Casting accuracy?

[scaleface]

10 minutes ago, MickD said:

One thing that I've found that helps casting accuracy is to cast, when possible, with the arc of the rod directly vertical.  What this does is takes the lateral or direction errors almost out of the equation and the distance can be adjusted during the cast by thumbing a BC or touching the line going off the reel on a spinner.

 

If your timing is off a little with sidearm casts you introduce a direction error.  With the overhead motion timing errors don't matter as much.  They might affect distance, but not direction. 

Thats great when you can cast pass your target .

[MickD]

21 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Thats great when you can cast pass your target .

When boat fishing it is advantageous and possible to use the described method every time unless up against overhead obstacles like shoreline trees.  

[scaleface]

42 minutes ago, MickD said:

When boat fishing it is advantageous and possible to use the described method every time unless up against overhead obstacles like shoreline trees.  

I have to respectfully disagree . Glenn explains it best at 12:50 of this video . 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/spinnerbaits-bass-fishing.html

 

 

I am not the best caster . In a days time about half my cast will be dead on , about 40 per cent will be close and about ten percent will be "Oops" .

 

[A-Jay]

I don't think my casting skills are anything special.

It's clearly an important aspect of my fishing, usually takes practice to be good at it

and I have put the time in; on the water and off.

I fish clear water, mostly for fairly wary brown bass, so I'm routinely quite a ways 'off' the fish 

hoping not to alert them to my presence.  I get a few so my casting accuracy seems at least average.

 But I've come to learn about a different type of casting accuracy.

It happens at night but totally comes into play during the daylight hours as well. 

And it revolves around my electronics.  Under the cover of darkness, rarely can I ever 'see' what I'm casting at and or fishing.  So I had to learn how to read, interpret and judge direction & distances from my sonar unit and then translate that into an effective cast.  Big Learning curve right there for me.  Started out doing it from a canoe with an extremely basic Humminbird unit that did not exactly offer a high level of accuracy.  Have since been able to take those skills learned and put them into action on the The Pro-V Bass; with far better units on board.  The external heading sensor was and is a game changer in all of this day & night.  I am now able to get pretty darn close to marked targets (most sub surface and I never see) with regularity.  Gets me a lot of memorable bass. 

At night I can usually be positioned closer to my targets but during the day most all of my 'casting accuracy' needs to happen while long bombing a cast.  I do a modified two hand, 3/4 side arm thing, some of which was born out of hours and hours of standing in the night time surf on the east coast.  Gear used there was big and taxing to use.  Bass fishing gear, IMO is not.  Add in the wind and it becomes a very interesting & challenging deal.  But I love it all just the same.

Finally, anglers with the newest Forward Facing Sonar units have taken most all of this to a whole new level. I might never see that deal.

A-Jay

 

 

[scaleface]

11 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

But I've come to learn about a different type of casting accuracy.

Open water and casting past targets is a  different ball game than trolling down a bank and casting at visible targets. I do the old bombs away cast a lot fishing points and other offshore structure .

[A-Jay]

18 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Open water and casting past targets is a  different ball game than trolling down a bank and casting at visible targets. I do the old bombs away cast a lot fishing points and other offshore structure .

I get that.

My overall point was, although on the surface it looks I'm long bombing casts with little to no regard as to where it might land, that's not always the deal.

Often times I'm directing my presentation to a spot or target (isolated laydown or weed patch) at depth, that I can't see and is a long way out there.  Misses have little to no chance of success.

Also I might not know if I missed, as I can't see it.  Casting to a bush on the bank, I pretty much know if I got it or not. Granted I do not need to hit a tea cup, but it's all relative considering the distance.  I started fishing this deal because it's challenging and no one else here does it.  The little shoreline cover there is gets hammered.   I fish stuff that goes relatively unmolested. 

A-Jay

[Catt]

I totally agree with @A-Jay on this one.

 

I fish a lot of offshore structure both at night & during the day. One might think I'm making a "lob" cast at just structure. In reality I'm casting at a specific stump, laydown, brush pile, or whatever. Not only am I 25-30 yards away but the target is 15-20' under the surface.

 

This is why you learned bouy markers.

 

[casts_by_fly]

2 hours ago, MickD said:

When boat fishing it is advantageous and possible to use the described method every time unless up against overhead obstacles like shoreline trees.  

 

I agree that a vertical overhead cast is great for accuracy like you mentioned (and a good way for beginners to learn) but if there is any type of overhead cover near shore like trees, ropes on docks, or various other things then you can't get as tight into shore on it.  You're also throwing bombs that make a full sized entry splash.  A sidearm or roll cast that is a foot off the water and slowing with your thumb can be slipped in quieter with the same accuracy.

 

54 minutes ago, Catt said:

I totally agree with @A-Jay on this one.

 

I fish a lot of offshore structure both at night & during the day. One might think I'm making a "lob" cast at just structure. In reality I'm casting at a specific stump, laydown, brush pile, or whatever. Not only I'm I 25-30 yards away but the target is 15-20' under the surface.

 

This is why you learned bouy markers.

 

 

Are you using 360/live imaging to identify the specific targets?  I don't have either, so when I am moving past and see something on side imaging I either make a landmark check with the shore or I'll put a waypoint on the graph and then use a navigation chart to line it up the best I can.  Spotlock helps there.

 

[scaleface]

Different cast for different situations . Casting left of a fence post is not the same as casting in the crook of a bush .

[casts_by_fly]

2 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Different cast for different situations . Casting left of a fence post is not the same as casting in the crook of a bush .

I'd probably pitch both of those.  I cast right handed, so the lure swinging from the left to the right would be just right for the fence post.  And dropping it into the crook of a bush is about distance accuracy and quiet.  

[Bankc]

I'm pretty decent with side arm and roll casting.  I can hit a one square foot target pretty reliably so long as it's within range.  Overhead, I'm not so good.  I can probably hit a three square foot target 60% of the time.  But I only cast overhead for maximum distance or to avoid obstacles.  That's with a baitcaster.  With a spinning reel, I can hit the correct side about 50% of the time.  Distance is random.  

[Catt]

15 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

Are you using 360/live imaging to identify the specific targets? 

 

Nope! 50 some odd years if looking at everything from flashers to 3D depth finders. 

 

GPS & Spot Lock are huge advancements.

[NHBull]

My casting accuracy is directly proportional to the value of the item close to the target.

Open water, 8 out of 10

The corner of a dock with an expensive flower vase, not so much ?

For me it's a mind thing, not mechanics.

 

It's like tree skiing,,,,,look at the snow and it is great, peak at a tree and it's a broken limb

[casts_by_fly]

6 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Nope! 50 some odd years if looking at everything from flashers to 3D depth finders. 

 

GPS & Spot Lock are huge advancements.

 

gotcha.  So similar strategy as me.  find it and 'mark' it somehow.  Then lock into a point and find your mark.  Feel your way through it on the cast.

[scaleface]

I would love to spend a day on the boat with Gerald Swindell . Just watch any video of him fishing shallow . I cannot do what he does but not for the lack of trying . In the Glen video I posted, he touches on the  back-hand cast . Cast like your swinging a golf club or baseball bat . I use to struggle with that , then one day it soaked into my thick skull that if I can swing a baseball bat left handed I can back-hand cast too .

[Mobasser]

I've always admired Larry Nixon. If you watch videos of his casting, it's magic. As he moves along, he changes up from overhead, sidearm etc depending on distance, targets, and what he needs to do. IMO, one of the very best casters.

[WRB]

Casting accuracy is a big part of bass fishing and keeps the lure in the water where you want it. Missed cast could be a missed bass. Pro bass anglers don’t get to that level without good casting skills, they are all good and don’t waste time missing targets.

You want to be a better bass angler practice casting accuracy every outing. Making hundreds of cast make each accurately and catch more bass.

Tom

[MickD]

5 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

can be slipped in quieter with the same accuracy

Only if you're  really skilled can one get the same accuracy with sidearm as with overhead.  

7 hours ago, scaleface said:

I have to respectfully disagree . Glenn explains it best at 12:50 of this video

I wasn't talking specifically about spinnerbaits, and Glenn is not saying much about accuracy.  He's arguing for a soft landing, if I am interpreting his comments correctly.  I was only commenting on the difference is accuracy between overhead and sidearm casting. 

[casts_by_fly]

5 hours ago, MickD said:

Only if you're  really skilled can one get the same accuracy with sidearm as with overhead.  
 

I wasn't talking specifically about spinnerbaits, and Glenn is not saying much about accuracy.  He's arguing for a soft landing, if I am interpreting his comments correctly.  I was only commenting on the difference is accuracy between overhead and sidearm casting. 

well, I was just doing it tonight with a frog. I think I’m actually more accurate sidearm since that’s what I do most of the time. 

[Columbia Craw]

My buddy and I were out and I brought up the topic of casting accuracy and the the nuances to being good.  He stared at me and told me he could put his lure or bait in an eight inch opening 100 out of 100 times.  I had to remind him we were ice fishing.

[WRB]

Casting to anglers is like tennis racket to tennis player or golf clubs to golfers. A tennis player uses the over hand stroke to serve, then a back of fore hand to return depending on how the ball is being returned, all 3 strokes are important and you better be good with every stroke.

A golfer uses a bag full of clubs each specific for the situation where the ball lays. The right club for the conditions.

Bass should be skilled with several different casting techniques depending on where the lure needs to land accurately.

Overhand casting is good for distance, side arm or back hand  is good for medium length targets and roll or pitching or flipping for close targets.

Depending where you fish you may use all 5 casting techniques or just 1, every cast should be accurate landing the lure where you want it the 1st try.

I could be 1/4 mile off the shore and need to cast 50 yards to get my jig exactly on the ridge of a saddle with a 3’ undercut the bass is holding on without spooking it. If I miss by a yard  it might as well be 50’ the result is no strike.

Same thing hitting a stump or boulder, a stick up or boat dock opening, accuracy counts.

Tom

 

[PhishLI]

22 hours ago, WRB said:

When I fished regularly accuracy was a given, look at the target and hit it was automatic. 

I'll add to this and say looking at then locking your eyes on the target during wind up through splash down is key. Which type of cast used plus the velocity required to execute it is calibrated unconsciously after enough data has been processed over time. Like you said, it becomes automatic. Zero thought. Feel, don't think. However, none of this happens consistently if over-runs and backlashes are in the forefront of a person's mind. Being in command of one's mechanics enough to cast cleanly the vast majority of the time is a good first step in remaining zen enough to consistently hit targets.

 

Besides catching bass, getting myself into this zone and executing is one of the cooler things about fishing for me. Even if I end up stinking it up catching, at least I put my lure right where I wanted it to be. I don't know if the shine will ever wear off of doing this, but I get a ton of satisfaction out of it now when all cylinders are firing.

[Catt]

I can hit a bass in the mouth at 30 yards!

[The Baron]

My pinpoint accuracy is horrible.  And I can only fish from either a canoe or a borrowed boat with no trolling motor, so blowing down the shore making horrible casts "toward" good looking features is frustrating as heck.  I know I'd catch a lot more if I could hit a barn, so I'm working on it. 

[casts_by_fly]

11 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

well, I was just doing it tonight with a frog. I think I’m actually more accurate sidearm since that’s what I do most of the time. 

 

I just remembered another reason why I prefer sidearm casting.  After a full evening of hard overhead casting my shoulders are tore up today.