Casting rod question

[gavin310]

Pretty inexperienced with casting rods. For reels I have a Cardiff 300a and an Abu Ambassadeur baitcasting reel.

For my rod I've been using a pretty bulky Ugly Stik casting rod. It just never felt good and I couldn't cast far and I just figured I wasn't getting the hang of conventional reels. But then I got an 8'6" casting rod made for steelhead as a gift. I gave it a try and it felt way better. I could cast farther and it didn't feel awkward working the lure.

So my question is, I think it's obvious I just need a better casting rod and I should improve, so what should I look for in a casting rod? I want good casting distance and also light weight. I'll be using it for stripers and also halibut in the surf. Mainly using LuckyCrafy FlashMinnow 110s.

Any recommendation? Are Turners California rods any good for this?

Thanks for helping a casting rod noob.

[bsp]

You'll want a mod-fast crankbait rod then if it'll be dedicated to chucking jerkbaits for stripers and halibut. You really have a lot of choices in this market depending on how much you want to spend. I've got a Phenix X-10 and the X-12 I am currently using, and they are both killer halibut rods. High end crankbait rods are very sensitive, and they load up well with lures (mod fast action) so you can use a 7' or 7'6" rod and get plenty of casting distance. They're also very light like you wanted. Pay attention to guides too. Fuji Alconites or SICs are what you want.

If Phenixs are out of your price point, the Turner's rods are a very good value if you pick them up on sale for $40. They're a decent value at $100, but at their sale price they are definitely worth it.

[gavin310]

Thanks bsp. That's great info. Since work has been slow the Phenix rods are too pricey right now. Probably $80 give or take some would be my price range. But if I'm not gonna get good quality for that range I'll spend more. I also like the rods where the butt handle is in 2 pieces like the Phenix casting rods. Don't know if that's just for looks but it looks good ;)

[bsp]

Phenixs are relatively pricey, but you do get what you pay for. That said, you've got several good options in your price bracket! I actually wouldn't recommend going more expensive if you can't hit around $200. You'll do fine with the $80-$100 rods until/if you decide to upgrade. Abu Vendettas, BPS Carbonlites, Falcon Bucoos, Wright and McGill Tesseras, and for about $100 St. Croix Mojo Bass series. Take a look at those. I am fairly certain they all have a cranking model in the line up, and not out of your price range either.

[sawoobley]

The longer the rod the longer you will be able to cast. Perfecting your casting technique will also add many yards to your cast.

I am pasting below my response to another thread below. It contains two links that may lead you in the right direction. I also like this link ( http://breakawayusa.com/shop/rods.htm ) because it has a figure that shows the relationship between rod length and cast weight to the relative distance you will be able to cast. I also posted another link of a forum that is dedicated to distance casting and searching this forum can give you ideas of how to improve even if you are not getting in the sport of distance casting.

An Abu Garcia 6500CS on the right 10' rod can easily let you cast over 100 yards.

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Another idea is to get into distance casting. I have dreamed about this and while not the most practical it does sound fun, in a way. If you use lures 3/4 to 3 oz you could get a good surf casting rod (10-11') with a spinning reel (i.e. http://breakawayusa.com/shop/rods.htm). The reel has a longer spool (to reduce the depth of line released from the spool) and shorter spool lip than regular ones (to reduce friction). I believe it is best to use heavy braided or firewire line as the diameter is much smaller than mono (match the diameter of the mono you would have used). Attach a Breakaway Cannon to keep the bail from closing while casting and a finger guard to hold the line while casting. There are the aerodynamics of the lure to consider, etc. Finally, you must learn the proper casting techniques (i.e. the overhead cast, off the ground cast, ground cast, pendulum cast, Hatteras cast, etc.) Achieving casts of 100-150 yards is not uncommon with practice. You basically need to find a field to practice on and measure your distance.

For example:

- Daiwa Tournament SS Spinning Reel
- Shimano Sustain® FE Spinning Reel
- Daiwa Emcast Plus
* Daiwa Emblem Pro Spinning Reels *

If you are going to use heavier lures in the 3-5 or 4-8oz range (which seems unlikely for freshwater, at least to me) you would use a conventional casting reel with a good 12-13' surf casting rod (i.e. http://breakawayusa.com/shop/rods.htm) loaded with mono line. With this setup a cast of 150+ yards could easily be achieved and 200 yards is also within the realm of reality.

Reel:

- Penn 525Mag (You could change out the stainless steel bearings for special balanced ceramic bearings to increase distance).

Apparently this is a sport in and of itself on the east coast and south around Texas and Florida. I have not heard much about it in southern California. The only thing I can think of is that most of our fish in the ocean must be closer to shore and we do not have as many of the big fish between 100-250 yards from shore.

This may not be practical but I like to think of new ways to push the limits.

Since many of us use spinning reels already why not get one that is a little more gear towards a longer cast such as the Daiwa Tournament SS Spinning Reel which is fairly inexpensive yet rugged instead of the reels that are short with a huge lip on them?

There is a forum dedicated to this subject (distance casting):
http://pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum...splay.php?f=11

Anyways, back to our regular programming...

[bsp]

Those set ups are actually used for catching sharks or large bat rays from shore around here (check out the beach near Gladstone's in Malibu), but even then those come in close enough that a 9' jig stick is plenty length. I caught my largest leopard shark from shore on an 8' rod, Penn Jigmaster (not too fancy, I know), and a 4oz weight. I cast out about 50yds right into where a trough emptied into a bowl. Sure bombing out is kind of fun, but most fish here live close in and relate to structure. If you cast that far for halibut, you would be casting over the fish. You only need around 25 yards max to get into halibut territory.

[flyforfish21]

Gavin,

I have a 7'10" telescoping Shimano Clarus that would work well for the lc's. Its a medium, fast action, has some give in the tip, but plenty of backbone. I bought it for bombing lc's in the surf but just never get out there. You can take it for $70, its brand new, only casted once at a city park lake to try it out. Let me know.

check out the specs here, all the way at the bottom (it telescoped down to under 7', pretty portable)
http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descp...NO-SHCLCR.html

Flyforfish21

[sawoobley]

Thanks for the response bsp.

25-50 yards should be fairly easy for most anyone casting 4 oz.

Learning to read to ocean to find structure is key. I found a few threads with pictures that have been helpful.