Pitching. I’m getting there.

[Darth-Baiter]

I watched a myriad of videos.  One stood out.  Fish the Moment. He took time to describe the movements.  Well I’ll be a monkeys uncle!  I think I got it.  20 yards easy.  Accuracy isn’t there yet, but I imagine it will be soon.  I’m using a regular rod with a 1/2oz practice-plug.  My neighbors think I’m weird.  (The joke, “are they biting?” Was funny the first few times :D) 

 

what’s a good long pitching distance?  I can’t wait to practice from my kayak.  Standing. There is a guy the can pitch sitting in a kayak, but I’m not him.   I can’t wait to utilize the maneuver PUNCH-FISHING!

 

 

[clh121787]

20 yards is plenty far to pitch. Work on accuracy and angles.  Get out on the lake and put 2 rods on the deck. A pegged  3/8 oz Texas rig. And a half oz jig. Pick a bank with lots of docks and get after it. 

[Catt]

20 is pretty good! 

 

My only suggestion, chunk the practice plug & use what ya gonna be fishing with.

[Bankc]

I'll often stand to pitch from my kayak, as I get better accuracy in short distances that way, and it's faster to repeat.  But for more distance from my kayak, like more than 10-15 feet or so, I often just stay seated and do a side arm cast instead of a pitch.  The trick is to keep the entire rod parallel with the water throughout the cast.  You want the bait to stay about a foot or less above the surface the whole time as well.  Don't let it lift up at the end of the cast.  Just launch it straight forward.  Then, after release, just before it's about to hit the water, kill it with your thumb on the spool.  You can get the same soft entry as you would with a pitch, but a lot more distance.  If you kill the forward momentum with your thumb before it hits the water, then the only thing that effects the splash is the distance above the water that the bait had to fall, which in this case should be only a foot.  So you can cast it pretty hard and still get the soft entry, so long as you kill it with your thumb in time.  

 

It's a technique that I think you really have to be in a kayak (or other small vessel that allows you to sit about water level) to pull off, as most boats will sit you too high up to keep your rod so low while staying parallel to the water.  

[PhishLI]

18 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I watched a myriad of videos.  One stood out.  Fish the Moment. He took time to describe the movements.  Well I’ll be a monkeys uncle!  I think I got it.  20 yards easy.  Accuracy isn’t there yet, but I imagine it will be soon.

Now the addiction begins. Very few things in bass fishing are as sweet as pulling up to a pad field, or buck brush, or a laydown, eyeing a perfect spot, pitching your bait right to it, then bagging a fish. It's especially awesome if it's on the first cast to the best spot you see. Perfect redemption for the half a billion times you'd pitched to a juicy hole but came up dry. Wipes that right away.

[E-rude dude]

Go pro your first cast from the kayak standing

please?

[Boomstick]

I can get to about 30 yards on a pitch, but that's doing a long, less accurate cast like pitch and usually with a longer rod as well. For a regular pitch (even on a longer rod), 20 is probably on the higher end of what I can hit with any level of accuracy. For shorter distances, I can usually place my bait no more than 2 feet from my target or better reliably but when I try to go past a certain point, my accuracy will drop off signifantly.

[Michigander]

20 is fine. It's not about the distance, it's about the accuracy.

[jbsoonerfan]

I'm not sure some people realize the difference in yards and feet. I pitch my lures to targets that are about 20-25 FEET away. Pitching 20 yards is a long way. I'm not saying it can't be done, just not sure why you would want to pitch that far.

[Michigander]

11 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I'm not sure some people realize the difference in yards and feet. I pitch my lures to targets that are about 20-25 FEET away. Pitching 20 yards is a long way. I'm not saying it can't be done, just not sure why you would want to pitch that far.

Spooky bass. ?

[jbsoonerfan]

Just now, Michigander said:

Spooky bass. ?

Chocolate milk water. LOL

[Michigander]

15 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Chocolate milk water. LOL

I'm fishing in gin a lot of the time. I get why this would be totally irrelevant to you though. ?

[jbsoonerfan]

2 minutes ago, Michigander said:

I'm fishing in gin a lot of the time. I get why this totally irrelevant to you though. ?

I could drown in 3' of water and they would have a hard time finding me.  

[Darth-Baiter]

29 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I'm not sure some people realize the difference in yards and feet. I pitch my lures to targets that are about 20-25 FEET away. Pitching 20 yards is a long way. I'm not saying it can't be done, just not sure why you would want to pitch that far.

True.  My sweet distance is prob 25 feet.  Banging the target, which is my garbage can.  I can face the street, add a slight hip swing and go 20 yards, but accuracy goes away.   My bow target is 20 yards, I have that memorized:)

[Michigander]

2 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I could drown in 3' of water and they would have a hard time finding me.  

If I just casually roll up on a spot, I'm treated by watching a lot of the bass just swim away. LoL

[LCG]

Pitching isn't about distance, it's about a smooth, quiet entrance into very tight spaces. Accuracy is key. 

 

I practice all winter indoors using a rubber plug and pitch down the hallway about 25ft or so. I work on pitching the practice plug and getting to land where I am aiming with the plug not bouncing. This is the perfect pitch when on the water. Keep it low, smooth, and feather the spool with your thumb for that soft landing, and raise your rod tip upon entry to help ease it without a splash. 

[.ghoti.]

25 to 30’ is about it for me, if I want to have any chance of hitting my target.

[GReb]

Accuracy is the most important aspect. Don’t get caught up on distance. Honestly 10-15 feet is enough for most situations. Also learn how to drop it in silently. 

[scaleface]

I think I get about 30 foot with a 7 foot baitcaster , 17 lb trilene xl and half ounce jig . I cant pitch any  less weight  smoothly with a low trajectory . It should be a nice easy action  .