Long casts

[WRB]

The advantages and disadvantages of making long casts bass fishing.

I define a long cast as over 120' or 40 yards for sake of discussion.

We can agree making long cast using deep diving crankbaits is an advantage as it allows the lure to dive to depth and stay down longer in the strike zone. Long cast can be a advantage using big swimbaits by keeping the lure in the strike zone longer covering more water searching for big bass.

The down side is strike detection and effective hook sets, the longer the cast is the lower the percentage of strike detection and effective hook sets. 

This brings me to horizontal jig fishing or making long cast over 120' or 40 yards and retreiving a jig verses making shorter casts between 60' ot 20 yards to 90' or 30 yards. It should be obvious strike detection and hook sets are easier the shorter the casting distance. If you can get strikes making shorter casts it's an advantage. Making long casts is a disadvantage no debate with that statement. 

Why make long cast jig fishing? I didn't start out making long cast until it became necessary to get strikes. The big bass where I fish have learned to stop feeding activity when boats approach them during day light periods. At night you can get closer and make shorter bass catching bass. During day light I started casting as far as I could, about 50 yards, to reach active bass and started catching big bass. If 30 yards works then why cast further? If shorter casts doesn't work why not make longer casts?

That is the dilemma, make short or long cast and the answer isn't clear cut without trail and error.

Tom 

[A-Jay]

I can agree with that @WRB

 I will only cast 'as far' as I need to, to get bit.

 But in my neck of the woods, with clear water and big wary brown bass, if I start too close, I may burn the spot and never even know it.  In many instances, I prefer to make my initial presentation to a prime structure, cover holding area or the spot on a spot, from as far away as I can accurately / effectively present the bait.

 That said, balanced quality tackle, (that I have experience, trust & confidence in) the right line for the job & sharp quality hooks, in my mind, are a must.  

And something that can help me out is, if I'm at the right spot, at the right time, and the bass are looking to eat, with that clearer water, sometimes they are willing to come a ways to get it.

So 'accuracy' is a relative term right there. 

Other times, when I need to hit them on the head, I may have to slide in a little closer. 

I hate doing that though.

A-Jay

 

[geo g]

For me long casts become important in extremely clear water.  In south Florida we have weedy lakes but often extremely clear water, filtered by the surrounding cover.  Canals in south Florida are often clear because they are surrounded by weedy flats.  Making long casts to drop-off lines makes good sense.  Let plastics settle, and fish them slowly back.  I use a quality floro for plastics most of the time. 

Another important factor is to keep in stealth mode.  With a constant breeze I will but out a drift bag and stay off the T/M.  This along with long casts produces, when other techniques do not.  Two important factors to consider in clear water settings.

[Bankbeater]

For me very clear water and heavy fishing pressure equal long casts. When the water is murky I can get away with moving in close and making short casts, but usually I have to make a long cast so the bass don’t get spooked. 

[N Florida Mike]

One thing I do with a long range fish is quickly troll toward the strike to close the distance before setting the hook. I use mono because it floats and I can see the “ twitch “ when they bite the soft plastics I use the most .But with mono , there’s stretch , so it is much harder to get a good long distance hookset and keep them hooked. I like some stretch, because for my style of fishing The fish don’t come off much once they are hooked. ( Not including long distance strikes) So as soon as I detect a strike on a long distance fish , I close the distance a little and pop him. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Given the variety of waters we find across our country (and beyond), it's prudent to add to this discussion long casts can be fruitful "when cover and conditions allow".  This discussion by Tom, et al, is a good reminder!  It'll be a good read finding how others overcome the obvious difficulty of landing a large fish hooked a great distance away.

 

oe

[senile1]

There isn't much left to say because the first two posts of the thread pretty much summarize the subject.  Following the same reasoning as @WRB and @A-Jay, I use long casts only when I have too.  However, most of the lakes I fish receive a lot of pressure so long casts are useful a significant amount of time, except when flipping/pitching deep cover or fishing muddy waters.

[Johnbt]

Sometimes it's just easier to chuck one way far back into the weeds than to slowly tear up the plant life and repeatedly foul the trolling motor getting the boat closer. A big rod and braid can help with the fish as well as getting your snagged lures back.

 

[Hammer 4]

A different take re: long cast's. I fish a lot of city park ponds/lakes. Parts of some of the lakes have no access, so guys will bomb a t rig or some bottom bait 40 yards to get to a certain part of some structure. The problem is, more often than not, they don't detect a strike until it's to late, and the bass wind up getting gut hooked. I find this is especially true with younger folks..I've had to remove more than my fair share of gut hook fish. 

 

 

[The Bassman]

Fishing on foot as I do sometime makes long casts necessary. The mechanical advantage of short casts is moot if I can't get the lure where I want it.

[Darren.]

Fishing from a kayak, long casts, as defined by @WRB are not

as big a concern to me. Not that I don't do long casts (shoreline),

or trolling with the yak.

 

Also using shorter rods from 5'9" to 6'6" as I do, long casts are

not so much in the arsenal. As mentioned by @A-Jay and others,

I will cast as long as I need (or can) to.

[WRB]

The long rod isn't necessary to cast 1/2 jig 50 yards unless you consider 6'6" to 6"10" long rods, that is what I used the past 40 years, except 8' SwimBait rods. 

Kayaks are very low to the water and stealthy quite plus the angler is sitting down while moving and should be able to get within 30 yards without alarming bass in clear water.

I think a kayak would be a good boat to hunt big bass with depending on the size of the lake and wind conditions.

Tom

[frogflogger]

Since braid showed up I have found no drawbacks to long accurate casts. I love long casts for frogs, spooks, and swimbaits -  but I keep a 51/2' rod on hand for short pinpoint casts with cranks, plastic and poppers. 

[Sam]

When I have a "too long of a cast" my hookset power is really diminished that I miss more than I hook.

 

The bass jump and throw my baits.

[BassNJake]

I have this toad obsession and when I started I use to make really long casts

This led to poor hooksets as often the blowup is on the first few turns of the handle.

Plus, I just cast past a dozen other potential bass holding spots.

I also noticed I would always pick up some followers, so catch 1 and see 4 with it.

 

I have become far more productive with shorter casts targeting specific spots.

I usually don't see that many followers anymore.

 

On the flip side sometimes I cant cast far enough for the smallies when their up on the flats

[Catt]

IDK Tom ?

 

This is my most productive "pattern", "technique", "game plan" at night during the dog days of summer.

 

I anchor, spot lock, power pole down on the edge of "deep water" & a known feeding flat. I may sit there all night or might move 2-3 times staying on the same structure.

 

I'll make long cast 360° around the boat with Texas Rigs, Jig-n-Craws, Carolina Rigs, & Crankbaits. 

 

Hookups are probably in the 90 percentile range.

 

[Glaucus]

My casts are always made dependent on the situation. Beyond that, I don't consider it at all. I don't consider the line capacity of a reel either so long as it holds at least 100 yards of 12lb mono according to the specs, which is the norm anyways. I certainly can't spool a reel on a long cast using the appropriate tool for the job. Some people claim that they can, but I'll tell you what (and I've said it before), so many people claim to be able to throw a football 50+ yards until they actually step onto a measured football field and discover 50+ yards is a lot further than they thought and they were only throwing 20-30 yards the whole time. Same for casting. Most people don't realize how far 50, 60, 100 yards really is.

[WRB]

Every new rod and reel outfit I take to the local football field with a hula hoop for a target and practice casting 30, 40 and 50 yards. I also measure the IPT at those distances to get a idea of how fast the reel recovers line and operates. 50 yards is a long cast with a 1/2 jig. When you are raised 18" above the water surface standing on the deck you can get a few more yards but the wind and waves tend reduce casting distance and accuracy. Still it's good to know yardage and developing the skill to cast long distance accurately. If you can land a lure in a hula hoop at 50 yards that is accurate in my book.

Fan casting an area sitting still is more productive then cruising by on the trolling motor making a few casts. Live bait anglers learned to anchor on known big bass locations letting the fish come to them. Boaters using lures can do the more effectively making long cast, I know it works from experience.

Tom

[Glenn]

4 hours ago, Sam said:

When I have a "too long of a cast" my hookset power is really diminished that I miss more than I hook.

 

The bass jump and throw my baits.

^^ This ^^

 

In bass fishing, it's about accuracy, not distance.  Even when fan casting, getting it "all the way out there" is not the best approach.  So distance - to me at least - is not a major consideration.

 

[Catt]

For me it's an easy choice, move and catch a 15-20# sack or stay put and catch a 25-30# sack.

 

[WRB]

If you can catch the bass you want using shorter cast it does improve your strike to putting bass in the boat ratio. The fact is anyone can catch bass on short cast but it takes skill to detect strike making long cast and even more skill getting good hook sets and putting the big bass in the boat.

It's dilemma making a long cast and not for everyone. If I didn't develop strike detection and hook set skills to catch big bass on long cast none of my top 5 bass would have been possible.

Tom

 

[Hammer 4]

Thinking back, I don't recall making long bomb cast's, except for large swimbaits. With other baits, unless I'm fishing in gin clear water, I keep em as short as possible. I did bomb a 1/2 oz spinner bait once, bout as far as I could cast it. before it hit the water a solid 6 lb bass flew out of the water and got. problem was, she spit it out just a quick..

[FrankN209]

As I've said in other threads, I don't have a boat, so long casts are necessary. Casting across a river, to hit the other side of the bank.  

[Preytorien]

I'm mostly limited to bank fishing, so long casts are a big objective of mine. I tailor rods, reels, line, and lures to gear that enables me to make longer casts than ever. However, I agree that at a certain point I get a bit edgy since that long line diminishes my hookset ability and also gives the fish more time and chances to shake my lure. Sure, applying proper techniques mitigates some of that, but you have "those times" when it all comes apart. 

 

That said, has anyone ever done a test to see how much stretch certain lines have per foot, or ten feet?

Ex: "X-Brand line stretches 6.2 inches per 10 feet" -- that might be an exaggerated example, but I don't recall ever seeing that kind of test.

 

As I usually use almost exclusively braid I don't have much line stretch problem, but for my close-quarters-combat using small poppers, Whopper Ploppers, and flukes, I'm seeing some situations that I like using mono, the stretch actually sees some increase in better hooksets (gives the fish a split second more time to take the bait) and better landing ratios (the stretch keeps the fish on-hook better).

[Todd2]

1 hour ago, Preytorien said:

 

That said, has anyone ever done a test to see how much stretch certain lines have per foot, or ten feet?

 

 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/152445-line-stretch-test-18-typesbrands/

 

I ran across this a while back. It's with an 8 lb weight, which I'm pretty sure is way more than would be needed to penetrate a hook, but it does give you a good comparison of line stretch. Trilene XT is high on the list.