A-rig rod (having difficulty)

[fishwizzard]

The other advice I would give is to look around on YouTube try to find a video that show someone casting a swimbait with a nice wide full body shot.  It took watching a bunch of the TB videos on a rainy day before I really figured out what I was doing wrong in my early attempts at lob casting.  

 

That, and maybe go out and buy a big lead sinker that weighs the same as your a-rig to see if you can cast that with your current combo. If you can't get any distance out of an aerodynamic sinker, then something is really wrong. 

[Dirtyeggroll]

1 hour ago, bigfruits said:

couple more things, not sure if theyve been mentioned. 

 

you might be releasing the bait too late in your swing.

 

put some muscle into it. not saying youre weak, just that you might be scared to break the tip.

 

do an exaggerated lob, putting plenty of power into it but dont whip it fast as to break the tip. do a constant acceleration. like casting 4oz of lead from the surf.

 

sorry if this is basic, not trying to insult. i think a lot of bass anglers arent used to casting larger baits and the different type of cast needed to get distance.

Not an insult at all. This is one of the questions I was trying to answer, something along the lines of:

 

“Does throwing an A-rig require a different technique than other baits?”  Or can it be overcome with the right rod?

 

27 minutes ago, fishwizzard said:

The other advice I would give is to look around on YouTube try to find a video that show someone casting a swimbait with a nice wide full body shot.  It took watching a bunch of the TB videos on a rainy day before I really figured out what I was doing wrong in my early attempts at lob casting.  

 

That, and maybe go out and buy a big lead sinker that weighs the same as your a-rig to see if you can cast that with your current combo. If you can't get any distance out of an aerodynamic sinker, then something is really wrong. 

I’ve thrown big ploppers (on a different rod, 7’ H Daiwa Aird) without having to change my casting technique, and boy can they be launched, which is one of the reasons I was thinking it might be the rod. When I get home later this evening I’ve got a whole list of suggestions to try. I’m gonna start by weighing the A-rig. Thank you all! Will report back my results.

[Catt]

Just a dumb coonass's opinion it sounds like operator error!

[Dirtyeggroll]

12 minutes ago, Catt said:

Just a dumb coonass's opinion it sounds like operator error!

Half of me hopes it is operator error because then I won’t be better suited with a different rod and that’s cheap to fix but takes some time and the other half of me hopes it isn’t operator so I can just pair up the right rod and be ready to go without having have to learn a new way to cast.

[Catt]

9 minutes ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Half of me hopes it is operator error because then I won’t be better suited with a different rod and that’s cheap to fix but takes some time and the other half of me hopes it isn’t operator so I can just pair up the right rod and be ready to go without having have to learn a new way to cast.

 

As mentioned earlier most anglers not accustom to throwing Alabama Rigs or Carolina Rigs for that matter will struggle mightily in the beginning.

 

These 2 Rigs require a lot technique in casting, ya not gonna just pick it up & do good out the hole!

 

Practice a lot & see if you can improve through technique first, then you can better determine what rod suits your techniques.

[Dirtyeggroll]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

As mentioned earlier most anglers not accustom to throwing Alabama Rigs or Carolina Rigs for that matter will struggle mightily in the beginning.

 

These 2 Rigs require a lot technique in casting, ya not gonna just pick it up & do good out the hole!

 

Practice a lot & see if you can improve through technique first, then you can better determine what rod suits your techniques.

I’m sure there is at least some learning I need to do to cast an A-rig well independent of the rod... but since I have a few other rods that are powered differently (and since I’m stubborn) I am going to try a few other rods first since it’s pretty easy, I have the right controls and I will know immediately if it helps. I’d rather hone my technique after I rule out the rod since I have the opportunity. I’m sure I could learn how to Happy Gilmore the A-rig with about any rod, but I don’t feel that’s the most efficient (although Happy was quite the ringer).

 

I’ve already mentioned this but it just reminds me of trying to throw 1.5 squarebills on a MH Veritas which was not working well. I did practice and practice with the MH Veritas rod and figured how to cast them better (but not good) with that rod. As soon as I switched to lower power rod I could cast those 1.5’s like I’d expect too, about 1.5-2x as far and much more accurately.

[WRB]

It's your casting technique. 

Have you tried casting a 1 oz spinnerbait with your combo? A-rigs have a lot air resistance when they include blades like a flash mob. 

1. You shouldn't ever whip or snap cast a bait casting reel, spinning reel it's OK.

2. Go through the basic spool tension adjustment for any other lure weight; the lure should fall free on slightly controlled tension and the spool should stop when the lure hits the ground without loose line. 

3. Make a 2 handed over head cast with about 2' to 2 1/2' of line from the lure from the rod tip. Keep very slight thumb pressure on the spool just enough to keep line from loosening during the cast. 

You should be able to cast 75' to 90' without any issues. With practice you can loosen the spool tension slightly and casting distance will improve.

Tom

[Dirtyeggroll]

15 minutes ago, WRB said:

It's your casting technique. 

Have you tried casting a 1 oz spinnerbait with your combo?

I lied, the first thing I am going to do is weigh the A-rig and throw a more aerodynamic bait of similar weight.

 

Heres my troubleshooting plan:

1. Weigh A-rig and try similarly weighted aerodynamic weight on the current rod. If no improvement in distance with the aerodynamic bait then on to the next.

2. Adjust reel. If no improvement move on to next.

3. Try adding or taking weight away from the A-rig. If no improvement then move on to next.

4. Try throwing A-rig with a 7’5 ZX rod and with a 7’6 Skeet Reese Carolina rig rod. If no improvement with any rod then move on to next.

5. It’s not at all the rod (I am already convinced it’s not 100% the rod and there’s room for me to improve).

 

I 100% plan to refine my technique on tossing the A-rig regardless of the results of the troubleshooting. With all of the other techniques I use, I feel like I have learned to make the rod do the work. My current setup and/or technique does not feel this way for the A-rig.

 

Now I just need to get home so I can try all of these things and stop leaving you all in suspsense. Haha.

[Shimano_1]

I've thrown the rig on the 7'9 zx umbrella rig/swimbait rod for a couple years now. It handles it all well. Once the rig bite slows I throw larger swimbaits on the same rod. For the sale price that can be found frequently,  in my humble opinion,  the zx line of rods simply cant be beat.

[Dirtyeggroll]

11 minutes ago, Shimano_1 said:

I've thrown the rig on the 7'9 zx umbrella rig/swimbait rod for a couple years now. It handles it all well. Once the rig bite slows I throw larger swimbaits on the same rod. For the sale price that can be found frequently,  in my humble opinion,  the zx line of rods simply cant be beat.

Maybe if the 7’10 ZX Crankshaft doesn’t workout i’ll trade it in for then ZX Umbrela rig rod. I originally got the 7’10 Crankshaft to throw the plopper 130 and was hoping it could serve multiple purpose as an A-rig and big swimbait rod.

[Shimano_1]

That's probably not a bad idea at all.  They're on sale right now for 80 bucks was considering grabbing another mysef. Good Luck

[Catt]

How does one decide if it's rod or operator?

 

How long do one use a rod before eliminating it?

 

What does throwing an aerodynamic lure have to do with throwing an un-aerodynamic lure...I can tell ya now they ain't gonna be the same.

 

Definitely fine tune the reel

 

Definitely adjust the weights 

[Deleted account]

You guys are giving me a headache. 

[Dirtyeggroll]

9 minutes ago, Catt said:

How does one decide if it's rod or operator?

 

How long do one use a rod before eliminating it?

 

What does throwing an aerodynamic lure have to do with throwing an un-aerodynamic lure...I can tell ya now they ain't gonna be the same.

 

Definitely fine tune the reel

 

Definitely adjust the weights 

All based on feel . If a different rod feels better then it’s the rod, if not then it’s just the technique. A few casts can tell me if a rod feels right. If several rods don’t feel right then the rod doesn’t have much to do with it.

 

If a similar weight doesn’t plop right down in front of me then I’ll suspect it’s a matter of drag and not weight/loading up.

3 minutes ago, reason said:

You guys are giving me a headache. 

This is the problem with the theoretical. I should have stopped replying until I had a chance to test it. The fact is I am bored and this is an easy horse to beat.

[Dirtyeggroll]

Resolution: 100% operator error! I was not letting out enough line to hang the A-rig (I was only hanging 6-10”; letting out about 2’ helped tremendously!) and the tension knob was too tight (I was afraid to loosen it fearing a giant backlash with the heavy bait). The rod is quite the A-rig launcher now that I’ve got the technique down.

 

That damned bait monkey really wanted it to be the rod, but you all saved me!

[VolFan]

I. Am. Shocked.

 

but I would've bought another rod anyway!?

[Dirtyeggroll]

35 minutes ago, VolFan said:

I. Am. Shocked.

 

but I would've bought another rod anyway!?

Trust me, me too. Pretty humbling.