised earlier. And remember that to increase the overall range, you have to move the lure halfway down your rod. Next, follow these steps:

• When casting employ both hands; one near the reel and the other on the butt end of the rod pulling down for a trebuchet motion.
• Make sure the rod is not close to your body, raise your arms all the way up.
• Once you’ve locked in that medieval catapult, trebuchet motion with arms and palms at the right places, move one leg forward one step such that you rotate across the shoulder as you let the line accelerate towards your target.
• When turning, remember to slap that tip down, forcing it down as you feel the load of your rod. That is going to accelerate that spool.

Lastly, remember practice makes perfect. When you begin trying for long casts, you are going to come up short, but progressively, as you start to feel the pressure and start forcing your tip down, your casting is going to get much better. Build the pressure, then force it into your cast, and your lure is going to grab much yardage than you’d ever think you can get out there.

Originally published at https://lifeoffishing.com on January 10, 2020.