For long casts try braid with spinning gear.

[keithdog]

I just made my first trip to the pier on Lake Michigan to try for a few of those big Skamania steelhead which make their run upstream in the summer. Unfortunately for me, I shoulda been there yesterday. They were catching a lot of big boys. However, the wind switched since yesterday and the water was pretty dead today. Anyways, one interresting thing I learned today. Casting from the pier, you want to get as much distance on your cast as possible. This year I loaded my spinning reel with 30 pound Power Pro braid. I'd never seen braid used on the pier before, but thought I'd give it a try. I was very glad I did. My 6 1/2 foot medium heavy BPS Proqualifier rod was easily outcasting everyone on the pier. Everyone else was using some kind of mono as far as I could tell. Some of the steelhead diehards had rods made specifically to get good distance on your cast for this exact situation. But they couldn't come close to the distance I was getting with braid. Most of us were using pretty much the same spoon. A 5/8 - 3/4 oz teardrop spoon in bright orange. So it was a fair comparison. Just thought I'd share this for anyone needing the ultimate in long distance casting. Give it a try. I bet you'll be suprised.