# Killing My Thumb



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

Bought a used CTS 8-12 cut down from 13' to 12.5' with a Saltist 30H from a fellow member here. Never casted a conv before. 

Been watching some Tommy Farmer YouTube goodness trying to learn the groundcast as it looks to be one of the easier casts to start with. I keep throwing way to the right and I believe it is because I am releasing early. I have actually only cast about 7 times today (my first time with this rod) and had to stop because I'm about one cast away from ripping the flesh right off my thumb. Throwing 8oz. Once the rod starts to really load, I feel tremendous pressure under my thumb from the spool, and it starts to spin before I am ready to release (thus the giant blister after only a few casts). I am starting slow, too...not trying to put any real power behind the cast. 

Any pointers on what I could be doing wrong? Thanks!!


----------



## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

you are bringing the power in too early before the cast has time to develop. slow down and bring in the power a bit later after the rod has loaded.


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

that and get a leather thumb pad at one of the local bait shops and tighten down the drag on the cast then back it off to where you want it when you spike it


----------



## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

AbuMike said:


> you are bringing the power in too early before the cast has time to develop. slow down and bring in the power a bit later after the rod has loaded.


Mike is spot on with his advise. Try looking at the cast like driving a sports car through a long sweeping curve. Come in slow, go out fast. You need to get the rod pre loaded and the sinker moving before really applying the hit. You'll get the best results by waiting until the left hand (right handed caster) is out in front of your face and the right is just slightly in front of the right shoulder before applying the evil intent.... 

Surfchunkers advise about tightening down the drag is correct for a spinning reel but not on a casting reel.

Keep practicing, it will come.

Tommy


----------



## Hooked Up (Feb 6, 2009)

we cast 7,8 and 10s exclusively .....do you wrap the spool with your thumb or just use a partial print ?.........slow in fast out hit it late......smoothly.....no one i know uses a thumb condom for fishing..........how much rotation are you using...fishing cast or tournament otg ?.....Im pretty sure tommys videos are predominantly shown in tourament fashion...yall can correct me if im wrong......a 8oZ full rotation cast has no place on the beach....other then that its like mike said


----------



## Hooked Up (Feb 6, 2009)

btw early on 7 casts without a blow up would have been 2 months of casting for me..........i have and still am learning the hard way


----------



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

I am using full rotation as per Tommy's video (tip 280-degrees from target...search "groundcast" in YouTube). I am not sure how having less rotation would make the cast any safer on the beach. I feel the area around you needs to be vacant regardless. At any rate, no blow ups so far, so I guess I'm doing at least one thing right. 

At any rate, I don't feel like I'm really applying any power at this point. Ive been trying to take it really slow. I feel like the rod is loading just on rotation alone, before my left hand is in front of my face. I will practice more in the morning.


----------



## Hooked Up (Feb 6, 2009)

well its your thumb ..but if it was me ide cut the rotation to a sensible far more predictable ,controllable 220 ish fishing cast.....gluck and keep us posted on your progress


----------



## KEVIN (Feb 26, 2009)

Let the power build up and then hit it late...You are learning to cast conventional with a Ferrari...Take your time and back off of her a little...She(CTS) is a powerful rod and you have to take your time with her...


----------



## gilly21 (Feb 15, 2006)

Hooked Up said:


> .....no one i know uses a thumb condom for fishing..........


I have been chunking a heaver for nearly 10 years now. Concider myself one of the 3% on the sand. I use a finger condom. I cut bicycle inner tube to make sure I don't get spool slippage on hard hits with wet thumbs. Point being, its not sissy to ensure your grip on the spool. Do what you got to feel comfortable and get the best out of yourself. If I am a sissy for saying such, we can discuss on the sand! (Not calling you out Hooked just making sure the guy knows its ok to wear a condom :beer: especially just starting out)


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

I didn't wear one at first either but once and only once I forgot to put the knot on the side and didn't lift my thumb high enough and it sliced my thumb wide open with the dern knot ... lesson learnt real fast


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

and what they are talking about being safer is if it would break in mid cast your deadly flying weight might go flying down the beach into a crowd instead of out into the water


----------



## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Here are some Hatteras style casts from last winter while doing some heaver prototype testing. Up to 14 oz of weight and no thumby. I don't use a lot of rotation on my version of the Hatteras cast, only 200 degrees or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EkIDXEkfmQ

Tommy


----------



## Hooked Up (Feb 6, 2009)

i guess when i become part of the "3" percent crowd ill need one too......or maybe not


> Up to 14 oz of weight and no thumby


 i DO use a thumby when i tourament cast as ive been taught to ......agian no one i fish with uses one and yes some of them cast very well......but they arent trying to tourament cast from the beaches with 10 oz of lead bait and rig....not sure htf you have me saying its a sissy thing ..but hey we are here to twist words and create drama.......mods please remove my prior posts for i was stupid enough to pass on advice that was cleary wrong ......i apologize and will keep my posts to a minimum untill i can become one of the "3" percent


----------



## originalhooker (Nov 26, 2009)

some good advise above.
use the video's as a model, but find your own rhythm & subtle style. Tommy's physic & body maybe slightly different adding frustration.
"I am starting slow, too...not trying to put any real power behind the cast." if the reel is slipping you're adding power, start slower, have you used a blank similar to this? slow for one rod can be fast for another,,,
get a good feel for how your thumb lays on the reel naturally, parallel or angled L or R, put your knot on the opposite side, don't "over grab" the spool, also, having rough thumbs helps, soft skin & wet line will slip.
Casting w/out backlashes will add confidence, good on ya.


----------



## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Hooked Up said:


> i guess when i become part of the "3" percent crowd ill need one too......or maybe not i DO use a thumby when i tourament cast as ive been taught to ......agian no one i fish with uses one and yes some of them cast very well......but they arent trying to tourament cast from the beaches with 10 oz of lead bait and rig....not sure htf you have me saying its a sissy thing ..but hey we are here to twist words and create drama.......mods please remove my prior posts for i was stupid enough to pass on advice that was cleary wrong ......i apologize and will keep my posts to a minimum untill i can become one of the "3" percent


Jeff,

Just want to make sure we're on the same page here.....

In the video, I'm testing a fishing rod with heavy weight. I'm NOT using a thumby nor do i use one fishing. That being said, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with using thumb protection while casting/fishing. I use a thumby when tourney casting, the reason being that I'm trying to stay right on the razors edge of hitting it with all possible power. One mishap and the thumb is burned white without the thumby.

It hurts for days...lol

Do what works best for you.

Tommy


----------



## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

7.62 said:


> I am using full rotation as per Tommy's video (tip 280-degrees from target...search "groundcast" in YouTube). I am not sure how having less rotation would make the cast any safer on the beach. I feel the area around you needs to be vacant regardless. At any rate, no blow ups so far, so I guess I'm doing at least one thing right.
> 
> At any rate, I don't feel like I'm really applying any power at this point. Ive been trying to take it really slow. I feel like the rod is loading just on rotation alone, before my left hand is in front of my face. I will practice more in the morning.


A full 270 degree groundcast is a very powerful cast. It is right up there with a tournament pendulum. Please be careful on the beach, if you have a knot failure or a nick in the shockleader that sinker will fly right up the beach, potentially causing harm... or worse.

Make sure you are using a strong (60 lb) shockleader while performing a full on 270 degree groundcast (or any other powercast).

As has been stated, if you cannot control the slippage then the power is being applied to soon. Slow down and accelerate through to the finish.

Tommy


----------



## Hooked Up (Feb 6, 2009)

well if he wants to continue to use a tournament style cast with fishing rods and fishing weights then by all means i too would use a condom.......casting is alot about timing and youve taught us all alot about it for that im thankful.....i just think he would be way better off to put together a fishing rotation cast with a fishing rod slinging fishing weights....at which point i dont feel he would need the protection of a thumby


----------



## Tommy (Jan 24, 2001)

Hooked Up said:


> well if he wants to continue to use a tournament style cast with fishing rods and fishing weights then by all means i too would use a condom.......casting is alot about timing and youve taught us all alot about it for that im thankful.....i just think he would be way better off to put together a fishing rotation cast with a fishing rod slinging fishing weights....at which point i dont feel he would need the protection of a thumby


I agree,

I actually intended to add as part of my previous post that 7.62 should consider "unwinding" a bit and trying a beach or unitech cast before trying to perfect the full 270 degree groundcast.

My memory is a scary place these days....

Tommy


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

our dear departed friend Ant taught me the ground cast for crowded beaches is to lay the weight at your feet and just coming straight overhead


----------



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

OK...I'm back. I went out this morning and went down to 6oz and slowed down even more. All I had was a band-aid for the thumb so I used it. Casts went much more strait then before, but the rod wasn't loading good with 6oz, so I moved back to 8 (noticed my bandaid was quite torn up, though). Then it was blow-up city. 4 in a row, and by the time I finished getting the 4th bird's nest out, it was time to hang it up. Only afterward when I was trying to understand why I was suddenly getting backlashes did it hit me: I forgot to adjust the spool tension from when I was casting from 6oz. So my blow-ups really don't count!

Here is my goal: I am new at this and don't have an expectation of hitting 150+ with bait (though 100 or a little more would be nice...I think that is reasonable). I am going to Corolla on Friday for the week, and I want to get it out past the 3rd bar. I don't have to use the groundcast. I chose that because it looked relatively easy. If there is another cast I should work on, please point me to a good video demonstration of that cast so I can practice it.

I know that doing this a week before going to the beach is a bit ridiculous. I planned on getting out to practice long before now but just haven't had the time. I'm making the time, now.

I also have a 9' Penn Power Stick (spinning) rated 1-5oz. Perhaps I should start with that one, then break out the heaver.


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

the 1-5 is your meat rod and should be fished closer 

We will be down at the same time August 3-10 and are staying in Frisco if you wanna fish south of Oregon Inlet one day


----------



## Shooter (Nov 14, 2004)

Yea I know I am no distance caster but I am really good at blowing up :redface: so here is some guidance from one who has been there and wrote the book. I have found out when I really try hard to "bomb one out there" "Put the heat on it" "Launch it out of sight" and generally put all I have into it,,, I blow up 

When I take my time and work more on doing it right an make a correct cast I get about the same distance and dont have to worry about spending time picking out Don Kings hair doo 

Yes I know there are times when ya just have to get it over the last bar but spending half the day cutting line and respooling aint gonna catch fish either.


----------



## lrs (Mar 6, 2008)

There is a glove,that has almost a tacky surface. It's black and gray, I was told people who handle glass wear these. You could cut the fingers off of it for a thumby. I just use the whole glove. It makes a world of difference. 
Can't recall the brand name, but I bought several pairs at Home Depot.


----------



## dawgfsh (Mar 1, 2005)

7.65 As far as what cast. Try the Hatteras cast it's what most of us throw 8&bait with, including Tommy Farmer


----------



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

Dawg - any good tutorials on this cast? Videos, etc?

O.K. - Went out this evening to a ball field with the 12.5' 8-12oz and my 9' Penn Power Stick spinning setup. I never was able to cast the 9' very far before, but since I bought the heaver, I guess I've learned a little technique. Since I haven't done well at all with the heaver, I decided to start out with the 9'. After a few groundcasts, I was throwing 4oz 110 yards. I really couldn't believe it. I was only throwing it 50 last year. 

After that, I broke out the 12' and did worse than before. No blow ups because I remembered to set the spool tension correctly, but my casts were awful. Even though I am more comfortable with spinners, I can throw my little 7' baitcasters a country mile (relatively speaking), but for some reason I cannot get the hang of holding down a massive open faced spool correctly throwing 8oz on this 12.5' monster. It's just ripping out from my thumbs grip before I'm ready. I really am going as slow as possible, using much less rotation, etc. I am clueless.

If anyone here sees this that lives in the RVA area and wants to help a brother out, please send me a PM! Otherwise, I might have to leave the beast at home when I depart for Corolla on Saturday morning. I need some coaching.


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

I can maybe help you a bit if we can hookup a day down there but I'm no expert just average ... getting my stuff gathered tonite ... Filet knives are sharp !!!
I guess your not getting a permit ... for me it's cut the camper loose and hook it up real fast and go back to Buxton for my sticker ... low tide Friday is 2ish I believe and I'm going to try and least take a drive down 49 to have a peek


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

ok here is a question for ya, when you have the rod in your hand where is your thumb ... are you just keeping it on the back of the spool with most of your hand on the rod ? I believe you need just to grip it with your finger tips then have as much of your whole thumb on the spool not just the tip ... almost wraping the spool with your thumb


----------



## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

If you only fill your reel partway and leave at least 3/8 of an inch of spool showing two things will happen

It will be less likely to fluff up as the spool is releasing less line per revolution

It will no longer seem "massive" and it will be just another fishing reel 

Fellas using ABU 10000's fishing for Drum in the old days often only filled the reel half way to prevent backlashes and the standard for 9000's and 8600's was to leave 3/8 of an inch and presto no more backlashes

I would use lighter weights practicing until your fishing muscles have had time to evolve, if you are arms and legs akimbo you can really hurt yourself pulling a tendon or ligament or tearing a muscle, all of which has happened to me and some of the fellas I fish OBX with.

Casting a heaver is mostly timing and you can learn that without even letting go of the sinker, I do it most every day in my front yard I just go through the motions and never release the sinker, I also protect my thumb when practicing with rubber

I am not sure where you are planning on fishing but at places like the Point, most times you will be in the water to varying degrees of depth and so a ground cast is not applicable. Ground Cast is frowned upon on the planks too, since you can inadvertently hook up to the planks and cause a "Splinter Lash"


----------



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

surfchunker said:


> ok here is a question for ya, when you have the rod in your hand where is your thumb ... are you just keeping it on the back of the spool with most of your hand on the rod ? I believe you need just to grip it with your finger tips then have as much of your whole thumb on the spool not just the tip ... almost wraping the spool with your thumb


The first picture shows how I typically thumb the spool while casting. The second picture is how I think you're telling me to thumb it. The third picture shows what part of my thumb is taking the brunt of it. OK...nevermind. I guess you can't add a picture as an attachment?


----------



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

Garbo - Since I am planning to get the reel respooled when I get to Corolla, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get rid of half the line on there now, just to see if it makes a difference. I think surfchunker may be onto something...I may not be getting enough thumb on the spool. I certainly am not wrapping the spool with my thumb.

I did try 6oz, but felt the rod wasn't even beginning to load with that amount of weight.


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

have to put photo's on Photobucket or something then attach


----------



## 7.62 (Apr 15, 2011)

*Success!!*

OK - Surfchunker nailed it; I was placing my thumb incorrectly. Went out this evening to a high school practice field, placed my thumb at the top of the spool and chucked 8oz 130 yds after some warm ups with 6oz. The difference, as best as I can describe it, was that before I was "pressing" against the spool with my thumb, and this past time I was wrapping and pulling down with my thumb. Made all the difference in the world!

I only had about 45 minutes to cast, so I'm sure I could have hit better numbers if I had more time to practice. Guess I'll be "practicing" on the beach in a couple of days!

I was only using a 50# shocker for practice and had no breakoffs. I keep hearing 10# per oz of weight when on the beach; do I really need an 80# shocker??


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

most use 50-60 (but check often) and glad to hear I helped you and find out I'm not a ick or ahole after all as somebody stated ... see you in a few days


----------



## SteveZ (Nov 30, 2006)

7.62 said:


> do I really need an 80# shocker??


Nah...I use 50 for 10+bait. Glad ya got it figgered out.


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

Hey you helped me Steve and I helped him ... cool


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

just don't be tore up when you put a big chunk or head on there and only get half that distance ... Awesome still


----------



## SteveZ (Nov 30, 2006)

surfchunker said:


> Hey you helped me Steve and I helped him ... cool


Yup...what goes around comes around. Might be me next time...


----------



## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

it will ... maybe at Assateague too


----------

