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

[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...

[Rappin Mikey]

Depends on where you are. But all and all, the long cast is a definite weapon you should have in your arsenal.

[BassDawg]

still trying to invent the Handy Dandy Pluggzooka 3000.

able to reach Fall Blitzes 1/4 mile away,
able to send eeeeeeels into gale force winds,
able to launch PoJee #7's into the cockpits of spotter planes!!!


most my takes are within 20 yards of shore, and
i agree with numby on the follow of plugs, depending on the size of the fish.
i don't think the BIGGUNS are going very far to suck down a snake, neddle, darter, or jig.

distance seems to be the most important for me from shore when blitzing fish are out of reach,
or the off shore reef is too distant. that's why i seek those honey holes that ARE castable and not
nearly as frustrating. for me, as others have said, casting distance is spot specific.

i think that IS why God invented the wetsuit??