How Accurate Is Accurate?

[Rippinlips14]

Let me start by saying I've been fishing for a while and ever since i had first started I was more concerned about accuracy when I first used a baitcaster. I still today feel like I'm inaccurate with my Baitcaster (after 2 years) im always off by a few feet either to the left or a few feet short of my target. Does it really matter if I am a few feet off?

[Crappiebasser]

Missing by "feet" is ok if you're talking long distance like a deep crank bait. If you're talking flipping or pitching you need to get better.

[Catch and Grease]

Ya, when it comes to stuff like squarebills or pitching a jig a foot or two can be the difference between getting bites and getting skunked.

[Rippinlips14]

I'm talking about to reeds and patches of kissimee grass when I'm throwing a texas rig is being off by a a foot or two ok?

[Scott F]

For me, accuracy is very important. Getting that bait close to the dock post without landing on the dock is the difference in getting the fish or spooking everything under the dock while you go get unsnagged. Being able to skip under the dock and between the pilings to get where the bass are means everything. Being able to cast under and between overhanging branches without sticking your bait in the branches is very important.

  I was river fishing with a friend. I was having one of those days when I could not land my bait close to where I needed to be. I got nearly skunked while my friend was on fire because he was getting his baits so much closer to the places where the bass were holding. Accuracy can be VERY important.

[ABW]

Is it ok to be off a little bit? Yeah, but its a lot better to hit your target. Practice casting with your wrist for better accuracy

[everythingthatswims]

You may have your spool tension/brakes set too tightly. This causes the bait to continue swinging in the direction of the cast rather than going in a straight line while casting

[Crappiebasser]

I'm talking about to reeds and patches of kissimee grass when I'm throwing a texas rig is being off by a a foot or two ok?

IMO no. In grass you're trying to hit the small holes where the bait can fall right on the fish's head. If you hit the grass you spook the fish.

Practice hitting a bucket in your yard then go to something smaller once you get better. It'll really help you on the water.

[Catch 22]

For me, accuracy is very important. Getting that bait close to the dock post without landing on the dock is the difference in getting the fish or spooking everything under the dock while you go get unsnagged. Being able to skip under the dock and between the pilings to get where the bass are means everything. Being able to cast under and between overhanging branches without sticking your bait in the branches is very important.

  I was river fishing with a friend. I was having one of those days when I could not land my bait close to where I needed to be. I got nearly skunked while my friend was on fire because he was getting his baits so much closer to the places where the bass were holding. Accuracy can be VERY important.

Well said,certain types of fishing require being spot on.

 

C22

[K_Mac]

Being able to put your bait exactly where you want it is one of the things that separates the best from the rest. It has already been said, but it is worth repeating: hitting your spot is often the difference in getting bit or not. It is also often the difference in a keeper or a pig.

Functionally it is really a matter of focus. Learning to cast to a precise spot is much like shooting a rifle, or throwing a dart, or hitting a golf ball. Doing any of these well only comes with commitment, skill, and practice. My best advice is fish with someone who knows how to do this, and learn from them. Good luck.

[Catch and Grease]

It also helps to know what the bass's doorstep looks like, you can't be accurate if you don't know what to aim for.

[mjseverson24]

deep water ---> its less important

medium depth ---> decently important

shallow ---> very important

 

Mitch

[BigMoneyGrip]

For me, accurate is +/- 1~2' on casting and +/- 6" on pitching and flipping.

[RSM789]

IMO no. In grass you're trying to hit the small holes where the bait can fall right on the fish's head. If you hit the grass you spook the fish.

 

 

There is no grass or reeds on the lake I fish, so this is a question, not a statement.  Being that he is throwing a Texas rig, wouldn't it be better for his cast to be long than short?  If the bass are back in the reeds, I would think it would be less likely they would come out a few feet to chase a lure than be spooked by something that apparently crashed into the grass. 

 

The only experience I can compare it to is some retaining walls (seawalls) with part of the concrete undercut at the base on my home lake.  Often the fish will hold tight to the wall & if I am throwing a T-rig, my goal is to hit right at the wall so the worm drops to their hiding spot.  However, I make sure that if I err, it is long, so that the lure ends up on the bank & I have a chance to pull it into the water.  I can't do that with crankbaits or other lures with protruding hooks, but the T-rig rarely gets hung up on anything.

[Raul]

Let me start by saying I've been fishing for a while and ever since i had first started I was more concerned about accuracy when I first used a baitcaster. I still today feel like I'm inaccurate with my Baitcaster (after 2 years) im always off by a few feet either to the left or a few feet short of my target. Does it really matter if I am a few feet off?

Sometimes an inch off is too much, imagine how much off is a few feet.

[papajoe222]

Two of the most common mistakes anglers new to baitcasters make when it comes to accuracy are making long casts (results in loss of accuracy to the left and right) and not aiming past your target and thumbing the spool (falling short of your target). I can't emphasize how important the latter is, not only to accuracy, but also to a softer entry into the water. Your rod choice can make a big difference also.  Long rods are great for long casts, but unless your pitching you will be more accurate with a shorter rod.

[hatrix]

You may have your spool tension/brakes set too tightly. This causes the bait to continue swinging in the direction of the cast rather than going in a straight line while casting

I am not a fan of using any tension ever and avoid it like the plague. It makes you cast harder to achieve the same distance while lowering your accuracy and also can defeat the purpose of having a super smooth reel. Cast lighter and use more thumb. It amazing how far you can actually cast with every brake shut off and just a tiny flick if you can control it.

[Rippinlips14]

Thanks y'all my cousin wanted to use my account when he's over at my house (doesnt have a computer) he said he'll defintely work on accuracy!

[Catch and Grease]

Thanks y'all my cousin wanted to use my account when he's over at my house (doesnt have a computer) he said he'll defintely work on accuracy!

I'd just get him his own account that he can log into while he is at your house...

[J Francho]

Accuracy only counts if you know exactly where the fish you want to hook is.  Otherwise, it's better to lucky than to be accurate.  I'm accurate enough to stay out of the trees.  Anything better than that just comes with repetition.

[Choporoz]

I prize accuracy largely because I absolutely love pitching under and between overhanging trees and into tight cover at/below the surface.  I have much more experience and confidence flipping with spinning gear.  I'll spend some time this winter practicing with my baitcasters, but when it comes to putting anything other than a jig into the tightest cover, I'm using a spinning rod and reel. 

[WIGuide]

A lot of times being a foot or two off is the difference between a fish or no fish. It all has to do with their strike zone. If you want a great example of accuracy at the highest level I'll give you two examples both of which involve Jimmy Houston. Both happened at seminars that he was giving. At one there was a question on setting the hook, so Mr. Houston told my dad to lift his toes up and then from approximately 50' or so proceeded to make a cast and put his bait right under my dad's foot so he could step on the bait. The other occasion he had told my dad to hold still and placed his bait on the few inches on the seat of the chair that was in between my dad's legs. Accurate is just that...dead on accurate putting the bait exactly where you want it.

 

As far as how accuracy relates to fishing in the real world, I'll give you another example. This past summer I had the opportunity to be a boat captain/guide for a youth tournament. Being that we were taking young anglers some of which had very little angling experience, we were allowed to make casts for them if needed. We pulled up to a stump on the end of a point and both boys in my boat tried casting to it. They were landing within a few feet of it but couldn't quite get it right on. One asked if I would make a cast for him. I put it right next to the stump and handed him the rod back and when he engaged the reel the fish was already on.

[geo g]

Accuracy is extremely important.  I use a bait caster 95% of the time.  When aiming for a target you need to control spool spin for distance.  Also wind direction and the effect of the wind.  Then you have side arm casts, over head casts, backward back casts.  All useful to complete the task. 

I look at casting like a game of darts.  I want to hit that little opening in the pads, that swirl I just saw on the water,  the pad that just moved back in the field, or the bubbles that just came up on the flat.  I'm always looking for those little signs.  They can make or break a day on the water.

[Catt]

There is an area around a bass called the "strike zone", this distance is 360 degrees around the bass. It is the distance a bass will travel to catch prey when it is not actively feeding (reaction strike).

 

The size of the strike zone varies greatly hourly and is affected by weather/water conditions

 

The strike zone's diameter can be inches to feet, it is our job as bass anglers to determine that distance and adjust our cast, pitches, flips, & punches accordingly.

[J Francho]

For every perfect pitch that I made between two tree branches to catch a fish, hundreds more fish were caught at some point between where the bait landed, and I pulled it out of the water.  Accuracy is nice, and something I strive for, but it's wildly overrated as far as catching fish.  Not to mention really discouraging to a beginner.  I do not see any correlation between accuracy and a fish's strike zone, either, unless you are sight fishing, which arguably is what a minority of our focus is on in bass fishing.  I think the idea that you have to cast to a visible target limiting, and lacks imagination.  We have all the tools at our disposal - maps, GPS, side imaging, down scan, chirp, phone apps, etc. - that building an image of what is under the water, and casting to invisible targets, or combing a high percentage area are more worthwhile pursuits.  Fish enough, and accuracy just comes natural.  I like to play practice games, pitching jigs into random coffee mugs in the yard, and I certainly value the ability to be able to drop a bait on a dime, or skip one to the back pylon of a dock, but to assume it's the most important thing is a little silly, if you ask me. 

 

Just my opinion, thrash away.