Switching to the Dark Side

[BackBayMan]

Had a limited kitchen pass yesterday, so I hit the bay for some casting practice and to get a better idea of my distance with the conventional over my spinning gear. By now I've inactivated all but two of the six centrifugal brakes without any issues.

At this point I can say I'm casting almost as far with the conventional and a 6oz weight compared to the spinner and a 4oz weight with the same size piece of bait.

Still using straight 4 strand 80lb KastKing braid.

I'm going to go for the gusto and remove the last two brakes. Then I'll experiment with different size weights.

But I feel confident saying that until I master the Hatteras cast, my distance will always be shorter than what it could be. I tried a couple of full Off the Ground casts, and there's no doubt that there is much more power available. It is weird starting a cast with your back to the water after so many years of starting with your shoulders perpendicular to the water and inline with your intended direction. But I managed to get a couple of respectable casts out after a half dozen attempts. It's a much longer cast and you can really load the rod up, but you can't rush it. It's also much easier on your casting finger with a conventional than a spinner at these weights

Using the Hatteras is basically the same thing, except you start with a swing of the weight and make the cast without the bait or sinker touching the ground, or water if you're wading out into the surf. The amount of force in the cast is scary, so you definitely don't want anybody to the right of you when you do it

All in all, I'm pretty pleased given the short amount of time I've had to work with it. No nasty birdsnests. Almost as long as my spinners with no doubt in my mind that I'll be able to go longer with a lot more monster fighting capacity. So I'm going to take the opportunity to use the slower winter months to try and get my reel dialed in and get good enough at the Hatteras cast to really toss some weight and bait out there.

Look Out Right

[JayRay]

Look Out Right

I will bring my hardhat. I tried that cast with a spinning reel a while back and didnt have a glove. Braid sliced right through my finger, thats when I started using a golf glove. Could not figure out how to get the bounce out when I turned so it is one fluid motion.

[BackBayMan]

Look Out Right

I will bring my hardhat. I tried that cast with a spinning reel a while back and didnt have a glove. Braid sliced right through my finger, thats when I started using a golf glove. Could not figure out how to get the bounce out when I turned so it is one fluid motion.

It's a combination of rod length, drop length and technique. And if you want to do it with your spinner, I'd suggest a casting cannon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE14_NnrDwo