Couldn't wait, went to the park for a few casts

[BackBayMan]

I couldn't wait. I wanted to see how the new toy would work, so I went to the local soccer field to get a feeling.

I'll do a fuller write up after I fish with it a few times, but for now:

Spooled it with 80lb KastKing braid. The 4 strand, not the 8, because that's what I had on hand. Probably didn't do a wiz bang job of spooling it tight, but I don't think it's the worst spool job in the world either. Went with the factory default 3 centrifugal brakes activated and a 6oz weight. Took Matt's advice and just tried lobbing it 20 yards to start.

Bottom line, within 8 casts I hit 70 yards. Easy. No backlash, birds nests or missing skin from my thumb.

That was just a weight at the park. We'll see what it does with a rub leader, FG knot, bait, and wind tomorrow.

But so far, so good

[1morecast]

Once you get the hang of casting the new rig you should be able to get 50-60 yards without issue.

[Eric H]

The thumb never forgets

[BackBayMan]

Once you get the hang of casting the new rig you should be able to get 50-60 yards without issue.

If I can do that with bait, I'm good for the purpose of this setup

[BackBayMan]

The thumb never forgets

OMG, this is so much better than what I was using 40 plus years ago

[Latimeria]

The thumb never forgets

OMG, this is so much better than what I was using 40 plus years ago

LOL

[LONGCAST JOE]

Hey Chip, if you can make yourself watch all of the way through on YouTube some of Tommy Farmers instructional casting videos and head back out to the park, you will pick up something or other that will add some distance to your casts...maybe a little or maybe a lot, you never know...I've spent countless of my lunch hours at the nearby park tossing lead...

[BackBayMan]

Hey Chip, if you can make yourself watch all of the way through on YouTube some of Tommy Farmers instructional casting videos and head back out to the park, you will pick up something or other that will add some distance to your casts...maybe a little or maybe a lot, you never know...I've spent countless of my lunch hours at the nearby park tossing lead...

Love those videos!

I'm not even close to executing what Tommy does in those videos, especially when standing knee deep+ in the surf with the sand being washed out from under my feet. I did concentrate on keeping my right arm away from my body and turning, but realistically I'm still not going anywhere near full blast because of my unfamiliarity with the new rig and fear of backlashes. I did get a bit of a backlash early on, but nothing that wasn't sorted out long before walking my pole back to the holder.

Long story short, I got a bigger chunk of bait with a heavier weight at least as far as my spinner and 15' Ugly Stik first time out using straight 4 strand 80lb braid with a 10' 100lb mono rub leader tied on with an FG knot. Couldn't ask for more than that.