Casting Accuracy

[TnTom]

How accurate can you cast and does that accuracy change when you lay down one rod and pick up another. I can usually hit an 18" circle from 40' 75% of the time with a particular rod but not necessarily every rod on the boat.
What would really accurate casting actually be? I hear about folks in the pro circuit hitting a coffee cup at 100' every time. How about the once a week fisherman.
If rod A is a little more expensive than rod B, is rod A likely to be more accurate. What if it's a lot more expensive?

Sorry for changing the question after folks already voiced an opinion.

[cassidyta]

I am sure that there will be people who disagree with me on this one, but I don't believe that accuracy has anything to do with the rod. (Not if they are the same in length, weight, and speed.)
Most of my rods are in the mid to high range on price, but this is due to sentasitivity and durability more than accuracy.
I would guess that some of the higher end rods make it easier to "load up" but that really only matters on long casts anyways.

[skeeter944]

Accuracy has nothing to do with gear, accuracy is just like throwing a football. It takes time and hard work to be able to place your bait where you want it. Alot of people practice pitching and flipping, but I really dont hear of people practicing their regular casting, roll casts, backhands, etc.

[Racemaster33]

I agree. You can be accurate with a pool stick with you reel taped to it if you practice with it enough. The rods are better/worse for performance but not accuracy.

[Love of the Sport]

I agree that accuracy isn't dictated by the gear to a point. A consistant casting reel will help your accuracy a bit unless you have a habbit of overcasting and manually slowing the bait with your thumb on the spool. As for rods, I believe its just a matter of getting used to them.

[BigBassin144]

For the most part, think accuracy comes wiyth practice. But general, when it comes to rods, a shorter rod will be more accurate. So a 6'6" rod is going to be a bit more accurate than a 7' rod if all the other specs are the same.

BB

[Bassboss]

Depends. If a rod has a little more flex in the tip, than you can probably cast further. I also think more line guides help, it gives you better control. The reel does though. A reel can have more bearing, and the spool the more bearings will help because there is less friction on the spool, causing more distance, ans better accuracy. I like every one says, it has more to do with the person. You can have the best rod and reel in the world, and still not be able it hit the broad side of barn if you've never cast before.

[TnTom]

I made a change to the initial post. Tried to be a little more specific.

So far the replies are interesting. I agree and think performance is really more relative to a specific rod (including cost).

As stated and agree you can improve accuracy of any rod if practiced.

I think the basic rod performance factor is fixed and probably improves as cost goes up. Is accuracy part of performance?

[muddy]

Originally Posted by BigBassin144

For the most part, think accuracy comes wiyth practice. But general, when it comes to rods, a shorter rod will be more accurate. So a 6'6" rod is going to be a bit more accurate than a 7' rod if all the other specs are the same.

BB

With continued practice you can become equally proficient and accurate with any size rod. I have made the jump from 6'6" and in less than a full season I was as accurate as when I was throwing the shoter sticks, spinning and casting .

Good Way to Practice: Use a casting plug get 3 old fashioned inner tubes , have them inflate and put ropes on them,place them in a pond, close to each other and get to the point where at 30 to 35 yards you can put a bait in a specific inner tube at will.
This old dawg, learned that from a kid, old dawgs can sometimes learn new tricks, IF THEY ARE WORTH LEARNING!

[Baron49]

I don't think an an expensive rod v/s a cheap rod makes that much difference in accuracy, but a smooth reel can effect it a lot. I have used some really awful reels over the past 40 years and have found paying a little extra for a quality reel that is smooth and consistent all the time, with either centrifugal or magnetic brakes that also work properly will increase the degree of accuracy from pitching and flipping to long casts.

An example would be casting to holes or pockets that are a long cast to reach with a floating frog. A good smooth reel allows you to reach these holes easily and accurately. An educated thumb is a big help too....so taking time to practice is a good thing as well.

[muddy]

For me casting is all about the rod,I never had a really bad fishing reel, so I dont know about that one.The rod, is the tool that loads up and flings the bait through the air, I guess a damaged sticky reel could hinder this, but thats not a function of quality but of repair.

[Baron49]

I agree a better quality rod may cast with marginally more accuracy then a cheaper one, but you can adapt to any rod with practice. What you cannot adapt to is a cheaply built reel that does not perform properly. Many years ago I could not afford the quality of reels I use today and found it very frustrating to use a reel that did not work well. You get what you pay for and a good quality reel makes a lot of difference in casting accuracy and dependability.

[muddy]

I think durability and drag is improved with more money.
There is not much difference in the casting of:
Cabelas Prodigy ( older pinncale style one)
BPS Extreme
Pflueger Trion
ABU Round reels
...all of which I have used a lot, there are major differences in drag performance and durability however.

[TnTom]

Originally Posted by Love of the Sport

I agree that accuracy isn't dictated by the gear to a point. A consistant casting reel will help your accuracy a bit unless you have a habbit of overcasting and manually slowing the bait with your thumb on the spool. As for rods, I believe its just a matter of getting used to them.

When I find my favorite reel at a price that I can't resist I can affirm the degree of things improve.

When I lay down one rod and pick up an alternate I try to remember to throw it a few times in a direction away from my target if I really have a specific target in mind. The repetition gives me a little more confidence that I wont miss by 2 feet.

The more rods I use I find the "practice" of a couple of test casts helps reduce inaccuracy. It pays dividends when the risk of losing a favorite bait lessens. Those who have the fortune of fishing everyday this would be overkill for sure.
Really doesn't have anything to the price of the rod. I'd take it to the bank that if its a rod not well balanced it wouldn't even be in the boat.

Repetition,repetition,repetition.

It's also very obvious when equipment gets neglected the accuracy slowly diminishes or at least things change. I recently scooped another favorite reel,used but new for all practical purposes, the distance increase was all too measurable. Conclusion: my other identical reels have dirty bearings
And thanks again

[Baron49]

Originally Posted by muddy

For me casting is all about the rod,I never had a really bad fishing reel, so I dont know about that one.The rod, is the tool that loads up and flings the bait through the air, I guess a damaged sticky reel could hinder this, but thats not a function of quality but of repair.

Hard to know about casting accuracy with a bad or poorly constructed reel if you have never used one.

Some of the cheap reels use brass shims instead of bearings on the spool shaft, worm drives that use plastic pawls, out of round spools, cheap misaligned gears, plastic gears, some of the bearings fall apart jamming the reel, most of these work only after tearing them down and hitting everything with oil, but will dry out quickly limiting their casting range. These cheap reels are nightmares to use, but are available in bubble packages hanging on the racks of most discount retail stores.

My first big step up was to buy an Abu Garcia 6000C and a Penn 920 back in the late 70's and my casting abilities and accuracy have been improving ever since, especially with the new Abu Garcia Revo line of reels.

[muddy]

I gotcha Baron: I used mostly spinning gear until 2007, so I have not gone through the whole selection process you have over the years, gotcha now. You may want to put up what some of the troublesome reels were, in case that's what he's using.

I came across a 1970's ABU 5000C recently, WHAT A REEL, I sent it on to a friend. I am currently hooked on the 5600WS, I will be staying with these.

[Baron49]

Originally Posted by TnTom

It's also very obvious when equipment gets neglected the accuracy slowly diminishes or at least things change. I recently scooped another favorite reel,used but new for all practical purposes, the distance increase was all too measurable. Conclusion: my other identical reels have dirty bearings
And thanks again

Might not be dirty bearings, just bearings that might need a little oil? When was the last time you took those reels apart and cleaned and oiled them? Makes a huge difference in how they perform.

Sorry to hi jack your thread. Have started another one on reels so you can continue with this one on casting accuracy and rods.

[TnTom]

Originally Posted by Baron49

Might not be dirty bearings, just bearings that might need a little oil? When was the last time you took those reels apart and cleaned and oiled them? Makes a huge difference in how they perform.

Sorry to hi jack your thread. Have started another one on reels so you can continue with this one on casting accuracy and rods.

No sweat. I saw it. And I think reels are definitely more applicable to casting accuracy.

And with mine I'm confident its simply lack of maintenance with the diminishing distance. It funny how it creeps up on you and then becomes quite evident something isn't quite the same anymore. It was like night and day and I actually didnt notice it because I'm usually not making long casts and wasnt really comparing it to anything until I got the new one. I gotta wash out the bearing and relube. Last time was about 2-3 years ago.