practicing casting?

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practicing casting?

Postby Donagh » Mon Jan 22, 2007 5:32 pm

I was wondering is there any tips for practising casting. When fishing I cast aerialised OTG. When I do get out to practice I cast 50% OTG and 50% aerialised starting firstly with straight OTG and switch between a 5oz and 6oz lead. Usually take between half an hour to three quaters of an hour. When the mood takes me I practise swinging the lead in the front garden minus the full power stroke.

Donagh
Last edited by Donagh on Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby lumpy » Mon Jan 22, 2007 6:11 pm

i practice by putting a hole in a spongy ball and tying 100lb mono tru it. i then turn my mags to their slowest speed and practice like this. its useful for practicing in the garsen.you can swing as hard as you like wih it and still stop it in mid flight with your thumb without the fear of a crack off and if it does hit something it wont break or mame them :lol:
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Postby m.b3 » Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:35 am

that's a fair piont lumpy! cant beat casting with a 3 hook clip down rig with bait. if your castin isn't smooth you'll turn the rig into a long range 3hook flapper!!
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Postby Donagh » Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:25 pm

Sounds alot safer than me firing a 6oz lead on a 10 foot drop past my window. One thing I noticed with my garden practising was while it improved my swing, not doing the full power stroke got me in the habit of not hitting the rod right. I'll try to keep a look out for a suitable ball.

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Postby paddyc » Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:52 pm

I think using a spongy type ball is ok to practice your swing but thats that, by using a very light ball you will throw your timmimg off that is unless you fish with 2oz lead and no bait,,, :?:
The simplest way i know is to actually get out to a field or open space big enough with either just the lead of your choice or with a hockey or ball of the required weight so when your back on the beach it will still retain the same feel, inturn you will react at the same time with the same speed.
Then its just a matter of turning the mags up full and whallop away it will only travel a fraction of the distance but will retain the feel of actually fishing, and if you crack off you just go get it, reattach, and go again..
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, THEN PRACTICE SOME MORE,,,,,IMO
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Postby Rockhopper » Tue Jan 23, 2007 3:37 pm

Like Paddy said....get to a field or even use the shore if need be....I know guys who would make a normal 2 hook flapper....crimp lead shot instead of hooks and bait and cast from the drag setting on light....that way you improve your style and the feel of everything is amost the same, only you dont have all that line to wind back in every time, less chance of a crack off also.

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Postby Donagh » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:19 pm

As I see this topic again with the new forum I decided to open it up again. It was on the advise of the instructor I went to to learn the pendulumn a couple of years ago to practice the pendulumn swing in the back garden. Luckily I'm in the country with a half acre site so theres plenty of room. I found this very helpful combined with practise at the lake I use. I get the point practising on a field is best but during the winter getting out in the evening is difficult. I don't take any responsibility for smashed windows BTW.

I never have bothered with the simulated baits as I'm a lazy sod and sounds like to much effort. Besides that the lake I use for practise has weed and I don't need more on the trace to pick it up.

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Postby paddyc » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:29 pm

Its always advisable to stick to OTG untill your hitting good distances consistanetly with that style, then you can advance to hitting a moving lead. Something that might work if the lake you use becomes weeded is trying a lead lift behind the lead as its only practice as it does not matter how far it goes and makes it that much easier to reel back in...
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Postby m.b3 » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:10 pm

u could try using jelly worms?
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Postby fishinmidget » Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:54 pm

paddyc wrote:Its always advisable to stick to OTG untill your hitting good distances consistanetly with that style, then you can advance to hitting a moving lead.


i would do that paddy, but the places i fish in are usually so rough underfoot i have to use a airbourne lead of some sort. any suggestions?
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Postby Rockhopper » Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:54 pm

A piece of cardboard or a thin piece of plywood on the ground to lay your lead onto for an OTG...either for casting practice or fishing.....I know enough guys who do it that way.

IMHO a short drop OTG will get better distance (if the ground is rough) than a poorly timed moving lead on a longer drop.

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Postby Donagh » Fri Mar 09, 2007 5:23 pm

The instructor was happy enough to with my OTG to go onto a swing when I went to learn it a couple of years ago. Some advise to be an expert in OTG and others advise a reasonable competence in it. For fishing I just wanted some sort of swing so I could get extra distance. I've never got on with using an OTG cast for fishing between clips unclipping and weedy rocky ground. I tried the board thing at one stage but its a pain to look after and bring around and was never used again. Gearoid gets good distance with a OTG cast from mixed ground and he uses a short drop and places the grip lead just touching the ground behind him with the wires push up so they don't catch.

I've tried a number of solutions to the weed at the lake including a lead lift. If a lead lift hits a patch weed it really gets caught up in it. I also tried adding a float which works but I've just got used to it by now. In the winter the weed stays low and if I make sure to tumb the reel and reel in quickly most times I don't get caught. The other times its just good practise for rays fishing. I don't tend to practise in the summer as its choked with weed.

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Postby scara » Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:26 am

I got this off another site. But I use a hockey ball for practicing. 5oz drilled with 150lb mono through it. tighten down the mags use 50 yards of 80lb shockleader and any football pitch is a training ground. full power no problem. you'll still be able to gauge improvements of distance just shorter distances. Practice, pratice and then hit a lead.....nothing sweeter.
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Postby paddyc » Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:20 pm

You dont have to blast a full blooded pendulum when fishing, try a fishing version, alot less movment but will increase your distance and IMO easier to hit and doesnt strip your bait off the same way. With regards to the weed situation if you keep loosing leads and shock have you got access to a field or simular open space and try what scara mentioned,, its all down to practice...
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Postby Donagh » Sun Mar 11, 2007 1:53 pm

I think its a fishing pendulumn as its seems similiar to the cast described in John Holdens web site or an OTG cast. I went to steve gillet in kerry and he said its what Leslie Montcrief called a pendulumn OTG cast.

Now that my casting has improved I don't hit into the weed patchs as much. I'll usually drag out when I do snag up. I use 0.4mm line for casting and rarely loose gear now may casting has improved. I went through a bad patch a couple of years back of messing the cast up so bad the lead got wrapped up over trees and lost my gear. When the summer comes in is when the proble gets bad so maybe I should look round for a field for then. Casting into the water wets the line and the lead doesn't get damaged or stuck into the ground. I might try using the lead lifts again for the heavier leads as they can get snagged on the way in. I know whats said about keeping the mags on full but I do love the feeling of a lead flying away its just not so nice pulling in a big lump of weeds at distance.

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