casting distance?

[faster u fool]

What kind of distance are you all getting with your surf rods?  either casting or spinning.  And with what weight?  Thanks Chris.
I think im getting about 60 to 70 yrds with my new spinning set up tossing a 3 oz. ranger.  Im guessing cuz it all looks different in the water..

[Pinoyfisher]

For me, it depends on the type of rigging and if it's spinning or casting. I always get more distance when bait chucking with spinning gear no matter what the rig is.

[Chris]

I get pretty good numbers and can call it withing 5yrds by looking at my spools. Best way to tell what your getting is to visit a football field or use a laser range finder. I like the range finders a lot. Beats having to pace out 130meters.

[vdisney]

For me casting at the beach and casting at the football field is comparing apples to oranges.  At the field with a 6oz ball wieght and no wind i can hit just over 100 yards most of the time.  In the sand under ideal conditons with bait and rigging I'm not sure I can do much better than 60 yards or so.  Hell, as long as I catch fish I guess I'm casting far enough 

[raychavez91]

Depending on the size of bait. And the surf/wind, I'm guessing 60ish yards, but I wade out quiet a ways out there to compensate, I may lose distance since I'm not able to put my all into the cast, compared to on land, but I more than make up for it

[Chris]

For me casting at the beach and casting at the football field is comparing apples to oranges.  At the field with a 6oz ball wieght and no wind i can hit just over 100 yards most of the time.  In the sand under ideal conditons with bait and rigging I'm not sure I can do much better than 60 yards or so.  Hell, as long as I catch fish I guess I'm casting far enough 

It's true you can cast further at the field most of the time but being able to watch your spool and knowing exactly how far you are with X amount of line on the spool gives you a better idea of your numbers at the beach.

I have 80yrds of 50lb mono on top of my braid for throwing 8oz and big baits (bluefish heads and whole macs) and will dump the entire topshot 95% of the time. Lighter setup has about 140yrds of 30lb mono on top and I'm always able to see braid. Measuring your topshot to 100yrds is a good way to know how far you are.

[vdisney]

Great point Chris, I have 100 yard 65# Spectra top shot on my reels.  After the cast I can see slivers of the green 50# PP under what little Spectra is left on the spool.  When I back up to put it into the rod holder I am well into my backing.  I must be casting a little further than I firgured.............

[BackBayMan]

Did the football field thing and got 75 to 85 yards with the 12' spinners using 65lb and 80lb braided line and 4oz weights. Could easily hit 100 yards with the 15' spinner with 80lb braid and 6oz. On the beach is different. Farthest casting is a cannon ball rig no question, only losing 5 to 10 yards depending on whether or not we're using half or whole squid. Half a mac and we can reach 45 to 55 yards. Using the 15' with a double squid and a three way with 6oz 70yards. Half a mac and about 60 yards.

And line off your reel is not a foolproof measure. There can be a lot of line that goes out depending on the arc of the cast that doesn't equate to distance. Even after you reel in slack, if there's wind or a strong current there can be a lot of bow in your line.

Wading out sucks too. I'm too lazy and cheap to start futzing with waders. It seems like I can more than make up for any distance gained by the wade with a strong Off the Ground cast if I wait until the water recedes. I don't mind getting my tootsies wet, which is why I usually wear long cargo shorts when I fish the beach, but that's about as much work as I want to put into it.

If I really need to get my baits out there, well, I've reached that stage in life where I'm more than happy and can afford to buy the young studs plenty of beer to paddle baits out for my tired old lazy a$$

[vdisney]

If I really need to get my baits out there, well, I've reached that stage in life where I'm more than happy and can afford to buy the young studs plenty of beer to paddle baits out for my tired old lazy a$$