Beachcasting

Hi all,
I've wanted to fish from a beach for a while now, and I'm looking for any tips that might help me out. I know there's a casting subforum but it seems to be about casting clubs and practising, I just need advice, I already practice once a week in a field. I'm aware that I need a bigger (16ft?) rod, a multiplier and ~50lb line, and I use the back cast and overhead thump for casting far from piers and deep beaches. I can't seem to cast far, even with heavy leads, and can only manage around 40m. Can anyone give some advice as I'm dyin' to get beach fishing!

Many thanks in advance, this forum has helped me immensely

Hi,
First of all to mention beachcasting with multiplier is not easy, however not undoable. I do a lot of beach casting my self, and it will take a time to perfectise a cast. According to your story, you casting with multies and if the size of your line and shock leader is ok and the reel is setted right you should be doing more than 40 yards. First thing that came in my head is that you may not loading your rod properly to develop a cast, the best is I think to start from the of ground cast because it is quite easy to learn, there is a plenty videos on YouTube how to do that and if you pay an attention you will see that most important is to load a rod properly, than it will help to increase the distance. Anyway I use a 14"-15" rods with Penn 525 mag loaded with 15lb running line and 50lb shock leader, so no problem to cast 70-90 yards. And one more thing, make sure when you cast you are ame about 45 degree up to the sky otherwise your cast will never make any distance. Hope it helps, and best of luck.

Hi,
First of all to mention beachcasting with multiplier is not easy, however not undoable. I do a lot of beach casting my self, and it will take a time to perfectise a cast. According to your story, you casting with multies and if the size of your line and shock leader is ok and the reel is setted right you should be doing more than 40 yards. First thing that came in my head is that you may not loading your rod properly to develop a cast, the best is I think to start from the of ground cast because it is quite easy to learn, there is a plenty videos on YouTube how to do that and if you pay an attention you will see that most important is to load a rod properly, than it will help to increase the distance. Anyway I use a 14"-15" rods with Penn 525 mag loaded with 15lb running line and 50lb shock leader, so no problem to cast 70-90 yards. And one more thing, make sure when you cast you are ame about 45 degree up to the sky otherwise your cast will never make any distance. Hope it helps, and best of luck.

I have a fixed spool reel atm with 11ft rod so I'll practice the ground cast until I get a new rod, can you recommend a beachcaster for around €100, up to €150 if it's worth it? I've seen some decent big fixed spool reels in tackle shops should I get one of them or just get a multiplier? Thanks

edit i know im going cheapo with the rod but i'm still new to angling so dont wanna splash out yet

Hi all,
I've wanted to fish from a beach for a while now, and I'm looking for any tips that might help me out. I know there's a casting subforum but it seems to be about casting clubs and practising, I just need advice, I already practice once a week in a field. I'm aware that I need a bigger (16ft?) rod, a multiplier and ~50lb line, and I use the back cast and overhead thump for casting far from piers and deep beaches. I can't seem to cast far, even with heavy leads, and can only manage around 40m. Can anyone give some advice as I'm dyin' to get beach fishing!

Many thanks in advance, this forum has helped me immensely

Get rid of that 50lb line, 20lb without a shock leader will do fine. Big leads do not mean you can cast further you need the rod to match them and never believe the label on a rod that say's 4oz - 8oz . Your average rod will cast an 8oz lead but all the compression will be lost and the lead will not travel as far as a lighter lead.
A 12' -13' rod will do fine for starters match it with a 7000 size reel. Loading the line out close to the lip of the spool will help with getting more distance. Use the 50lb line as backing.

Multipliers are fine but are not worth the grief they give until you can master then with your eyes closed

Hi all,
I've wanted to fish from a beach for a while now, and I'm looking for any tips that might help me out. I know there's a casting subforum but it seems to be about casting clubs and practising, I just need advice, I already practice once a week in a field. I'm aware that I need a bigger (16ft?) rod, a multiplier and ~50lb line, and I use the back cast and overhead thump for casting far from piers and deep beaches. I can't seem to cast far, even with heavy leads, and can only manage around 40m. Can anyone give some advice as I'm dyin' to get beach fishing!

Many thanks in advance, this forum has helped me immensely

Get rid of that 50lb line, 20lb without a shock leader will do fine. Big leads do not mean you can cast further you need the rod to match them and never believe the label on a rod that say's 4oz - 8oz . Your average rod will cast an 8oz lead but all the compression will be lost and the lead will not travel as far as a lighter lead.
A 12' -13' rod will do fine for starters match it with a 7000 size reel. Loading the line out close to the lip of the spool will help with getting more distance. Use the 50lb line as backing.

Multipliers are fine but are not worth the grief they give until you can master then with your eyes closed

I have an 11ft rod atm, will that suffice until I get the money for a 14' rod?

An 11 footer is fine for beach casting.

Until recently most people never went beyond 12 foot. I use a 5 metre rod but that's because of a bad back so I can't compress the shorter rods like I used to...

Reduce the line strength to 20 lbs, match it to the right lead (and allow for the weight of any baits), try to use aerodynamic rigs if you want to cast a long way (clipped down or pulley rigs) and get some tuition from a local club member.

When you are comfortable with this, you can then replace the mono with braid (for use on clean beaches only) which might add some additional distance given the same breaking strain (20 lbs) in braid is a lot thinner than in mono...

Hope this helps

.

Thanks, I don't have 50lb it was just a speculation. I'll get 20lbs and use 3oz leads. I haven't tried clipped or pulley rigs as I haven't hit a beach that would have fish that would take big baits - I've been fishing around Waterford Harbour for a while so light tacke. I'll definitely consider them, I like how the clipped rig works! What casting method do you recommend?

DO NOT get rid of your shockleader!!! I cant believe some one is giving you advice saying 20lb line will be fine!!! Absolutly disgraceful to tell a novice that its ok to cast without it! You say you fish with your little brother and on beaches populated by other people cars and what not.... you are only starting out and dont know the ins and outs of tieing knots and breaking strains. Imagine you tried this off the ground cast and your line snaps???? 3 oz lead might not weigh much but when its travelling 100mph it will do more damage than than a bullet!!! I cannot stress this enough!! STICK WITH YOUR SHOCKLEADER!!! THINK OF OTHERS AROUND YOU!!!!!!!!!

DO NOT get rid of your shockleader!!! I cant believe some one is giving you advice saying 20lb line will be fine!!! Absolutly disgraceful to tell a novice that its ok to cast without it! You say you fish with your little brother and on beaches populated by other people cars and what not.... you are only starting out and dont know the ins and outs of tieing knots and breaking strains. Imagine you tried this off the ground cast and your line snaps???? 3 oz lead might not weigh much but when its travelling 100mph it will do more damage than than a bullet!!! I cannot stress this enough!! STICK WITH YOUR SHOCKLEADER!!! THINK OF OTHERS AROUND YOU!!!!!!!!!

I thought that too..but then I realised that these people have been at it for years and I've been at it for a few months so I found it hard to not agree...don't worry I'm not at anything yet And I fish with my brother on piers and Passage Strand because the water's deep. I'd never bring him to a proper beach to fish. I'm well able to tie the knots my dad's done fishing for most of his life so he's helping me out too, I'm not going to go swing a 3oz with my rod beside a crowd of people or anything and don't even plan on beachfishing until June or so when school's out so I will know a lot more then! And don't you have to multiply your casting lead weight by ten to get your required shockleader weight? 3 oz x10 so 30lbs for shockleader

Ok, for the sake of clarity...

1) Join a local club.

2) read on... and others can add to this as they see fit...

In regard to using a shock leader... the old rule - which you should apply - is 10lbs for every ounce of lead. Someone needs to invent one for kilos and grams!

=> 30 lbs line is required as shock leader for 3 ounces of lead... 50 lb line for 5 ounces and so on. The shock leader has to go from the trace up to the rod tip and down all the rings of the rod and have at least several winds (more is better) on the reel. The same strength line should be used in the trace body to connect the lead to the shock leader. This means that when you cast and begin to move the lead through the air, the pressure from it runs all the way through the shock leader and into the reel.

The heavier the shock leader the shorter you will cast. Tapered shock leaders are very expensive but very good. Their strength tapers from say 60 lbs at the end where you attach the trace and lead to say 20lbs, which you attach to your main line. The fact one end is the same breaking strain as you main line makes connecting them together easier. You can tie a 60 lb shock leader to a 20 lb main line , it just needs practice to make sure you have knotted it right. Which brings us onto knots...

Knots:

The best knot to use is the uni knot. It keeps around 95% of the strength of the breaking strain of the line. Several other (popular!) knots can reduce the effective breaking strain of the line by up to 50%. Tons of guides on how to tie a uni knot on youtube. Practice it. It's simple and easy. Use at least four 'loops'.

When you are connecting two lines together, the aim is to get a good secure strong knot that is also very neat. It's going to hammer through all the rings on your rod so its needs to be small and neat. I use a double blood loop, but that's just a personal preference, and its not necessarily the best. You can Google other knots.

Line:

Lines degrades over time, especially with exposure to sunlight, harsh environments and abrasion from sand rocks etc. They can lose a lot of their breaking strain over time. Don't be afraid to change some or all of your main line and shock leader annually. Store line on spools in the dark and in a cool place (a drawer in the garage). This is especially true of monofilament line (mono). Braid lines are less subject to damage from the sun but are far more sensitive to abrasion. Stick to the mono for now...

Casting technique:

The simplest cast is an overhead lob. The main benefit is that its simple easy to use action. Google it. As you gain in confidence, you can build up the distance gained by increasing the speed of your cast. This said, you will gain more distance by "aiming" it at the right angle into the sky than you will be increasing the speed/power. In casting the rod acts like a spring. It stores energy through compression, that is the bend put into the rod by the casting action - and releases this when you release the line/lead towards the sea. Different rods will compress in different ways - some need a faster cast, some will benefit from a slower cast. You will need to experiment a bit to find out what works best for you... and the rod/reel/rig/lead combination you're using. Don't go for power or speed, focus on getting the basic technique right.

Once you have the overhead mastered, as wormy24 suggests, look at the "off the ground" cast. This is where you carefully lay the lead and trace on the (clean) ground behind you rather than having it suspended in the air behind you as you would with the overhead cast. It generates a wider arc and longer casting action which means you can compress the rod more and generate greater distance. The ground needs to be clean because if you catch the lead/rig in something on the ground... not good...

The more sophisticated casts, like the pendulum cast, put really heavy pressure on the rod and line, as their main focus is to pre-compress the rod by driving the lead in an arc behind you before you begin the cast. I used to use them, but to be honest, owing to a bad back, never use it any more. Unless you really have to hit the horizon or you get into tournament casting, off the ground and overheads are all you will ever need. They're safer, simpler, and work just fine...

Leads flying through the air, whether attached to your line, or "snapped off" are, as wormy indicates, exceptionally dangerous. I never fish piers with mackerel bashers any more having witnessed too much stupidity around this.

Hope this helps...

I said it before to you ( join a club) its all well and good getting advice from people on this until something goes wrong! And at the end of the day YOU are responsible for yourself, there are 3 clubs in your locality with plenty of experienced anglers and are very welcoming ! They will you show you the basics of saftey and knowlege that comes from years of this stuff! Its alot easier for someone to show you than explain anything on here! Then you can fish with peace of mind knowing that you are doing things right! Im not having a go at anyone but when you are starting out you are very impressionable and will pick up bad habits quick!!! Best of luck with it bud

Ok, for the sake of clarity...

..

Thanks K, it's kinda hard to take in points of information when everyone has a different opinion or method of fishing. I'm not really in a place where I can argue the toss with everyone so I kinda just take the advice...

Since I posted this thread I haven't got up off my *rse yet so don't worry about me putting lead through someone's eye socket...
I'll go out and buy a 30lb line for my shock leader in the next few days and just practice the uni knot. I've used the uni knot a few times and it's good enough.
I take care of my gear and store my reels in bags in the wardrobe so they're safe, and I actually replaced the line on the spools yesterday before I went out.
I've always used the overhead cast and it does get me out a decent distance. How much would a decent spool of 30lb line cost?

Thanks.

I said it before to you ( join a club) its all well and good getting advice from people on this until something goes wrong! And at the end of the day YOU are responsible for yourself, there are 3 clubs in your locality with plenty of experienced anglers and are very welcoming ! They will you show you the basics of saftey and knowlege that comes from years of this stuff! Its alot easier for someone to show you than explain anything on here! Then you can fish with peace of mind knowing that you are doing things right! Im not having a go at anyone but when you are starting out you are very impressionable and will pick up bad habits quick!!! Best of luck with it bud

I definitely am very impressionable I've looked on FaceBook and found the Bannow Bay Anglers club will I contact them? Who are the other clubs? I'd love to join one but I'm young enough so I'd kinda feel a bit out of place but I'll give it a go...

New ross sac and kilmore sac are the two others. There are plenty of young anglers in the clubs you will fit right in dont worry

New ross sac and kilmore sac are the two others. There are plenty of young anglers in the clubs you will fit right in dont worry

Where do I go to contact them? Bannow Bay anglers are on facebook so ive messaged them

I agree to all who has mentioned to join a club, but take it as reality, it could be quite costly and especially your time does not mach your own. Then simply you be paying for nothing, then it comes complicated. Take it simple, if you can't cast with shorter rod, get longer it will ease your quest. I fish with some cheaper Shakespeare's 15 feet rod for budget anglers and is not less quality combined with same brand 7000 size reel, never skip shock leader as somebody has already adviced. I think is very important to mach a tackle for your needs then you will make all benefit of it I have perhaps 5 surf rods but only couple would do what I need for example my Ian gold 14' extractor rod is good for extreme conditions but wount cast or twin tip 15' Abu garsia would cast far enough, however may not do some heavy houling, so keep exploring see what is good to you and this site is good for any needs and that is where I have learned my sea fishing.

IF you decide you want to join a club message them first and see are the interested in going out fishing for the craic
no point joining a club who are only doing competitions - they will tell you nothing!!! - you wont learn anything

I would recommend bannow bay who appear to be geared up to newcomers and do a lot of outings as well as the usual competitions

IF you decide you want to join a club message them first and see are the interested in going out fishing for the craic
no point joining a club who are only doing competitions - they will tell you nothing!!! - you wont learn anything
I would recommend bannow bay who appear to be geared up to newcomers and do a lot of outings as well as the usual competitions

Yeah I've contacted them, they host comps in the Summer at Duncannon etc. and they said to get more info I have to give them a call. Have to find my phone now