I'll bet this is the week for Cuttyhunk

[numbskull]

Great photos.

As an aside, you got an absolute textbook shot of why rods break while casting when you load them late.

[luds]

Great photos but from the sounds of it there is no good weeks for Cutty these days. Way too crowded. I'll pass on that whether the fish are there or not. For me the whole draw of going out there was the multitude of fishing opportunities/structure and the relative isolation. I don't like the idea of sharing them with a ton of other guys. Going out with the S-B group has been perfect. There have been a couple other guys on the island the last few years but that's been pretty much it. It's been a role of the of the dice since we go early. Sometimes we beat the fish. Sometimes we get there before them. The company is always good so it's worth the risk. Too many followers trying to chase the guy who catches big fish out there. Find your own.

[redlite]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Great photos.

As an aside, you got an absolute textbook shot of why rods break while casting when you load them late.

I don't see anything wrong with his casting????
I don't understand by what you say????
I have looked at the pics and don't see hwat you mean.
Please educate.

I think you'd bow your head in shame if you witnessed my half side-arm javelin-jump eel casting technique???
I think I need to take proper casting form lessons.......

[Fishoholic]

Originally Posted by redlite

I don't see anything wrong with his casting????
I don't understand by what you say????
I have looked at the pics and don't see hwat you mean.
Please educate.

I think you'd bow your head in shame if you witnessed my half side-arm javelin-jump eel casting technique???
I think I need to take proper casting form lessons.......

I think he's talking about #5

[numbskull]

I'm no expert and make lots of lousy casts. Maybe Big Dave or Reelin' Rod can chip in, here. I'm likely to get beyond what I know here, but maybe people will think about it some.

In #4 I think the rod has unloaded early (probably because of his long drop, limited footing, and partially obstructed back cast) and the cast will lack power. Likely he (like the rest of us) senses this and adds some oomph and push to correct it, but that means the tip reloads with the plug low to the blank, resulting in # 5 where all the load is on the tip. Look at how short a section of the rod is bent so severely. Imagine if that plug was even a foot or two lower and you can see it is equivalent to high-sticking a fish. POP.

Compare picture 4 to someone like Arra casting and you will see that good casters fully load the rod before their top hand passes their shoulder. Obviously they add punch to the end of their cast as well, but do it a time the tip is already pulled fully down and back towards the plug and their power is delivered to the mid shaft of the rod (which is likely why when they get it wrong the midshaft explodes).

Mostly this is a mental thing. We think of putting power towards where we want the plug to go as a way to get distance, when actually we are supposed to be putting power upwards away from the plug to fully load the midshaft of the rod and capture the power of the cast. More arc, less thrust is the key.

One cause of poor rod loading I suffered from was starting my forward cast when the plug was still not under or inside the tip, so that my shoulder turn would pull the plug towards me, rather than up and over (Flap would have pointed out that being weak, short, uncoordinated, and ugly were problems, too). I'm pretty sure that ideally your first motion with the rod should be more up than forward.