Casting Mechanics

[HarveysMinnow]

If you’re one of those “Dammit, I’m busy – get to the point!!” types, you may want to do yourself a favor and just close this post and forget it, because I feel a spell of long-windedness overtaking me. For those who do decide to wade through this, please refrain from drawing the conclusion that I’m trying to establish myself as an expert by submitting such a long and detailed posting.

Expertise and the duration of one’s experience probably go hand in hand in many cases, but I refuse to believe that 50 years of fishing for Bass have made me an expert Bass fisherman. If anything, I have probably just repeated the same mistakes again and again, for longer than many of our forum members have been alive. However, all the years of fishing and thinking about fishing have allowed me to make certain observations, and perhaps having the ability and the willingness to write coherent (well, maybe semi-coherent) descriptions of these observations sets me apart from some of you who have similar thoughts but just don’t choose to comment at great length, if at all. Time and other factors become limitations, and even though I have time, I guarantee that if it were no so freakin’ hot, I would be out fishing, rather than writing about it.

I was about 12 when I got my first spinning reel – a ‘Bronson Buddy’ from the Sears catalog. Other than the Mitchell 300 that my uncle owned, it was the only spinner I had ever seen, let alone used. Before that, fishing had been the bamboo pole, live redworms, and bobber scenario. As I recall, this Bronson reel cost about $3.95, making it a low-end model even in those uninflated days. For some long-forgotten reason, I spooled it with 10-lb monofiliment, and from the first cast, it was obvious that this early nylon line was far too ‘springy’ for this reel. But buying different (hopefully better) line was not an option at that moment, so I knew I would have to find some way to live with it.

After several casts in which the line came off in spiraling coils, my sense of logic told me that I was going to need to keep tension on this line as I reeled in, otherwise I would soon have a tangled mess. So, I developed the habit of choking up on the rod slightly with my casting hand, so that I could grasp the line between my first and second fingers while cranking in the bait. I still use this grip today, even though the newer and more forgiving lines don’t require as much effort to avoid tangles. This practice may have been unorthodox, but it also taught me that grasping the line in this manner offered far better ‘sensitivity’ to anything touching my bait. Back then, rod sensitivity was not a major issue, since most rods were fiberglass and were sort of ‘mushy’ feeling anyway.

At the risk of igniting a firestorm, I’m going to say that (from my perspective), rod sensitivity is overrated these days. When you think about it, the line is what transmits the impulses we feel when the fish takes the bait. Holding the line between two fingers allows me to feel these vibrations and it effectively negates the need for a super-sensitive rod. Perhaps some of you will want to try this and comment on your thoughts about this.

Another thing I find curious is the way some right-handed fishermen cast with their right hands and then change hands, so they can also retrieve with their right hands. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference again, but it certainly looks awkward to me, since I cast right handed and crank left handed. It seems that changing hands right after the bait hits the water could provide a moment when the user might miss a bite now and then. Other thoughts / opinions are invited.


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