[branrx]

Great stuff guys! Thanks. I just needed to rant and got some great stuff from you.

----Nothing beats a day of fishing. NOTHING!

[finaddict1]

Level wind reels are not really made for surf casting, and shorten the distance you can cast.

Frankly a good quality spinning reel can handle anything you are likely to catch in the surf in California.

You need a good spinning reel from Shimano or an Okuma which are less expensive, and one that can take at least 20 Lb. mono, or 30-40 Lb. braid, with a mono or flourocarbon leader.

I have fished the surf on the east coast for striped bass and bluefish, and landed 38 pound stripers without a problem.

Any good tackle store can fix you up. You do also need a long surf rod, 12-15 feet or so for added distance.

Asher - Finaddict

[branrx]

I think my rod is too short(thats what she said). So that will be an issue with distance. Right now my Squall is loaded with 30lb mono followed by 300 yards braid 30lb. I heard some mention heavier sinkers are better. I believe the one I had loaded was 6 ounces. You guys see any problems with this setup? I think my current rod is 10 ft, although I did try my 7 foot as well. Birdnested them all, lol.

[mel]

Good advice for sure but the best way is to practice. Practice, practice, practice. Just learn the basics then practice. I learned on my old school Penns but still backlash every now and then. As a matter of fact back in the days me and Fishnchris used to have these casting contests with him using his Breakaway Tackle stuff. I think he may have casted a foot or so more than me. I was having a bad day. I can now cast a 5 ounce weight from Paradise Pier all the way to the shoreline into the bushes. (But there's no fish in there though). Use sinkers at first to practice because breaking off your lures when first learning can get expensive. Also, if you're throwing bait it changes the whole dynamics of your cast.

[tackleholic]

Agree with most everything here but ill add my .02. I use to go to a local park lake to practice casting...just start with a sinker, no leader, as red said. If using old mono, make sure noones in range if the sinker snaps off the line mid-cast, .which can happen if your reel jamsmor backlashes during the cast. Ive had sinkers snap off mid air, and fly clear over a pond and nearly brained a duck. I dont think lever drags are the best casters for distance...i could be wrong with all the technology, but i wouldnt use a level-wind either, i think it kind of hinders casting a little. The avet magnetic casters are nice but a little pricey, plus theyre lever...trouble with most levers is if you set a higher drag, it impedes freespool. Maybe try a magged star drag reel, like get a jigmaster 501, and mag it yourself, or get a used penn 525 mag or the penn squall star drag...i think that comes with a adjusting magnetic cast control...just a thought.

[JZdude]

Bring your fishing rod to the park and start chucking. Empty baseball fields are the best. People will think your crazy but it's well worth it forthe practice.

[mel]

Oh yeah, learning how to cast side arm may help you too. It changes the trajectory of your cast and not as much line leaves the spool. If you're learning in the park bring a bottle of water to wet your line.

[branrx]

[bigred805]

a 10ft rod should be fine that is what i use although longer would make for a longer cast. as for the 6 oz of weight its situational to wind current swell etc... and how much it takes to load your particular rod right. the 30# braid should be good but braid has such a thin diameter that i would be tempted to move up to 65-80# braid on a reel that size... you'll still have plenty of room on the spool after 300 yards of 65#. either way you just gotta practice dude but braid is a little tricky to learn to cast a conventional with thats why i suggested the old mono its a little more forgiving then the braid and if you birds nest it its only 5 bucks of mono instead of 20 bucks of braid :/

[branrx]

[qersys]

If you want to get into casting a good reel to learn with is the Shimano Cardiff. I have a 400A and it is a very forgiving reel. It holds alot of line has a decent ratio and is very light. While it is not meant for "big game", I have landed 100 lb rays with it. You could also go cheaper with the corvalus wich runs about 80 to 90 dollars or move up with the calcutta.
http://www.histackleboxshop.com/Shimano-Round-Casting-Cardiff-Fishing-Reel-p/shimano-cardiff.htm

I have a Daiwa emcast surf rod 11' long that will throw up to 7 oz. but 5 oz. goes out very nicely.

[RobF]

Funny that you bring this up. I just went out Sunday to try out my first conventional reel (daiwa seagate). Practiced in my yard using 30lb mono with 6oz weight casting a couple hundred feet. Was much easier than I thought. Loaded it up with braid before heading out fishing. Got out on the rocks with it and did pretty well.

My method is to keep my thumb completely off the spool in flight. The instant it hits the water, I stop the spool. Worked very well. I'm using a 12' surf spinning rod since that's what I have. Any disadvantage to using a spinning rod?

The only issue I had was with very long casts. A few times while in mid-flight there was a minor birdnest that stopped the cast. I think those were casts where the line was following a big arc but still not sure on this. Probably at the top of the arc, the velocity of the line leaving the reel exceeds the velocity of the leader causing the birdnest. My thinking is that you need to try to send your line out like a bullet, not a mortar -- a relatively flat trajectory. Still a some lessons to learn.

Rob

[Jun Dimagmaliw]

[Jun Dimagmaliw]

[dkkim]

I think I'm pretty consistent with a conventional (not Mel status) but it really comes down to practicing and understanding the feeling of your reel. I actually have to slow down my spool while it is in mid flight or else... fat birdsnest. Some leaders, I can really put some whip/bend in my pole but I've noticed with the metal leaders, I have to do more of a lob or I just break off my leader and feed the fish. If I'm trying to get out past some breakers, I'd probably use mono (to get that whip) into my cast and try a couple casts before I throw on some bait.