Pitching Sitting

[*Hootie]

I know pitching is a stand up technique. What I was wondering, does anyone pitch sitting down, or is it even possible. I ask because I am a sit down fisherman. Not because of my age, but because of a poor sense of balance. Me standing up on a moving object has never worked, not even when I was young. So, what do you think. Should I forget about it and just keep casting?

Hootie

[Catt]

Regardless of technique 60% of the time I'm sitting

 

I do have one secret, most pedestals are 11-13" tall, mine is 18" non-adjustable, it's part of the tackle I carry it with me when not in my boat.

 

I've learned to shorten length of line I hold just slightly & wait to release the spool till about the time my lure reaches the gunnel. It's just like learning when standing, you make adjustments to suit you!

[livin2fish]

A sideways motion (vs. swinging the lure straight out toward the target) can be used to avoid catching your lure on the side of the boat . Technique is not as efficient but with some practice it may work for you.  Suggestion, only use this with single hooks.  Saves having trebles stuck in fingers of the holding hand.

[Sam]

Hootie, I have a pedestal seat and have no problem flipping or pitching from a sitting position.

 

I would rather flip or pitch standing but when I get tired I just lean back and continue to flip and pitch.

[*Hootie]

  On 11/1/2014 at 12:38 PM, Sam said:

Hootie, I have a pedestal seat and have no problem flipping or pitching from a sitting position.

I would rather flip or pitch standing but when I get tired I just lean back and continue to flip and pitch.

My fishing season is over, so I won't get a chance to try this till springtime. Maybe I'll go out in my backyard and practice from a lawn chair. Can't hurt.

Hootie

[Darren.]

I do it all the time from a sitting position on my kayak.

Granted, my sitting position is pretty high, but yes, it 

can be done.

 

I can both flip and pitch. Can't lower the rod tip like 

when standing, but it can be done.

[Mike L]

I do it also.

Sometimes it not too gracefull, and distance will suffer, but yes sometimes I just can stand for 9 hours with sitting a minute.

Hook sets are a litle weaker tho.

The best time to do it is when skipping under a dock or low hanging trees.

I'll put my pitching stick down and use a shorter rod. Makes it much easier.

Word of caution...if you try it from the boat's passenger seat, you have to be very, very good.

Mike

[Ozark_Basser]

  On 11/1/2014 at 11:58 AM, livin2fish said:

A sideways motion (vs. swinging the lure straight out toward the target) can be used to avoid catching your lure on the side of the boat . Technique is not as efficient but with some practice it may work for you.  Suggestion, only use this with single hooks.  Saves having trebles stuck in fingers of the holding hand.

This sideways pitching technique is also the easiest way to skip while pitching.  

[Justin Mott]

I can't say that I sit down but I do lean against our seat. Its rather high so I don't lose much standing height. The only concern I would have with sitting and doing an underhand pitch is the height needed to get the bait enough momentum to give it some distance. If you get your seat high enough, you should be ok. If not, side arm pitches are great.

 

If push comes to shove, do whatever you can do to get the bait where you want it and still be comfortable. I wouldn't worry much about splash too much. My dad used to fish with an older gentleman that hand knee problems back when my dad was young. They would overhead cast everything. From the catches that my dad would tell me about, it didn't make much of a difference for them.

 

Justin Mott

[Fishes in trees]

Yes, you can learn how to pitch sitting down.  Yes, it does take practice.  Yes, you are going to backlash a few spools of line in the learning process.  You will find that the sitting down pitching technique isn't quite the same as a Jimmy Houston style side arm roll cast, but you will get to the point to where you will use both casting styles interchangeably.  Good gear helps the learning curve a lot.  Clean, correctly oiled reels with plenty of ball bearings, to get the spool started spinning quickly helps.  I first learned with Calcuttas.  When I went to the Calcutta TEGT (10 ball bearings) pitching, both sitting down and standing up got much easier.  Once you get the technique down, reel choice doesn't matter as much.  I pitch with Curado's, Calcuttas,  Calais, and even spinning reels from time to time.    Rod choice is all over the map, find one that works for you,  start with what you got and if you find you need a faster tip, then go there.   I find that softer, more flexible rod tips don't work that well for me, sitting down or standing up. 

 

On a side note, sometimes poor balance is an indicator of other health issues.  I'd mention it to my doctor during my next check up.  Even though it has been a lifetime thing, docs can fix stuff now that they couldn't in olden times and it doesn't cost anything to ask.

[Jrob78]

  On 11/1/2014 at 12:50 PM, DarrenM said:

I do it all the time from a sitting position on my kayak.

Granted, my sitting position is pretty high, but yes, it 

can be done.

 

I can both flip and pitch. Can't lower the rod tip like 

when standing, but it can be done.

I also pitch from a seated position on my kayak.  I have an elevated seat too but I'm still just above water level.  I'm not as great at it as I would like to be but getting better with practice.

[Darren.]

  On 11/2/2014 at 1:47 AM, Jrob78 said:

I also pitch from a seated position on my kayak.  I have an elevated seat too but I'm still just above water level.  I'm still not great at it but getting better with practice.

 

Oh it definitely takes time, practice. I still have 

"issues" depending on the bait I'm using, the 

wind, other factors that affect us kayak fisherfolk

more than others.

 

The more you do it, the better you get. I do it just 

enough to be decent at it. Not great.

[geo g]

I think you may be able to find a way to pitch or flip it out there, but I don't see how you can generate enough torque on the hook set in thick heavy cover, sitting down. If you get it to work, let us know!

[kikstand454]

^^^ kayakers do it all the time.

For that matter a few weeks ago, I was punching mats in my kayak.

[hatrix]

Learn how to do the around the world pitch and you don't need a rod length of line out. You will see some of the really good pros do it all the time.I can kinda sorta maybe almost do it I do something similar though but mine is more of a roll cast type thing while theres comes straight out off the rod. I never tried what I do sitting down but the way the around the world thing works you should be able to do it sitting easily.(I don't know if there is a name for it). They only let out like maybe 2' or less of line when doing it.

 

After reading some of the comments I can't believe none of you have ever seen them pitch that way. They just swing the bait in a circle with the rod pointing straight out and that loads the tip as they flick it straight out like nothing. I guess its actually faster when beating a bank but is a little challenging to master.