# Hopefully, I've got the hang of casting........



## Manlystanley (Sep 22, 2010)

Well, I've followed everyone's advice and I've done the following:

-- Put in more magnets into my Penn 525 Mag.
-- Re-oiled and cleaned out the reel.
-- Switched to 50 lb braid.
-- Changed my shock leader knot to the "Slim Beauty"
-- Worked on a smooth: slow-start, fast-out cast.
-- Worked on getting the spool tightness adjustment and mag setting properly set.
-- Watched lots of you-tube video's
-- Etc.

The result: today had 25 straight casts, all between 70-10 yards. I only had one blow up. Not bad. Thanks so much for your help!!

One question, the blow up I had, I've seen it before and could not figure out why it happened. Here's the symptoms: 

1.) Cast starts out great. 
2.) Then suddenly there is a jerk and the cast stops.
3.) The reel, instead of a total blow-ups, has only a 1/4 inch blow up, but the blow up goes deep into the reel. When I pick out the blow up, it looks like a "V" is the reel.

Very strange. Not sure why it occurred??

Oh, if anyone's interested, I've got the mag adjustment set in the middle; and the spool adjustment set a tad less then fully tight.

Best Regards,
Stan


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## Manlystanley (Sep 22, 2010)

Opps. I should put down that I got 70-10 yards" Actually, it was "70 to 100 yards."


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## JPChase (Jul 31, 2010)

I'm no braid expert, but it sounds like the braid is digging into itself on the spool. This is perhaps caused by initially spooling up the braid with inadequate tension. I'm sure that there are a multitude of other reasons why this occurs, but I surmise that this may be the cause. 

But what do I know, I'm just a dumb mono chucker!


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## OceanMaster (Dec 22, 2011)

Congrats!

JP Chase is correct, your braid is too tight on top and looser down below. I would recommend you walk out the spool and rewind all with consistent tension. If you can't walk it all out in a straight line, simply zig-zag the line across the field walking to one end, turning 90 degrees walking left or right from the line and then turning back up the field to the other end, back and forth till your line is all out. Then reel all in with the same steady tension to repack your spool.

I have an ABU 7500 CT that is backed with 300 yards of 30lb braid with a top shot of 20lb mono to fill with shock leader to load the cast. There are times I will cast all the mono off the reel and drop into the braid (tail wind & nailed the cast) and it will do the same thing if I don't pay attention to keeping the braid spooled with even pressure.


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## clueless (Jul 15, 2010)

Your spool over run, that's why it stops...You are definitely doing it wrong if you have to add magnets to 525 or your mag system in the reel is bad. I have two of them, I don't use my thumb at all and never had over run or blow up when it is set #6 or 5.5. Do you use your thumb to lay down the line evenly?


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## Manlystanley (Sep 22, 2010)

JP, OM and Clueless: You guys are good! I never would have thought of that! As always, I'll do exactly what you said.

Clueless: I love your name handle. One problem, you need to swap it with someone like me--who really is clueless. To answer your question, I don't thumb at all; I set the mag at full strength; the mag system seems to work fine. Before I set it at 'full' and still had control issues, now I'm setting it at 5, I'm doing good. *Also,* I'm sure that I'm doing it wrong. Maybe in a few years I'll get this process right. Until then, I can cast fairly well, and not spend half the night digging out tangles.

But, you raise a good point. I'll try to improve my cast and then gradually work the mag down. Maybe someday, I'll get off my training wheels (e.g. additional mags).

Best Regards,
Stan


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

Sounds more to me like your braid has an overlap deep in the spool - and probably was one that was missed when spooling. This can happen for any number of reasons. Sometimes it's just too big of a step over on the spool when laying new line. Other times, you can actually get a little "wisp" of an overrun, and just wind it into the spool. ALWAYS - after every cast - and esepcially with braid - make sure that your line is coming over the top of the spool after a cast. If your line is coming off from under the spool, pull some out, until it's peeling off from over the top again. 

A few times like that, and you won't feel that jerk and stop anymore. (cause that braid will shear itself mid-cast)


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## clueless (Jul 15, 2010)

If I were in your shoes, I would go to 65# until I am able to cast without blowups or jerks and making sure the lines is laid down evenly across the spool. Only when I fee very comfortable and have no issues for few weeks and hundreds of casts, I will switch to 50#. The 525 in my opinion is to most forgiving reel out there.


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## Manlystanley (Sep 22, 2010)

Soild: That might have been the case. Several times I did catch a 'wisp', maybe I missed one.

Clueless: Good idea, but I bought a huge spool of this 50# braid on sale. I thought 50# was way overkill........


Best Regards,
Stan


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

Manlystanley said:


> Soild: That might have been the case. Several times I did catch a 'wisp', maybe I missed one.


Braid is so lightweight, it is very easy to get a loop that wraps forward on the spool at the end of a cast. (if that makes any sense) I used to do this a lot when I first started with braid. One day, I discovered I had a spool full of overlaps in the line, and when I started paying close attention, that's when I noticed the line position being under the spool at the end of some of my casts. Not enough to make a nest, but enought to notice, if you pay close attention.

Just a note - I am not familiar with the mag setup in a 525, but sometimes, the magnetic field arrangement has more to do with the quality of braking than the shear strength of the magnets. If your reel has multiple magnets in several banks, you may try playing with (actually reducing) the number of mags, and reversing polarity on every other one. My Abu 6500's like a 3 magnet arrangement, polarity reversed, centered in the banks. That has more braking range and power than 5 filled magnetic banks. Not sure if that will help your blow-ups, but it's something to consider if nothing else works out.


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## clueless (Jul 15, 2010)

Manlystanley said:


> Soild: That might have been the case. Several times I did catch a 'wisp', maybe I missed one.
> 
> Clueless: Good idea, but I bought a huge spool of this 50# braid on sale. I thought 50# was way overkill........
> 
> ...


50# for the 525 is perfect for those who are experienced. Use the 65# until you are comfortable and then switch to 50#. The advantage of the 65# when you get backlashes, it is much easier to untangle and also prevents these backlashes...
I hope you did not buy PowerPro..


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## Manlystanley (Sep 22, 2010)

clueless said:


> I hope you did not buy PowerPro..



Gulp....... Yep.... What did I get myself in for? It was on sale for $89. Here is what I got:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Powe...+1,500+Yards&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

clueless said:


> 50# for the 525 is perfect for those who are experienced. Use the 65# until you are comfortable and then switch to 50#. The advantage of the 65# when you get backlashes, it is much easier to untangle and also prevents these backlashes...
> I hope you did not buy PowerPro..


There is nothing wrong with either 50#, or PowerPro... When learning to cast, these are complete non-issues. (as opposed to say, technique...) If anything, I might have recommended starting with mono, but it's not that big of a deal.

I started casting braid with 35# Stealth braid. (long after mono, however) Stay focused on your practice and technique, keep what you've got.


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## clueless (Jul 15, 2010)

I respectfully disagree with you...I am still on the learning curve and I experienced the same issues as Stan. It's about forgiving. For example, the 65# line is a lot more forgiving than the 50#. The 50# lines will dig into the spool much much sooner than 65# and when you experience backlashes, it is a lot easier to fix it with 65# than 50#. Same apply to reels, the 525 is much more forgiving than Avet for example and same apply to rods.Techniques take time to learn and until then you should make it easier on yourself, so instead of wasting time solving problems and fighting backlashes, you better use this time to cast and get the experience.


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

Stick to mono. After you rip thru a couple hunderd $ worth of braid you will understand...


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## Shooter (Nov 14, 2004)

Mike nailed it on the head,,, buy a large cheap spool of mono,, say around 15 to 17lb test and study the correct way to cast,, I say correct because you can practice all day and night but if your doing it wrong you just learned a whole lot of wrong. There are 2 types of bait caster reels, ones that have blown up and ones that are going to, mono is so much easier to pick out the birds nest or cut them out over braid,,, without going into nightmare details I know that fact for a fact.

Now I aint sayn never use braid but for learning on mono is much eaier and cheaper.


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## Manlystanley (Sep 22, 2010)

Shooter: You're right! I've owned the conventional Penn 525 Mag for about 18 months. Man I've gone through mono..... But, I'm getting much better and it seems to be working much better. Thanks for the pointers!

Best Regards,
Stan


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## Manlystanley (Sep 22, 2010)

Just got in from two hours of casting. All the stuff that you guys have been telling me is finally sinking in. So far:

With my Penn 525 Mag, with Ocean Master 10' (1-4 Oz):

-- Tossing 3 Oz: Consistently 90 yards. 100 Yards very seldom.
-- Tossing 2 OZ: Consistently 70 yards.
-- Tossing 1 OZ: Consistently 35 Yards.


My back yard is only 100 yards wide, and I don't have any 4 oz sinkers. But, I'd think that I could increase the max distance to 110 years. Not bad for me.
With My BG25 & 9' Ugly stick (3/4 - 3 OZ):

--Tossing 3 OZ: Constently 80 Yards.
-- Tossing 2 OZ: Constently: 70 Yards.
-- Tossing 1 OZ: Constently: 50 yards.

I remeber someone telling me, that when you change weights (or wind conditions change), go to the max spool tightness and mag control. Then move down, and find the right setting. Man I found this to be true. When I went down to 2 OZ, got a medium birds nest. So, I've been following this technique and it really helps.

Cann't wait for fishing to start!! Last year was so frustating. This year will be lots more fun.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

Manlystanley said:


> I remeber someone telling me, that when you change weights (or wind conditions change), go to the max spool tightness and mag control.


Somebody lied to you. You've got mag control, you don't need anything more than the slightest hint of side play (knock) when you are in freespool. And I'm talking FEEL it, not SEE it. I don't care if you are dealing with 1 oz or 10 oz. The mechanical tension is only a minor tweak in this system, once you've got the sideplay adjusted. And it's not something you need to change everytime out. (only when you break down the reel will you have to fiddle with it again)

If you are cranking down the mechanical tension on the spool, you might as well just take the mag out of your reel, and turn it back into a bearing burner.


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