# surf casting technique



## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

I'm going to be surf fishing for the 1st time this spring as I've always been a pier fisherman. I came across this video on casting technique. What do youall think? He says that a 12 foot rod is
better than a 10 ft rod in using this technique. . The actual demonstration cast starts about minute 6 but he describes the rational behind the cast before that. I'm thinking of buying a Tsunami Airwave 12' or should I go with the elite model?

http://surf-fishanybeach.com/surf-fishing-techniques/surf-casting-150-yards-the-easy-way/


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## big brother (May 15, 2002)

The gentleman is basically a one arm caster. type "tommy farmer" into your search engine and watch some of his video's. 
charlie


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

my 2c, i would start with an off the ground cast and go from there. if people are around then just overhead thump unless u have had a chance to hit the field and practice before u hit the beach


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

I hope you are all alone on the beach with this because in a crowd you are asking for trouble.


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## offroad (Sep 16, 2011)

when your done with all the long distance casting techniques, try a flip cast in the suds ..... you'll catch more fish !!


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

greg12345 said:


> my 2c, i would start with an off the ground cast and go from there. if people are around then just overhead thump unless u have had a chance to hit the field and practice before u hit the beach



yep,with his outward drop,then a second time you're pretty much screwed in the surf... With 8nbait it could be trouble,on the planks OR in the surf... Jmho,do what this quote says...


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Spend a little time learning the basic fundamentals of casting. 

Get your arms away from your body and keep them extended as you turn into the cast. Learn to PULL with your left at least equal to (if not more so) than the right punch, and pull _late_ in the cast. This is probably the hardest fundamental skill to master in casting. Wait until the left is out in front of your face before applying a late hit (PULL). This is more important than ANY swing of the sinker and allows you to cast hard and far in relative safety to others. The late hit has you applying force to an already moving sinker giving a smooth burst of acceleration when it counts.....

Tie good knots and use a shockleader with at least 6-8 wraps on the spool.

Tommy


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

I don't plan to try surf fishing for the first time with anyone close by. I think that's kind of common sense. I don't really get why this technique is so dangerous though. But I think the off the ground
method looks better for me.


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## pods (Sep 10, 2013)

If you are swinging the sinker in a large arc, it will be accelerated parallel to the beach. So a break off will send the sinker down the beach and not out in the ocean.
An OTG cast will eliminate that possibility and you will get plenty of distance with that. I place it on the ground at like 1 o clock position and it works well (if 12 is towards the land and 6 is the ocean). Still can send them right with an early breakoff, but it would still go out in the ocean. If there are swimmers, you can just go straight back.
Aim high when you release too and you will be amazed at how far it flies.


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

HH,

I'm not implying at all that he's demonstrating a dangerous technique. Actually what he's doing is very much overhead without a lot of sidearm motion.

If you want to learn how to cast farther then the most important thing is to learn how to hit the rod properly. I'd recommend practicing a simple layback groundcast (sinker on the ground behind you with NO slack in leader) until you get the hang of turning into the cast with arms extended and then applying a late hit. Once mastered, this fundamental can be applied to any powercasting style with success.

Hope this helps,

Tommy



hugehail said:


> I don't plan to try surf fishing for the first time with anyone close by. I think that's kind of common sense. I don't really get why this technique is so dangerous though. But I think the off the ground
> method looks better for me.


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

How much distance between the rod tip and the ground ? If its too much then I would think that you would not get as much power into the swing--rod tip not pointed down. But if its too little, then I see
problems there too. 



Tommy said:


> HH,
> 
> I'm not implying at all that he's demonstrating a dangerous technique. Actually what he's doing is very much overhead without a lot of sidearm motion.
> 
> ...


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

HH,

Toss the sinker on the ground behind you. Extend back when you toss so there is no slack in the shock leader. Extend arms away from your body, left (assuming right handed) hand about chin height. Adjust the right so the rod tip is pointing at the sinker (recheck NO slack). You now have a nice launch angle set. Turn into the cast (learn to "uncoil" lower body, torso, shoulders and arms last) looking up at your target (45 deg up in the sky NOT the water) keeping the arms extended until left hand is in front of your face/forehead. Now PULL with the left as you PUNCH with the right.

There you go, secret revealed..... 

Tommy




hugehail said:


> How much distance between the rod tip and the ground ? If its too much then I would think that you would not get as much power into the swing--rod tip not pointed down. But if its too little, then I see
> problems there too.


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

Oh I see now. The sinker is not hanging down, its way out past the rod tip on the ground with the rod tip pointing at the sinker. I was under the impression that the sinker is hanging straight down from the rod tip before casting. But I see why the method you are describing is better because you can point the rod downward instead of horizontally.



Tommy said:


> HH,
> 
> Toss the sinker on the ground behind you. Extend back when you toss so there is no slack in the shock leader. Extend arms away from your body, left (assuming right handed) hand about chin height. Adjust the right so the rod tip is pointing at the sinker (recheck NO slack). You now have a nice launch angle set. Turn into the cast (learn to "uncoil" lower body, torso, shoulders and arms last) looking up at your target (45 deg up in the sky NOT the water) keeping the arms extended until left hand is in front of your face/forehead. Now PULL with the left as you PUNCH with the right.
> 
> ...


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## RocknReds (Jun 13, 2010)

Follow Tommy's advice and you'll be OK - don't listen to the nay sayers.


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

Thanks for the pointers. I hope I like surf fishing after all this preparation and buying gear. My father hates it and says I won't like it. I've been pier fishing at Nags Head since 1975 as a child When I retire in 13 years I plan on living near the beach and doing a lot of fishing. "Storm chasing", or storm observing as I like to call it, will have lost its appeal by then. Actually, its already rapidly losing its sparkle even though I've been doing it since the early 90s.


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

There are many styles and methods of casting. The real point I'm making here is to learn how to properly hit the rod. The hit is more important than the type of cast (OTG, pendulum, hatteras) and once you learn how to load and hit a rod, you can effectively cast any style with a little practice.

Tommy


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

Is there is trick to keeping your bait on for such a powerful cast, especially shrimp?


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Shrimp can be tricky but is doable at long range. The secret lies in the next fundamental.....

In slow, out fast.

Kinda like driving a sports car through a curve, you don't put your foot on the floor going in. You accelerate through the curve coming out with your foot down. Think of the cast that way. Accelerate and finish with a hard punch pull late. By accelerating the shrimp and not just crushing it from the start you increase the odds of keeping the bait on the hook.

Tommy


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

Ill keep that in mind. I plan to use 2 pieces of bait, a fishbite along with a small piece of fresh real bait. That way, if the fresh bait comes off on the cast, I at least have a fish bite on there and dont have to recast.


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

keep the shell on the shrimp...but most things that eat shrimp will also eat a flea....and a flea stays on 1000x better...fleas and finger mullet heads are the best for staying on a hook.


i left the piers for the surf several years ago and will never go back...love the surf so much more


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

Ive been combing the net and this is the closest I can find to the ground cast that you are talking about. No one seems to cast from straight behind, they all use an arc greater than 180 degrees. This is the The Easy Cast off ground surfcasting method demonstrated by John Holden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f12rBB-mgDU


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

I like this John Holden demonstration starting at minute 4. He used the cast that you are talking about, then he adds rotation past 180 deg to 200 deg, then he talks about the pendulum cast last last.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsaMhIIoL_M

jf


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

OTG cast is usually with an arc >180 degrees but best used on a deserted beach, you can do a OTG cast with the lead straight back at 180 degrees and this is safer in a crowd, downside is less arc, less acceleration/loading of the rod, and less distance.

will you be throwing conventional or spinning? if spinning I would recommend getting a breakaway cannon...best 30 bucks i ever spent


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

I couldnt afford a breakaway right now. I bought two spinning rods and one reel:

10 ft St Croix Triumph and 12 ft Tsunami Airwave. I will use the Penn 5500 reel.


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## pods (Sep 10, 2013)

greg12345 said:


> OTG cast is usually with an arc >180 degrees but best used on a deserted beach, you can do a OTG cast with the lead straight back at 180 degrees and this is safer in a crowd, downside is less arc, less acceleration/loading of the rod, and less distance.
> 
> will you be throwing conventional or spinning? if spinning I would recommend getting a breakaway cannon...best 30 bucks i ever spent


Not to hijack this thread but when using the cannon do you still have to tighten the drag?


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

There are several reasons I teach the "lay back" ground cast. It is an easy way to learn the mechanics of a proper hit and it can be easily modified to a much more powerful cast by simply adding rotation with the body and by adding a sharper angle between the rod tip and the shock leader. Another reason I teach this cast is that it is the best way to learn a "hatteras cast", which is basically an areolized straight back version of the ground cast.

Tommy


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

a beakaway cannon costs 30 bucks and you tape or zip tie (my method) to your rod. it allows you to NOT have to tighten your drag when u cast (3 wraps is what i use) and allows you a clean precise release every time which adds yards to your cast.

i use it on my pomp rods when i fish braid, it really shines for this, my mainline is 15lb PP SS with a 30-40 lb braid casting leader...95% of the time i am throwing a special 3oz sputnik type sinker which can hold in almost anything worth pomp fishing for


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

http://www.amazon.com/Breakaway-BC1-Cannon-Cast-Aid/dp/B005ZSG02O

4.9 stars out of 5....dunno why anyone would rate it less than 5

now while this really shines for braid i also use it with heavy mono shocks and it is great for that as well....


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

I went out in a field yesterday with my 12 ft Tsunami Airwave and tried to use the tecqhiques described here. I guess I did ok. All my casts were between 90 and 100 yds.
However, it seems like all my casts went to the right of the intended target.


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## phillyguy (Aug 9, 2010)

hugehail said:


> I went out in a field yesterday with my 12 ft Tsunami Airwave and tried to use the tecqhiques described here. I guess I did ok. All my casts were between 90 and 100 yds.
> However, it seems like all my casts went to the right of the intended target.


Just like I do on the golf course, just keep aiming further left until hit the fairway!


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

hugehail said:


> I went out in a field yesterday with my 12 ft Tsunami Airwave and tried to use the tecqhiques described here. I guess I did ok. All my casts were between 90 and 100 yds.
> However, it seems like all my casts went to the right of the intended target.


Could be a couple of things but most likely just an early release. You can also try shortening your drop by 4-6", that sometimes helps to straighten out casts that consistently fly right.

Tommy


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## hugehail (May 25, 2013)

I was using a very long drop because I thought that would give me more distance. Maybe it was too long.


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

A longer drop helps distance to a point. After that the casts start to feel "soft" and the sinker tends to fly right of target. Try shortening the drop 4" at a time until you find your sweet spot.

Tommy


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## buckstand (Sep 17, 2014)

Breakaway Cannon.....not a Breakaway Rod

http://www.breakawayusa.com/products/accessories/cannon/

Cabela's also sells them


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## buckstand (Sep 17, 2014)

Breakaway Cannon.....not a Breakaway Rod

http://www.breakawayusa.com/products/accessories/cannon/

Cabela's also sells them


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