# Need help on getting more distance



## cfishigotu (Aug 27, 2003)

Guys,

I do a lot of the ASAC surf tournaments here in New Jersey. Some of the guys in the tournaments (Gary Borne) can thow near the same as some of the pro's here. But, he is a hard man to get in contact with. He uses a Saltiga and 13.6 custom rod. But, I do not have the other details.

I currently have a Spinning combo of a Tica Dolphin with a 11 foot Sunami. I get a respectable 300 feet just at or over the bar. I want to get further and would like to invest in a better combination without going crazy with $$$.

I am willing to spend several hundred dollars if needed. Can some one make a suggestions to me to make the next step?

Thanks

Carl Hartmann
Vice President, HRFA


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## Flame Thrower (Nov 17, 2004)

Carl,

I fish with Gary quite often and he is truly an awesome fishermen. But the combo you speak of is not what he uses. Until this year he used mainly the 1418 blanks from Rainshadow with a Tica Dolphin reel. This year he switched to the CTS SURF3-6 blank which is correct at 13 1/2 feet. But he mainly used the Tica Dolphin reels in the high speed version. 

So you have half of the combo he has. If you really feel that you need a 13 1/2 foot rod PM me and i'll get him to make one for you. He was away in Mexico roster fishing and just got back this past weekend.

There is a learning curve going from an 11 foot rod to a 13 plus foot monster rod. I would suggest throwing one before deciding on purchasing that kind of rod. Don't just put a weight on and throw it, load it with a fishing sinker, hook, simulated bait, and typical leader. Many a person has been fooled by throwing just the sinker only to find out the rod is to much for them to handle. Then you have a $400 dust collector in the corner of the room. Throwing a fully baited setup into other conditions such as the wind should also be considered. If you have trouble loading the rod under normal conditions what happens when you add say a 20 + mile hour east breeze, like the one on the day of the last ASAC surf tournament in SeaSide.

Just my 2 cents.


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

carl,you have the right reel already.are you using braid?
a 12'-13' rod is the next step.breakaway,cts,afaw to name a few,make very good distance rods.
check out tommy farmers videos(carolina cast pro).
but the best thing is to see if you can hook up with a good caster in your area and practice with him.
if you get down brigantine way,let me know and we will hit the beach!:fishing:
kurt
vice president njbba


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## markedwards (Jan 29, 2001)

flamethrower giving sound advice? be honest who's there with you? gary? stan?  how are ya bud? how was the trip?

Carl i couldn't give any better advice than what has already been said. and i will second the braid advice.


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## luv_2_fish_2 (Dec 2, 2008)

Talk to Tommy (Carolina Cast Pro) about the 6-n-bait 13' spinning rod. If I did not have the HDX already, I would have bought this one rod.

From my own experience with the HDX spinning rod and the Daiwa Emblem Pro, I feel I can do much better distance wise with the AFAW 6-n-bait. 
HDX is a harder rod to bend. Until I can practice enough to get this rod to bend, I won't be able to utilize the full potential out of the HDX. 

From the feedback of the folks that have thrown the afaw 6-n-bait rods, this rod is much easier to bend and have good rod tip to detect fish bites.


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## billr87 (Jan 13, 2008)

the HDX is a difficult rod to cast if you are not a big caster. the LDX would have been a better choice. you can get gary to build you a rod, or call tommy. the AFAW are very good rods and are made in several sizes. talk to tom and he will be glad to advise you.


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## outfishin28 (Jul 15, 2005)

practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice. then when you have done that practice some more.Distance can be bought to a certain degree. However practicing will improve your distance tenfold. I am sure Tommy will chime in with some pointers as well. Take a video camera with you and then watch your casts for faults.


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

you are right about practicing but you still need good gear.
if he gets a nice rod to go with his reel and braided line,then he will be practicing with a purpose.


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## Shooter (Nov 14, 2004)

Much like in anything else you can practice tillyour finger bleed but if you practice wrong it does no good,,,, Cfish,, you nailed it on the head when you were looking for someone to show you the right way to throw. Sometimes just a simple little trick such as holding your arms straight or starting your cast off slow and building up speed and punching it at the correct time will make hugh differences,,, looking at the sky when you let it fly will make it get the best arc. The only way to learn right is to have someone who KNOWS how to do it right and teach you.

I learned more on how to cast *correctly* in one day with Tommy than I did in years doing it all wrong. *aint sayn I always still cast right but I do try*


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## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

cfishigotu said:


> Guys,
> 
> I do a lot of the ASAC surf tournaments here in New Jersey. Some of the guys in the tournaments (Gary Borne) can thow near the same as some of the pro's here. But, he is a hard man to get in contact with. He uses a Saltiga and 13.6 custom rod. But, I do not have the other details.
> 
> ...


*Tommy*


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## fishedn (Aug 18, 2008)

Shazamm


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## cfishigotu (Aug 27, 2003)

Guys,

I borrowed my friends custom rod made by Gary. He has a Breakaway blank at 12 feet 3 inches using 30 pound power pro and a Diawa Abyss. Using a four ounce bank sinker I was able to cast (off the ground) from the goal line of a grass football field near my town and proceeded to go thru the field goal uprights on the other end and going about another 50 -75 feet. So, I figured that I was getting near 400 feet in total with a 10 MPH wind at my back. Not too shabby.

Anyway, the problems I had were that the sinker went into the ground about six inches and it was hard to retrieve. Also, I felt that the sweet weight for this rod was another ounze or so. I next put on a 5 ounze bank sinker and gave it a shot. SNAP!!!! The line snapped because of no shock leader. A few seconds later I heard it racing through the woods. I guess this one went very far.

It was getting dark and now the field is like tundra. However, it was a learning experience and now know what to expect. Thanks for your help guys.

Carl


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## junkmansj (Jul 23, 2005)

Use a la crosse ball or a Baseball Weighs about 5 oz,drill hole thru ball tie 80-100# power pro onto a 3/0- 4/0 treble hook push line thru ball and hammer treble in and add a swivel. if you need more weight drill a larger hole and use a sinker instead of a treble


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## luv_2_fish_2 (Dec 2, 2008)

*I like to start out with mono rather than braid...*

Using the baseball and shock leader are good ideas. When I did not use shock leader, I have to spend time to re-hooking the casting setup and digging out the sinker...more time to practice casting is better...If you want to use the sinker, perhaps you can hammer in a nail to add more resistance to deep sinking of the sinker.

I like to practice with mono line better than braid:

-Mono line is thicker and force you more toward learning good techniques and improving strength. 
-Where I fish with fellow fishers, braid is not welcome, so I have to mimic the fishing condition that I will be dealing with. 
-Mono line is a lot less expensive than braid. If it break off and losing line, $lost is minimized 
-If anything, start out with mono, you will feel much better when you cast with braid (you can see the distance improvement and the sense of achievement).


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