more distance required

[JEWIENEWIE]

I am using a twelve foot surf rod matched with a penn spinfisher 850ss, an use it for tailor fishing of the beach. Keeping in mind the chance of jew bycatch, what size line would you fellas recomend using. I often use the same reel for bottom bashing snapper etc and currently have 20pound mono on it but am losing casting distance with the heavier line. I am wanting to get another spool so i can simply change spools when beach fishing with lighter line but what strength??
Need to buy epirb before getting another reel
Jewie

[Horse]

I have been using 20lb Fireline on my 12' Traverse X with a Penn 850. Casts a lot further and much less wave and current drag. The biggest draw back is the need for finger stalls to stop the line or leader cutting during the release

I have just bought one of these Cannon release mechanisms so it should help




Cheers

Neil

[HST]

10 or 14 lbs fireline will work fine ,the canon is a good idea ,but they are a pain in the butt ,get a hold of some flex wrap and use it on your finger ,the best way to get more distance is look at your casting style .

[fish-n-dive]

Yep, technique is a big part of it. I once new a bloke who could cast an 8' rod farther than anyone with a surf rod and he never snapped the line or did a crap cast.............practice, practice, practice..............

[JEWIENEWIE]

Have spent many an hour with a very competant fisherman who says there is nothing wrong with my technique, i first thought that there was but after a few lessons with this friend to refine my casts, all is good on that side of things. Just wanting to get more distance as a few of my beach locations do require quite a bit of a heave ho out?
Jewie

[CreelReaper]

Hey jewienewie,
What is the rating of the rod??? Depending on that, I would stick with the mono and drop down a little in size. Look for the smallest diameter you can find. I would suggest that even though your technique looks right from someone else just changing the distance between hands might improve your cast. Look at size/length of leader, weight of sinker and length of line being cast. I prefer to use less than 1/3 the rod length for heavier weights as it seems to eliminate the whip a little eliminating snapoffs during casting. One final pointer .....How full is your spool. If the reel isn't fully loaded with line it will get caught due to friction as it comes off the reel.
Jump down to the park one afternoon with rod and bucket. Set distances between you and the bucket and just practice different variations on rod grip (distance between bottom and top hand) and length of trailing line. Does wonders with your accuracy too!!!
Oh the position of the first runner may also be a contributing factor too. If it is too close the line might be flogging the inside of the runner.

Shane

[nigelr]

Jewienewie, there is a world of info on the net re distance casting and surfcasting, just get google happening.
Learn the off-the ground cast, then work on the pendulum cast.
Ensure you are using the optimum total cast weight for your rod.
Use the thinnest mono you can get.
Get down the local oval and practice your tecnique, you will be suprised the distance you will gain with the abovementioned tecniques.
Nothing wrong with your reel IMO, but a longer rod will give you more leverage and distance. Having said that, see what you can achieve with proper utilisation of your current rod.
You can really have a lot of fun with this aspect of our sport, and there is plenty of high quality gear available, and opinions on what to use to achieve great distances, if you can and want to spend the $$$$$$!
HST is a champion distance caster, hope he will forgive me for my impertinance in making you aware of this fact.
Cheers.

[chief 1]

Some 16lb mono should work,but if you want fireline you can,i find mono is easier though

[HST]

if you are happy with what you are doing in your cast that's good .a few things that you should look at to be happy is ,make sure your elbow on your top hand is higher than your chin before you hit the cast . drop length has a big part of your distance ,you should work at getting the drop length of the sinker just below the point of grip on your top hand ,getting the lead to move in a grater arc will give grater lead speed .grater speed = more distance as the faster the lead goes the further it will travel . you will not buy distance you have to learn it ,it dose get additive and expensive, and one more thing look high at a spot in the sky and punch thru it .

[Tangles]

those new daiwa moonraker rods at 16ft look pretty mean add an emblem pro 5500 and if you believe the promo stuff you can cast to NZ.... the moon? im a complete sucker for this sort of stuff so have the emblem pro, if i get the moonraker hopefully ill be able to cast further than the rockpool in front of me

mike

[metaloid]

I am using a twelve foot surf rod matched with a penn spinfisher 850ss

my two cents... 20lbs mono is about perfect for that size reel, and assuming that your rod is matched, no point going too light. Yes I know, finer line means less friction, hence more distance but then bye bye Jewie!

In theory braid is a great answer (thin + strong) but after trying 30lbs bionic on my SS8500 and getting some great air knots...I bought another reel (Emblem)!!! Of course I also bought another rod to go with it, and etc.

Btw, looking at HST's pic above, if you can get your rod butt extended, that will help with your hand placement and ultimately your distance.