Casting distance.....how important is it?

[Back Beach]

This may be a rehash of an old thread...sorry if it is....bbbuuttttt....back when I started surf fishing I was often told you don't need a long cast as most of the time they(fish) are right at your feet. The more I fish, the more I realize getting it way out there is very important, particulary for real large fish. Most of the time they're not in close.

How critical is casting distance to you when surf fishing and why? As usual, give some real life examples of what you've experienced....

[BigFish]

Not as important as most people may think....they are at your feet more often than not! I think the only advantage of a long cast is you can cover more water on your retrieve. No need to kill yourself trying to "go long". Read the water, choose your zones and work them accordingly! Most of the time I get my takes halfway through the retrieve! If your pride is how far you can cast.....then have at it. I am out there to catch fish!

[Circlehook]

The structure at high tide ends up being 70+ yards off the beach from where I scouted at low tide. I think depending on the tide stage you fish, a long cast can be very neccesary. Most of my bigger fish, where not right in the wash. With an on shore wind though, it seems they are closer than a calm night with a full moon.

There are some canal holes that you need to be able to cast to as well.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by BigFish

Most of the time I get my takes halfway through the retrieve!

I think they somtimes follow it a ways before striking, thus you're well into your retrieve before anything happens.....

[Sweetwater]

I think casting distance from shore is much more important during the day than at night. As someone who fishes from a boat as well, I have frequently seen that fish will be only at certain depths (which often equates to certain distances from shore). Maybe they're at 30-40 feet (which could be 150+ yards from shore) and you won't see a single fish at 25 feet or shallower. During the day, the fish tend to prefer deeper water (thus longer casts required).

At night it's a completely different story. My shore experience is that the fish are much closer to the shore and less spooky at night. Also, if there's some good wave action and moving water the fish will, literally, be right at your feet (as in the first break from the beach).

My 2 cents.

[MarshCappa]

I've seen breaking fish out of my range that I wish I could have had a chance at but I agree with Larry that it's not all about distance. With that said I am gearing myself this year with a rod that has more distance than my current setup. Glad I could be of absolutely no assistance to you on this!

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Back Beach

I think they somtimes follow it a ways before striking, thus you're well into your retrieve before anything happens.....

agree ,, I think they are much like fresh water bass .. If it starts getting shallow they fear thier prey might escape and take ..

[bart]

i think it depends on the spot and what you're using. some places like the canal when the fish are busting in the middle a long cast is required. other places like in Gansett or Jamestown you have deep water right at your feet so distance isn't too much of a factor(except in one place we fish where getting your eel out to an offshore reef is critical). when fishing eels, i think having the ability to cast further is only going to put you at an advantage. eels dont cast that well and the longer you can keep them in the water the better chance a fish has at finding it...

[numbskull]

If you are plugging, casting distance is crucial. It gives you something to do while you're not catching anything.

I don't know what happens at night, but by day a plug or even a small fly moving towards a large fish at the same depth will spook it. Prey doesn't act that way. I'm sure this is one of the reasons fooling fish in current (where your offering is swept to them naturally) is easier. Because of this, I usually try to make my first casts short and with a surface plug, then extend and go deeper from there.

Another factor that I think is going on at night is that fish hear the splash of your offering and come to investigate (provided it is not too close). Landing your offering in deeper water (i.e., a longer cast) probably startles/spooks less fish when it hits.

I'm also pretty certain that in shallow rocky places fish feed differently by day than at night. By day they seem to either set up ambushes, or patrol in very close looking for bunker/herring that hug the shore in inches of water. By night they are often out hunting lobster in deeper water..........which is what I think these big needles imitate.

Finally, the depth of your retrieve often becomes important. With plugs there is often only a short distance when your plug is at the ideal depth. Longer casts give you more chance to work on getting your plug down to where it needs to be.

[fishgolf]

"The Dad Fisherman" has it perfectly correct...

[Swimmer]

I think it all depends where one is fishing to having an relevance, distance wise.

[fishaholic18]

A long cast is very important at times.... I have had several large fish hit it as soon as it hit the water...

[HESH2]

alot of times especially in the fall when your on the beach birds over busting fish and there that extra distance you don't have.

[Tagger]

Somtimes you get them on the end of your cast .. have also had them swim behind me .. I think long cast just adds to your game.. One real life example ,, You have a inlet way down the beach to your left ..(larry?) You can see a cross current visibly in the water out in front of you .. When the tide is lower you can reach this fish highway as the tide comes in, you loose you access to it . You can still see it out there and many times boats will anchor in it and catch while your out of reach . not always ,,but sometimes they'll stay out there . seen it 100 times . I think casting/swimming is a big plus at Cutty as seen recently . Even in the club glory days a chummer and walking out on a stand were necessary . given antique tackle i know . A good cast is a plus overall ..

[MAKAI]

Sweetwater put it well. We fish the same piaces, if you can't let it fly 100yds or better you can't hit the edge of the drop off. Which is usually holding fish. We specifically use gear to let us do this, as does 2na. It's not always necessary, but some spots need the ability of distance. Like golf, at times you have to to be able to bring out the Big dog to play the course.

[The Dad Fisherman]

If you can't reach the fish it is....

[2na]

For me, it depends on when and what I'm using. If tins and pencils max distance is a lot more important during the day and at 1st light than when throwing swimmers at night. But if I'm throwing eels at night I found a few more feet can be the difference from getting the attention of the fish out a little further and drawing them in or not (and that is why I prefer eels 14-18" long with some heft rather than shoestrings - heft=rod load=distance). I believe with eels a lot of times the bass will follow into the 1st wave where they have all of the advantages - the eel is pinned to the beach so it can't escape towards shore or down, and the eel can't swim through the wave action like the bass can. Many times when I was just about to pull the eel out of the water for another throw the bass would strike 5' away (it made me learn to complete the whole retrieve, just like finishing a check in hockey). You think that that bass is just in the 1st wave, but I think she's been stalking and it's time to strike.

Then again, when I'm sight fishing in the spring in daylight it is not uncommon to seen a cow run the gutter 5' from shore straight down the beach.

It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

[2na]

very good Bobby - the Big Dog is what I refer to my #1 long rod as. Tin Cup reference!

[Nocturnal 1]

Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman

If you can't reach the fish it is....

Ha

[steve]

The longer your cast, the more water you cover no matter what lure or bait you use. This is a great advantage I think.

[doc]

i personally have gained alot with distance...not because i am fishing deeper water but because i can reach structure that i would otherwise not be able to reach...not to mention the greater water coverage on the retrieve...although i must say several times i cast almost parallel to the shore with my plug only about 5 yds off the beach/rocks which is usually the most productive...

[JLH]

Depending on the situation it may or may not be important to me. In the surf I prefer to wade/swim out to deeper water so I don’t have to worry about casting too far or working fish in through shallow boulder filled water. In other situations it really matters for example fishing the river in the spring when a lot of times most of the fish are in the deeper channel far offshore.

[jimmy z]

For this thing we do, one has to be able to get out there when one has to. All of the time? No, just when needed. And there will be those times.

[tattoobob]

All depends on where the fish are, most of the times they are at your feet

[MikeToole]

A guy from breakaway rods was asked this question and he said if it wasn't important why do people buy boats. Truth be told, being able to cast far is just one more tool you can use and some times it makes all of the difference between fish or no fish.

[BigFish]

Why DO people buy boats?? They are always casting into the shallows????

[Raider Ronnie]

[QUOTE=BigFish;665189]Why DO people buy boats?



Because you can't Yo Yo from the surf

[NIB]

My game has lots of emphasis on long casting...If you can't bomb it out there you'll never know what your missing that is for sure..
Are there times when I feel I am wasting time casting way out.Absolutely, But I can always throttle back.
I can tell ya what, there's a spot in the canal lots of folks fish with jigs today.They did not know this spot existed when they fished it with mono.I was talking with Slip about this this smorming.
This fall I was fishing in Montauk through one of the blitzes.I could see a obvious shelf about a hundred or more yards away.While everyone was catching 10-15 lb keeper fish right at their feet with these little bucktails.I put on a pencil and made a looong cast's.My friend looks at me like I have a third eye.Well he was changing lures quick when he noticed the size of the blow-up I had and the mid 20 lb fish I was reeling in.There was three of us in the middle of about fifty guys catching these much better fish that IMO where riding along the edge of the shelf.While everyone else was just awestruck.
I can list many many times the long cast has worked to my advantage..
One night a few years ago in Montauk we had a decent bite on needles and darters the usual fair.10-20 lb fish.
Well as the tide dropped the bite slowed down.I could see the boat guys working the ripp out in front of me still catching em.I ALWAYS pay attention to the boat guys.
Anyways this told me the fish dropped out and not down tide as they sometimes will at this spot.The next night I was prepared.I put a lure on that I could cast further than the SS darter.When the same thing happened about mid tide I changed it up..I had six fish in a row the last one easily over 35 lbs that straightened my siwash hook in front of me.I kept asking my friend who continued to go fishless,if he wanted what I was using but he declined.Determined to figure it out with his own lures...Till I dropped the big one right in front of me.
I could go on and on..

[BigFish]

I do admit there are times when you have to launch.....and I have no problem getting it out there, but over the last several years if there is one thing I have learned.....its that you do not have to throw your back out on every cast! Read the beach, read the water, pay attention to the structure that shows as the water moves......watch the birds. 10% of the time maybe you need long...the other 90% you need to fish smart!

[NIB]

It's all relative to each individual location.It's important to survey each location and have a game plan.I like to start short and work my way out.I feel I can catch em all like this..
When I fish off a jetty at night I usually don't put any emphasis on long casts.The structure is at my feet.
I have a technique I use in one spot I fish where I have to make a long cast and the drift my take me 2-3 minutes to catch em not far from right in front of me.I cannot replicate this presentation in a shorter cast no matter how hard I try.
I think if your fishing sand structure there will be lots of times you won't have to throw far at all.I can remember one night I was not getting any.As I walked along there was this log set perfect on the beach.I took a breather to reflect on the situation.
As I walked to the beach I made a cast prior to getting to the waters edge.Wouldn't you know I hooked up.Thats was It, I was standing on top of em.I caught a few more that night the same way fishing off the waters edge..You never know..