How far can you throw ?

[MoCarp]

Casters are best with stiffer line try trilene XT or big game...if distance is is needed, a spinning reel, a long nose type reel..,,

you can chunk distance with a caster, a rocket 5500 abu can cast 20 yards up the opposite bank of the pothole on one of my carp rods using a 4oz distance lead.  

 

[Al Agnew]

38 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

The whole switching hands can be solved by getting left handed reels if you reel with your left hand.  There are more and more companies coming out with lefty reels and that’s all I buy.  I can’t reel with my right hand so it’s perfect for me to cast right reel left without having to switch hands.  

There are other ways to do it as well.  Say you're right-handed, and have a reel with the crank on the right side (it gets really confusing to talk about left hand and right hand reels).  If you palm your reel in your left hand, then as you get ready to cast your right hand goes to the rod handle, thumb on reel spool.  Cast two-handed, keeping your left hand palming the reel.  When they lure hits the water your right hand goes to the reel handle, left hand stays where it is.  Far more efficient than casting one handed with your right hand, then switching the rod handle to your left hand before beginning your retrieve.

I don't do it that way because I don't feel comfortable palming the reel and I've cast with my left arm for a LONG time--though right handed, I taught myself to cast left handed back when I was in high school.  But if I want to cast two-handed, which I often do with longer rods, my left hand is on the rod handle controlling the spool all the time buy my right hand will be on the rod handle up against my left hand when I make the cast, going to the reel handle as soon as the lure hits the water (or before).

[Al Agnew]

There are so many things that can go into casting for distance with a baitcaster that it's hard to really give you good advice without seeing your set-up and how it's adjusted.  I simply don't like spinning tackle.  I use it when I absolutely have to, which is mainly when I know I'll be skipping lures under docks or a lot of overhanging brush, or occasionally when fishing smaller jigs and lighter soft plastics on the bottom in the winter, though even there I almost never use it anymore.  For me, baitcasting is simply far more efficient--more accurate, and fewer movements within the casting cycle.  The kind of fishing I do puts a premium on making a lot of casts, making each cast count as I drift down the river with canoe continually moving.  I've never seen anybody use a spinning reel with the same kind of efficiency in that kind of fishing.  Plus, the occasional backlash with casting gear is balanced by the occasional problems with line loops and snarls with spinning tackle.  I just noticed the other day, after fishing for a couple days straight, that during a whole day of floating and fishing with literally thousands of casts, I only had to stop and pull out some line off the reel by hand once to get out loose, loopy line on my casting reels.  Sure, I get some loose line more often than that, but not bad enough to slow the next cast down, and when I do, I just make a longer cast when I have a good target, which gets it out.

I can cast lures down to 1/8th ounce (as long as they are not too wind-resistant) when my baitcast set-ups.  Most of the stuff I throw is heavier than that, but 1/4th ounce lures should give you no problem.  But...you must have your reel adjusted properly, and it's best to have a rod that is light enough in power to flex and load with lighter lures.  Seems like the vast majority of casting rods are medium heavy or heavy power, which is great for larger lures or setting hooks while fishing with jigs and soft plastics, but is all wrong for casting lighter lures.  So that may something to consider.

Another thing to consider--I don't use braid on most of my baitcasters, just having one reel with 6/20 Power Pro for jig fishing in murky water.  I believe that starting out with a good monofilament line shortens your learning curve a bit.  And I think that something like 12 pound test will shorten it further...don't go too heavy or too light with your line starting out.

Really, though, it kinda depends upon the kind of fishing you do.  Spinning IS more versatile--it does a lot of things okay, though not so many of them really well.  Baitcasting is more specialized--which is why I carry five different baitcasting set-ups just about every time I go fishing.  I would say that if you really need the distance, or you fish mostly stuff fairly slowly on the bottom, just stick with your spinning tackle.

[fshndoug]

50 yards with normal lures would be quite a cast my friends.Casting a c rig with a one ounce weight might cast that far.Make what you think is a long cast with a half ounce jig,measure the distance and report back.Accuracy is the name of the game while fishing,kinda like golf.Drive for show,putt for dough.

[Al Agnew]

39 minutes ago, fshndoug said:

50 yards with normal lures would be quite a cast my friends.Casting a c rig with a one ounce weight might cast that far.Make what you think is a long cast with a half ounce jig,measure the distance and report back.Accuracy is the name of the game while fishing,kinda like golf.Drive for show,putt for dough.  

I agree with that!  I'm wondering if he meant 50 feet, not yards.  I just picked up one of my better rod and reel combos, though not the one I would pick for real distance casting--rod is a pistol grip so no way I can do a good two handed cast.  But I made as long a cast with it as I could, using a half ounce wooden lure, without putting quite everything I had into the cast, which is a recipe for a backlash.  It went 34 yards.  And it was a longer cast than I EVER use when fishing.  My longest casts while fishing are when using a similar topwater lure when the water is extremely clear and long casts are called for, and still most of my casts in that situation are under 30 yards--probably most are under 25 yards.  25 yards is about the longest distance you can cast and still get a dependable hook set with most typical equipment.  If the water has some color, most of my casts are under 15 yards.

[dan hufferd]

3 hours ago, liphunter said:

left handed reels

I did that too.

[drew03cmc]

Allow me, I can throw a baseball nearly 75 yards still, football, 40 or so, but I can cast as far as I need to.

[dan hufferd]

42 minutes ago, Al Agnew said:

I agree with that!  I'm wondering if he meant 50 feet, not yards.  I just picked up one of my better rod and reel combos, though not the one I would pick for real distance casting--rod is a pistol grip so no way I can do a good two handed cast.  But I made as long a cast with it as I could, using a half ounce wooden lure, without putting quite everything I had into the cast, which is a recipe for a backlash.  It went 34 yards.  And it was a longer cast than I EVER use when fishing.  My longest casts while fishing are when using a similar topwater lure when the water is extremely clear and long casts are called for, and still most of my casts in that situation are under 30 yards--probably most are under 25 yards.  25 yards is about the longest distance you can cast and still get a dependable hook set with most typical equipment.  If the water has some color, most of my casts are under 15 yards.

I am casting just a weight in the yard, 47 yards. A spinner bait, or A rig would be less for sure.

[dan hufferd]

I was never really concerned about distance, but I would like to go for striper, it seem like a long cast is desirable. I have fished walleye where a long cast is nice as well.

I am just trying to figure it out. I gather my reel is at it's potential for distance.

I recently viewed a video of the curado dc casting over 60 yards !

I will post it if i can find it again.

[Gavin]

Do learn to baitcast, spin cast, and fly cast. It is good to have a full set of tools at your disposal.