How Long Is A Long Cast & A Long Pitch?

[bassmanET]

Looking for some input. I have a BPS baitcaster reel that I just purchased over the winter, paired with a 7' med crankin stick, it has 10lb mono on it. I don't feel like I'm get the distance I need to get crankbait down to the correct depth. This is my second baitcater so, adjusting the spool & magnet brake is always done correctly.

My first baitcater I have is on a 6'6" med heavy rod, with 40lb braid. I use this rod for pitching. I probably need a little more practice pitching but, again don't seem to get much distance? I have the spool set loose & brake turned up all the way.

So, what's a long cast & pitch? Is there anything I'm doing wrong?

[clayton86]

I would use a longer rod for pitching that could be a lot of your problem. I used to use a 66 for flip/pitch and couldent cast that far without tons of emph behind it. This year I picked up some 7+ rods and with my 76mhf veritas I can pitch and flip almost double the distance I did befor with ease creating little to no entry splash

[deep]

Idk about pitching, but my cranking rod is 7'8", the longest that would fit in my car. It absolutely bombs those DD22s and 6XDs, and (almost) outspools my reel with a 0.75 oz rattletrap.

[Chris]

You have it backwards.. you want your mags set at zero and your casting control knob set so that when you click the free spool the lure hits the ground and the spool either doesn't over run or barely makes a over run. Just make sure if you where to cast (not a pitch) that you change your mags back to the setting you like otherwise you will be picking out a birds nest.

[Mike L]

%$##@#!

Thats what I have to be doing wrong.

For pitching, I have the brakes turned up all the way and knob loose also!

As I said $=#@#$$#!!!

Mike

[andamtoft]

Also make sure that your reel is completely filled with line. When i fist started i had the same problem then i realized i wasnt putting enough line on my reels.

[Sam]

And don't outcast your hook setting power.

[CWB]

%$##@#!

Thats what I have to be doing wrong.

For pitching, I have the brakes turned up all the way and knob loose also!

As I said $=#@#$$#!!!

Mike

According to a recent episode of "The Bass Pro's", you are doing it right according to KVD. He set his brakes higher and the spool tension looser. Of course, he was using a Quantum with external adjustable centrifugal brakes. Only you can decide which way is best for you. I don't think mag. brakes do alot when pitchin. I could be wrong.

P.S.

No one really answered the OP's question about distance.

[Fishes in trees]

Many things factor into distance, both for casting and pitching. Gear, line, weight of bait, etc. Rather than going into all the perameters and permutations, I'm assuming you've got your reels set up the way you like them. Everyone has slightly different settings that they like.

Let me give you an idea of the gear I'm currently using for different baits and the distances I generally get.

For Rattle Baits (spots, rattletraps, Frenzys, ) I'm using a 7' graphite/glass Bud Erhardt cranking special. The rod was new in 90 or 91 and I've got it paired with a well broken in Calcutta 250. I use 17 or 20 lb mono on this rig. A wind up and heave with this rig, with the wind and I can go 100 to 120 feet. A normal cast with normal effort and I can hit anything I'm aiming at 50 to 90 feet. I very seldom cast

any shorter than that. The baits I use on this rig are in the half ounce range.

Deeper cranking with bait casters. Ledges or other targets with little brush. Currently I'm using I'm using a Kistler small swimbait rod. It has enough tip to help with distance, but it isn't whippy like some glass cranking rods are. A curado D with 10 lb test, with the wind and I can go 100 feet. When I try to go farther, I can go farther, but accuracy really suffers.

Most of the time, I'm fishing cranks around trees & brush. Distance isn't as important as accuracy, but I still think I get bit more if I'm off from the target some. I'm using the Kistler rod or something similar and 14 or 17 lb Vanish, on a Calcutta TEGT reel. That line is a little kinky to start the day, but some line magic helps and once it gets wet and used some, many of the kinks go away. I very seldom use overhead casts for this kind of fishing. I will pitch a half to 3/4 ounce crank and I'm confident about accuracy at any distance inside of 60 feet or so. If I feel I need to go farther, one of those Jimmy Houston underhanded roll casts will get a little more distance. Some days I'm pretty accurate with this cast, other days, not so much. Keep in mind, I'm generally throwing underneath something, so you're trying to stay as close to the water surface as possible.

Pitching soft plastics, I'm using a variety of rods & reels. Most of the time I'm using either a 6'10" Falcon rods Eakins jig special or a 7'

Kistler MH pitching rod. Most of the time I'm pitching with a Calcutta 200 TEGT and 14 lb Vanish. Weights generally range from a quarter to a half ounce. From 30 to 45 feet or so, I hit my target the vast majority of the time. I can pitch over 60 feet, but accuracy suffers alot, and most of the time I find it easier to move the boat closer than to throw long and more often than not get hung on something.

Now, I've written enough and a short answer to your question is: For me, a long cast is anything over a hundred feet. A long pitch is anything over 45 or 50 feet, depending on the wind.

Long distance casting is a whole subculture of fishing that doesn't get talked about much here. One spring I got into throwing slab spoons at the Truman Dam tailrace. Ounce and a half and two ounce weights were common. I had an Ambassador 6500 with 20 lb test and a Cabelas 11' Predator rod. I'd call it a medium action, They called it a 2 1/4 lb test curve. Test curve is holding the straight out and level, how much weight does it take to bend the tip in a 90 degree angle straight down.

But I digress, with this rig and a 2 ounce slab spoon I got to where I could throw a little over a hundred yards. I judge this by knowing that I had 300 yards on the spool to start and with a good cast, balanced and timed just right, over half of the spool was out when the bait hit the water.

One local who was watching told me I was doing OK for a rookie, but with better gear and a better reel I could do 200 or more yards easily. Then he proceeded to show me. And he got bites and landed than and I didn't very much.

So that's some of my experiences trying to figure out distance casting. I think it is important, but for bass fishing purposes, I think accuracy is just as if not more important.

I throw cranks wih spinning gear probably more often than I do with bait casting gear, but that's a different subject.

[Hamby]

Play around with it for casting. It varies with each lure and conditions (wind). I believe somebody told me that if i get a backlash at the beginning of the cast, i should set the magnets higher. If i'm getting it towards the end, i should set the spool tensioner higher.

For pitching, i usually have both on the lowest setting. When one of my reels needed to be cleaned, i could tell because it felt like my spool tensioner wasn't loosening all the way.

[Chris]

I don't think mag. brakes do alot when pitchin

It has everything to do with pitching distance. Your brakes be it pin setting, or mags slow down the spool as it reaches the end of the pitch. When you pitch your using your thumb to slow down the spool as the lure reaches your target. Your trying to feather the lure so that it make little to no splash when it enters the water. This also make a pitch way more accurate when hitting targets. The more free your reel is the more distance you can make a pitch and still enter the water quietly. If your using your brakes to slow down the lure when it enters the water the lure will splash and you will loose distance. If KVD has his mags up tension knob down good for him but when learning to pitch I wouldn't advise it nor would I do it myself. My reasoning is that you would need to force a pitch to get greater distance which means you make a bigger splash which can spook a catchable fish. There are times when you want a splash to force a fish to react to the bait or to punch through cover but most of the time (90% of the time) you want the lure to enter quietly. Distance depends on the person really. For the most part I want to pitch about twice my flipping distance and at times a little more and other times about the same distance as a flip. Most of the time I am pitching in and around cover so I don't want to much distance because I still have to drag the fish out.

[CWB]

I'm confused. First you say brakes have everything to do with pitching distance. You say you use your thumb to slow the spool down and you keep your spool free. Where do the magnetic brakes come into play? I always thought mag brakes slowed the spool down at faster speeds so you don't get a birds nest. Pitchin is a slower spool speed method.

Again, I could be wrong. Everyone has their preferences and whatever works for an individual is what he (or she) should continue using. Pitchin is not a real big part of my arsenal but I do do it when conditions call for it. I use reels with cent. brakes so maybe I'm wrong to comment about mag brakes for pitchin.