I was fishing this morning on the bridge near my place and I was casting with my Okuma Stratus reel with 20lbs berkley biggame on abu garcia workhorse 9ft rod with a 1 to 3 oz. lure. I have a (sea clam) bait rig with 50lbs leader on a 100 spro swivel with a fish finder on a 2oz. sinker. I was getting frustrated co'z the guy about 50ft from me was casting like double than my distance I guess mine was less than 50ft. Any suggestion I would appreciate. :confused:

Loose the fish finder. Use a high-low or any other rig that has your weight at the bottom of the rig so it doesn't helecopter in flight. I've even seen people just tie two lengths of mono to a swivel, one a bit longer than the other, with the sinker on the long line and a hook on the short.

Think about where you're fishing also. If it's off a bridge there must be some decent water/current, you may not need to cast all that far.

-spence

Also make sure the sinker (low) is heavier than the bait (high) or you will helicopter again...You want the bait to follow the sinker .

How long was the leader on the fish finder? The shorter the leader, the less it helicopters. When I chunk the beach, I don't use anything longer than a foot.

You might want to re-visit your casting form. When I guided I found that very few people understood the dynamics of casting.

Three solutions:
Free Fix: Go to the C-Town Breachway, or the canal some moring and watch how those who cast well do it.

Medium Priced Fix: Buy a Ron Arra book or video (http://65.36.161.94/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SRIOTS&Product_Code=BVSFDC&Category_Code=BV) - I sell them and so local baitshops and other S-B sponsors.

High Priced Fix: Hire a guide but be up front that one of your goals as part of the trip is to improve your casting distance.

Watch out for people who say the fish are at your feet and therefore casting distance is a non-issue. You're looking for a solution.