Wild claims of casting distance!!!

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by ReelinRod

And before anyone says it . . . yes, many fish are in close.

I know, I catch them too!

Actually I wonder about this, do you or I really catch a high percentage of the fish we overcast? I doubt that we do.

From fly fishing (where you can see what happens) it is clear that even a small fly moving towards a fish is totally unnatural and often spooks the fish. Seems likely a plug moving towards a fish would also often spook it. Overcasting a fish guarantees your plug will "attack it" on the way in.

Likewise, I notice that I often get a fish during the first few feet of my retrieve (I think the splash attracts them) and then less most of the way in, with an upswing as the plug gets very close (where more fish hunt at night).

Also, fish often hit as the plug passes structure. Obviously structure holds fish, but it also shields their vision until the plug passes (or makes a fish feel like the prey can't see it so something approaching them seems natural).

When in a boat, I find the number of fish close to shore is far higher than where my casts land when I fish from shore. So why don't I catch most of the fish in close? I think it may well be that the incoming plug looks unnatural and spooks them.

Bottom line is that casting is fun and when fishing we all fall into the trap of combining the fun of casting with the fun of fishing, even though we would be better at fishing if we focused on closer water and worked it more efficiently.

Sometimes I need to cast far to reach fish or structure that holds fish........but I am starting to suspect that most of the time casting as far as I can every cast out of habit probably reduces my fishing success.