Tag: Fishing Rod

Long Distance Spin Casting

Long Distance Spin Casting

Article by Randy Kadish









You read up on it. You become sure you can do it. After all, hitting a good tee shot seems a lot harder than casting a spinning rod.So you march to the lake with visions of hooking and landing a faraway lunker. You set up your fishing rod and step up to the bank and cast. Your lure, however, flies off to the right and not very far. You cast again and again. The results don’t change.

Golf didn’t seem this frustrating! So you think all you need is some practice.

But after hours and hours of it, you’re still in the same, going-nowhere casting boat, so to speak.

How discouraging! Even makes you think about giving up fishing.

Yes, I know!

But instead of giving up, I wondered, what if there’s a lot more to casting a spinning rod than what I read? What if I experiment with using other techniques, the techniques of throwing a ball and of casting a fly rod?

So I began a year of casting trials and errors. Lots of errors!

Then finally it happened: consistently, I felt the beauty of loading the rod, of watching the lure streak over the water, and land right where I wanted it to.

Here’s how I got there.

THE STANCE. I want to use one that helps me shift my weight so I get as much leverage as possible, and helps me increase the length of my casting stroke, and therefore the bend, or load, in the rod. I’m right handed, so I put my left foot forward and point it straight ahead. I turn my right foot outward about thirty degrees. My feet are shoulder-width apart. The front of my right foot is in-line with the front of my left heel. (If my right foot is too far back or too far pointed outward, I’ll lock my hips and not be able to fully rotate by body and shift all my weight.) I square my hips and shoulders to the target, slightly bend my knees and shift my weight to the ball of my front foot. My right heel is off the ground. I flex my thumb and put it on the top of the rod handle. I hold the rod loosely and point it anywhere from nine o’clock to ten-thirty. My elbow is even with the front of my waist. The lure hangs down about a foot.THE POWER GRIP. I start with two fingers in front of the reel stem and two behind. I pick up the line with my right index finger, and then move my hand back so only my line finger is in front of the stem. Next, I pull the line up and back, then press my fingertip against the stem, but not against the line. (I like to feel the weight of the lure to cast it accurately.)

I hold the line this way for the same reason a good fly caster doesn’t let slack form in his fly line: to keep constant tension on the line so as soon as I start the cast the lure pulls on the rod, and therefore fully loads the rod. Holding the line the conventional way made it impossible for me to keep enough tension on the line. Even worse, I found it very difficult to keep my index finger from prematurely straightening and releasing the line.No wonder my casts were short, and high and off to the side.

(Until I got my timing down, I used a golf glove or a Band-Aid to prevent the line from cutting into my finger.)

MOVING THE ROD. I initially assumed the faster I moved the rod the farther I’d cast. For two reasons I was wrong. First: a pitcher achieves maximum power and velocity only when his arm moves in sync with his body rotation. If his arm gets ahead of his body he becomes an “arm thrower.”

No wonder major league pitchers seem to throw as if not using all their might! Maximum arm speed is reached only at the release.Fly casters will tell you the same thing, and also for the second reason: to fully load the rod it must accelerate. If it moves too quickly the speed of the line, or in our case the lure, moves almost as fast as the rod, and therefore doesn’t fully pull on and load the rod. The cast dies well short of its target.

(A stiffer rod loads better with a shorter, faster stroke, but the stroke must still be accelerated.)

THE CAST AND POWER SNAP. I begin the cast by opening the bail, raising my elbow and slowly accelerating the rod up and back. As I move the rod, I rotate my shoulders backwards and shift my weight to the heel of my back foot. When the rod points to about one o’clock I break my wrist back. My elbow continues to point forward. (If it points out to the side, I’ll not be able finish the cast without lowering the rod tip from the target line, and prematurely unloading the rod.) When my forearm points to about one o’clock, and my upper arm points parallel to the water or slightly upward, and the rod points parallel to the water or slightly downward, I immediately and quickly start my forward cast.

(During the back cast I never move the rod too fast. If I do, the lure will bounce at the end of the cast and prematurely unload the rod.)

My eyes are focused on an imaginary target in the sky, about forty-five degrees above the water, but higher if the wind is from behind or lower if it is from in front.Leading with my elbow, rotating my shoulders and shoulders I accelerate the rod and soon move the tip in a straight line that points to the target and move the rod butt at a right angle to the line. (Fully rotating our hips and shoulders allows us to increase the length we can move-and therefore load-the rod at this angle.)When my arm is about three-quarters extended, I increase my grip pressure and my acceleration and shift all my weight to my front foot. I reach maximum arm speed then, as if I’m hammering a nail, I snap my wrist without lowering the rod tip from the target line.

Abruptly, I stop the rod.My front leg is now straight. My right shoulder is all the way forward. My arm is fully extended. My weight is on the ball and toes of my front foot. I hold the rod still so I don’t lower the tip and pull the line down.

AS I DESCRIBE ALL THIS. Learning to cast a spinning rod seems a lot easier than it was. Well maybe if, like most skilled golfers, I had learned the right techniques from the start it would’ve been.But better late than never.



About the Author

Randy’s writing has appeared in many publications, including The Flyfisher, Flyfishing & Tying Journal and Fishing And Hunting News. He is also the author of the historical fly-fishing and fly-casting novel, The Fly Caster Who Tried To Make Peace With the World – now an ebook.

Much of Randy’s writing is about the techniques of spin and fly casting and about the spirituality/recovery of fly fishing.

Visit his website at: http://www.flyandspincasting.com










The best gear for ice fishing.

The best gear for ice fishing.

Article by Justin G









The right gear can mean success or failure while ice fishing. To have a successful ice fishing trip you are going to need to pack the right gear as well as bring along the right friends. There are several ways to have fun out there in the cold and on the ice but the best way is to bring along good friends that are going to help you laugh your frozen butt off and toss back a few beers while you are doing it. Ice fishing gear is varied and there is quite a bit of it, if you want to bring more than just the basic essentials.

The basic equipment that you will need to survive and catch some fish are, very warm and very comfortable clothes for obvious lack of frost bite reasons. Gloves and hand warmers because after you pull a fish through the ice your hands are going to be freezing cold. Thick warm boots and possibly snow shoes depending on the conditions and how you will be getting to the location. Make sure that you pack extra socks, you might need them and if you do you will really appreciate that they are warm and dry. That covers keeping warm and cosy in the sub zero temperatures but if you want to actually catch some fish you are going to need some more gear.

First you will need a fishing rod or two, with sensitive tips but still have some strength just in case you haul in that huge one. There are ice fishing specific rods that you can buy which are shorter that regular rods but if you are on a budget you can use a regular rod. Be sure to bring some good line, four to eight pound test is usually a good fit. You are definitely going to need some kind of bait such as crappie minnows or worms. Bring jigs spoons and hooks to help you catch more fish if you need them. You can bring along bobbers if you don’t have a proper ice fishing rig which lets you know when the fish strike. Be sure to also bring some minor tools to remove the hooks, cut the lines or whatever you might need them for. I suggest a folding multi-tool. An ice scoop is required to remove any ice that forms in the hole that you cut with the auger or ice saw. Also you are definitely going to need something to sit on. A large bucket works great because you can haul you gear out in it and use it to haul you catch back home when you are done.

There is a huge amount of gear that you can bring to make your trip a lot more easier and almost luxurious. Some of this equipment is quite nice but the rest is just extravagant. This includes fish finders, cameras, cell phones, underwater cameras, strike sensors, and GPS equipment. Nicer pieces of equipment include, a fishing hut, a space heater, cleats for easy ice walking, flashlights and lanterns, lighters and matches, and something to check the thickness of the ice. Tip ups are nice to bring along but are not quite necessary.

If you are going out for a all day expedition you are going to need extras such as food and drinks. I suggest beer as a proper beverage. There are other things that you are going to want to bring such as sun glasses to protect your eyes from the glare of the ice and snow. Those are the best bits of equipment that I can suggest, but there are many variables that you are going to have to cope with yourself. These are things such as ice thickness, storage for gear and transportation because if you are driving a truck right onto the ice you can bring pretty much any thing that you want but if you are walking ten miles then you are going to have to think about what you want to carry for that distance. Most importantly though you are going to have to have fun out there. Why bother if you are not enjoying yourself?



About the Author

Justin G. is an extremely accomplished angler, who loves to go fishing as frequently as possible. He has put his expertise online at: http://www.icefishingpro.com










The Basics of Fishing Equipment – Know Your Tackle

The Basics of Fishing Equipment – Know Your Tackle

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Basic fishing tackle consists of a rod, line, hook, bait, lure, and sinker, all of which are specially designed to be as easy to use and accurate as possible. For example, the line is made up of a cord specially manufactured to be very hard to detect underwater while being very strong. Factors to take into account when buying a new line include issues such as resistance, the stretch, its strength and suchlike. The line should be chosen after considering the size and species of the fish that is to be caught.

The sinker, otherwise known as a plummet, is a weight that aids in getting the bait and hook as far out into the water as possible from wither the shore or a boat. Hooks are available in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and materials to suit each person’s individual fishing style.

Baits and lures are the other essential elements of any fishing tackle arsenal. The lure is an object that looks and moves like the prey of whatever fish you’re aiming to catch. Once the lure has done its thing, the fish will turn its attention to the bait, which is the prey element the fish will go for. The lure and bait work in tandem to ensure you get a good catch. The bait can be natural, such as maggots or insects, or man-made materials. As with everything else in fishing, a successful catch is down to having the best fishing tackle at your disposal.

The Two Best Fall Bass Baits

Because people fish in so many different ways and most have a favorite way to fish, picking just two baits from the hundreds is difficult.

This is not an article for “experts” or people set in their ways. It’s for the guys and gals who just like to fish and sure would like to go out sometime and catch a whole bunch of fish.

The best time to do that is during the fall, especially here on Barkley and Kentucky lakes, as well as on most other lakes on this general latitude.

Spring is when most people who don’t fish every weekend think about wetting a line. Being cooped up for most of the winter has a lot to do with that. And spring is a great time to fish because bass and other game species are moving shallow where they become more vulnerable to the average fisherman.

During the fall, however, game fish again move shallow, but for a very different and important reason: During the spring, their primary motive is to spawn. During the fall, all they’re thinking about is putting on their winter fat.

All those little fish they spent so much time making and guarding during the spring are nothing more than delicious, bite-sized morsels during the fall, and the truth is, they don’t care who made them.

These bait fish of various species, but mostly shad around here, travel around in tightly-packed pods that can number in the thousands. There is some safety in numbers, but this natural instinct also makes it much easier for bigger fish to find and attack them.

Because the food these little fellers eat is found on or near the surface, these massive groups of synchronized swimmers are silhouetted against a clear sky like a flashing neon sign that says “eat here.”
There is no more predictable pattern at any time of year. I’d be hard pressed to pick just two baits that I would call best for the spring, but during the fall I can do so with great confidence. These baits not only are the best, they are designed to be fished in a way that anyone can master in a few minutes, regardless their experience.

One is a Rat-L-Trap. You can fish just about any size and color of this lipless bait, and the other similar baits by other manufacturers, and catch some fish, but by far, the best size is a one-quarter-ounce with chrome sides and a blue back.

And you can fish it a few different ways, but by far, the best way is to bring it back about as fast as you can. They are wind resistant and very easy to cast long distances on either baitcasting or spinning equipment, using 10- or 12-pound test line.

The other is a Mepps or Rooster Tail in-line spinner, again in one-quarter ounce. Choose the whiter or lighter colors. Sometimes, when it is overcast, those with a gold blade work better, but bass and other game fish bust minnow pods most frequently when it is clear, so in-line spinners with a chrome blade are best.

In contrast, in-line spinners are best fished slowly, just fast enough to make the blade rotate, and the best equipment to cast them is a spinning outfit with 10-pound-test line. It, too, is very easy to cast long distances and all you have to do is bring them back slowly and steadily. If you bring them back slowly, they won’t twist the line, either, so you don’t need a swivel and all those extra knots that could break. Just tie them directly to the line.

You may have noticed that you can fish both baits quite well on a spinning outfit with 10-pound-test line, and that’s really what I’d recommend, but I’d like to stress that the reel you choose should have a fast retrieve rate of 6-1 or better for the Rat-L-Traps. For this bait, speed kills, and you can always slow down for the in-line spinners, if that is what the fish prefer.

These two baits are so great, because they closely resemble the action, color, flash and size of the young-of-the-year minnows, especially during October and November, when this kind of fishing is at its peak.

With just one rod and two simple baits, you can go out and catch fish all day long by simply moving from pod to pod. These pods not only are highly visible and attractive to gluttonous game fish; it is simple for a fisherman to see which ones are being ravaged because of the splashy surface shows these game fish perform as they tear into them with predatory exuberance.

It may be not only the easiest, but the best fishing of the year.

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Sand Eels As A Fishing Bait

Sand Eels

An eel-like fish which swim in large shoals, that’s the sand eel. They are abundant and an important part of the fish food chain. The sand eel is a bait fish that every one bait fishing knows about but I believe few realise the potential of. Sand eels often catch more fish than any other bait, just ask the guys down south or in Wales.

Exactly why the sand eel is such a popular ‘bait fish’ amongst the predators in the sea is hard to know. It seems to account for most species when used as bait especially the likes of Bass, Mackerel, Pollack Garfish, Trout and even Salmon.

The sand eel can be fished in several different ways and are normally best fished as a ‘live bait’. It can be hooked through the mouth – up through the head, through the back, through the tail or through the skin on the kneck. I don’t think personally it matters too much how the hook it set as long as the sand eel stays alive and looks natural. Different species of fish will attack and take a bait in various ways.

Finding sand eels can sometimes prove hard but by asking about in your own local area you might find a boat, or tackle shop that can supply you. Otherwise it means gathering your own. The effort in gathering your own is well worth it because of the effectiveness of this great bait!

The best methods to present sand eels are by using them under a float or on a long snood on a bottom rig. The hooks most folk use are often circle hooks for bottom fishing and normal single or triple hooks when fished under a float. Sand eel will catch most of what we call our ‘sporting’ fish in this country, especially the infamous Bass.

A ‘best buy’ for keeping your sand eels alive is a bait bucket, there are one or two very good ones available from good tackle shops. The Salt Bucket by Shakespeare at around £18.00 is ideal for your live sand eels utilising an aeration pump. It has it’s own pouch for an aerator pump, has a lid which helps to keep the sun from cooking your eels and also stops them from jumping out! It can also be used for storage of baits such as crab, ragworm and lug worm. It’s easy enough to wash it out and it is also collapsible. You can pick up a battery operated pump for around the £9 mark. Sand eel will quickly die if not kept in oxygen aerated water but do watch the temperature as you don’t want your hard efforts ending up as cooked fish!

You can keep sand eels in tanks at home but it does get rather involved and I aren’t able to go into the method here. Any eels that do die on you, then freeze them down and be sure NOT to let any stay in your bait bucket if they are dead as they WILL kill off the others.

Bass is thee sporting fish in British Waters now and has certainly captured the imagination of a lot of anglers over the last few years. Most of the anglers I know love spinning for them using poppers, plugs, feathers or spinners and some are even starting to fly fish for them. Another very successful method used for Bass fishing in particular, is dead bait spinning and this is a method I would highly recommend.

There are a lot of benefits to using this method. You need to present the sand eel like you would a popper or plug, as an injured fish, nothing too hard in that and you get scent, colour, look and feel as an added bonus. Presenting them like this gives you the same options as using poppers etc, you can move about searching for your Bass whether it be along a surf beach, among rock gullies or between sand banks.

Just mount the dead eel on your hook by passing the hook through it’s mouth and making sure the hook comes out through it’s stomach and use a bit of elasticated cotton to secure it…simplicity itself.

There is another method and that is to wrap the sand eel in a slice of squid and secure the squid with a bit of elasticated cotton, leaving the head and tail of the sand eel protruding. This method helps to protect the eel and it should keep a lot longer on the hook before having to change it. Use a small weight on the end of your line, you can get small spinning weights which prevent the dreaded line twist. A hook snood as long as possible to comfortably use to a decent sized hook, add your bait, most species have larger mouths than we tend to give them credit for and away you go.

Remember that Bass are a ‘sporting’ fish and as such are used to chasing their prey. They will often be found round rocks, on the downside of a sand bank waiting for their next meal to show itself. Don’t be afraid to vary your retrieval rate, you would be surprised at the speed bass, mackerel etc can move at. You will often see a ‘swirl’ next to your bait as you retrieve, don’t stop, keep the retrieve the same, if the fish doesn’t hit your bait straight away, stop the retrieve for about 10 seconds then start again, this is when a bass will often take.

Sand eel is an excellent sea fishing bait.

Happy fishing.

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Long Distance Spin Casting

Long Distance Spin Casting

You read up on it. You become sure you can do it. After all, hitting a good tee shot seems a lot harder than casting a spinning rod.

So you march to the lake with visions of hooking and landing a faraway lunker. You set up your fishing rod and step up to the bank and cast. Your lure, however, flies off to the right and not very far. You cast again and again. The results don’t change.

Golf didn’t seem this frustrating! So you think all you need is some practice.

But after hours and hours of it, you’re still in the same, going-nowhere casting boat, so to speak.

How discouraging! Even makes you think about giving up fishing.

Yes, I know!

But instead of giving up, I wondered, what if there’s a lot more to casting a spinning rod than what I read? What if I experiment with using other techniques, the techniques of throwing a ball and of casting a fly rod?

So I began a year of casting trials and errors. Lots of errors!

Then finally it happened: consistently, I felt the beauty of loading the rod, of watching the lure streak over the water, and land right where I wanted it to.

Here’s how I got there.

THE STANCE. I want to use one that helps me shift my weight so I get as much leverage as possible, and helps me increase the length of my casting stroke, and therefore the bend, or load, in the rod. I’m right handed, so I put my left foot forward and point it straight ahead. I turn my right foot outward about thirty degrees. My feet are shoulder-width apart. The front of my right foot is in-line with the front of my left heel. (If my right foot is too far back or too far pointed outward, I’ll lock my hips and not be able to fully rotate by body and shift all my weight.) I square my hips and shoulders to the target, slightly bend my knees and shift my weight to the ball of my front foot. My right heel is off the ground. I flex my thumb and put it on the top of the rod handle. I hold the rod loosely and point it anywhere from nine o’clock to ten-thirty. My elbow is even with the front of my waist. The lure hangs down about a foot.

THE POWER GRIP. I start with two fingers in front of the reel stem and two behind. I pick up the line with my right index finger, and then move my hand back so only my line finger is in front of the stem. Next, I pull the line up and back, then press my fingertip against the stem, but not against the line. (I like to feel the weight of the lure to cast it accurately.)

I hold the line this way for the same reason a good fly caster doesn’t let slack form in his fly line: to keep constant tension on the line so as soon as I start the cast the lure pulls on the rod, and therefore fully loads the rod. Holding the line the conventional way made it impossible for me to keep enough tension on the line. Even worse, I found it very difficult to keep my index finger from prematurely straightening and releasing the line.

No wonder my casts were short, and high and off to the side.

(Until I got my timing down, I used a golf glove or a Band-Aid to prevent the line from cutting into my finger.)

MOVING THE ROD. I initially assumed the faster I moved the rod the farther I’d cast. For two reasons I was wrong. First: a pitcher achieves maximum power and velocity only when his arm moves in sync with his body rotation. If his arm gets ahead of his body he becomes an “arm thrower.”

No wonder major league pitchers seem to throw as if not using all their might! Maximum arm speed is reached only at the release.

Fly casters will tell you the same thing, and also for the second reason: to fully load the rod it must accelerate. If it moves too quickly the speed of the line, or in our case the lure, moves almost as fast as the rod, and therefore doesn’t fully pull on and load the rod. The cast dies well short of its target.

(A stiffer rod loads better with a shorter, faster stroke, but the stroke must still be accelerated.)

THE CAST AND POWER SNAP. I begin the cast by opening the bail, raising my elbow and slowly accelerating the rod up and back. As I move the rod, I rotate my shoulders backwards and shift my weight to the heel of my back foot. When the rod points to about one o’clock I break my wrist back. My elbow continues to point forward. (If it points out to the side, I’ll not be able finish the cast without lowering the rod tip from the target line, and prematurely unloading the rod.)  When my forearm points to about one o’clock, and my upper arm points parallel to the water or slightly upward, and the rod points parallel to the water or slightly downward, I immediately and quickly start my forward cast.

(During the back cast I never move the rod too fast. If I do, the lure will bounce at the end of the cast and prematurely unload the rod.)

My eyes are focused on an imaginary target in the sky, about forty-five degrees above the water, but higher if the wind is from behind or lower if it is from in front.

Leading with my elbow, rotating my shoulders and shoulders I accelerate the rod and soon move the tip in a straight line that points to the target and move the rod butt at a right angle to the line. (Fully rotating our hips and shoulders allows us to increase the length we can move—and therefore load—the rod at this angle.)

When my arm is about three-quarters extended, I increase my grip pressure and my acceleration and shift all my weight to my front foot. I reach maximum arm speed then, as if I’m hammering a nail, I snap my wrist without lowering the rod tip from the target line. Abruptly, I stop the rod.

My front leg is now straight. My right shoulder is all the way forward. My arm is fully extended. My weight is on the ball and toes of my front foot. I hold the rod still so I don’t lower the tip and pull the line down.

AS I DESCRIBE ALL THIS. Learning to cast a spinning rod seems a lot easier than it was. Well maybe if, like most skilled golfers, I had learned the right techniques from the start it would’ve been.

But better late than never.

I’m a native New Yorker. My writing has appeared in many publications, including The Flyfisher, Flyfishing & Tying Journal and Fishing And Hunting News. I’m also the author of the historical novel, The Fly Caster Who Tried To Make Peace With the World.

Much of my writing is about the techniques of spin and fly casting and about the spirituality/recovery of fly fishing. I often fish the streams of Westchester, the piers of New York City and the lakes of Central Park.