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PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 3:26 pm • # 1 
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Spinning rigs are new to me. Until last year I only had a couple for salt water (I live on the water). I never learned to use them properly. I can't cast well. In fact I am typically so inaccurate that at least 10% of my casts go 90 degrees from their intended target. I learned the hard way that Rapalas are a bad choice for me unless I am wading in the middle of a lake! And I've had to swim out to rescue a few too. (I wrote an essay about that.) Fortunately I have caught more replacements with my flies when fly fishing, than I've lost while spin fishing! (Seriously!)

On the other hand, I am pretty accurate with fly line: it is what I learned to do as a kid. I've lost my fair share--more even--of flies in the trees. But they don't cost so much--especially when I make them myself. And they don't tangle as often. Not even close. Except with sunken rooster tail spinners, ha-ha!

So then why would I use an ultralight spinning rig in the brushy bank conditions yesterday? Simple: I tried to fly-fish and it was impossible to catch anything and I couldn't deal with the brush very well. The water was fast, deep or both. I only have hip boots. It is really cold. Roll casting was only possible in some areas. I tried my 6 footer in the tight spots. I got some flies in the water. And got tangled a lot. I counter-intuitively brought my 9 foot 10 weight, too. It roll casts really far. In the past, I've caught trout way, way out that way. But after covering the open water with the fly rods and getting nowhere, and covering the brushy areas with the short fly rod, I switched to one of those wiggle plastic things on a #8 hook and two splitshots on an ultralight 5.5 foot rod.

I got quite a few tangles. I left at least 6 hooks and bait in the trees--I started out with those fomaldehyde emerald shiners. Finally after no touches I went for the white wiggly worm. I was in some really tight quarters. I was really careful. I got a lot of snags but managed to trapeze my lure out of trouble many times.

Finally, it worked. And it was a great feeling to go home with another coating of pickerel slime on my hands. See the photos here:

https://cargocultfishing.blogspot.com/2 ... s-day.html


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 9:07 pm • # 2 
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A bow and arrow cast with a 2 weight CGR would have done the trick :lol .


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:24 pm • # 3 
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In many tight situations a spinning rod is the only workable approach. I’m sure your casting accuracy will improve w. practice. Plus we could use more posts in this sub-forum.


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 1:33 pm • # 4 
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linecaster wrote:
A bow and arrow cast with a 2 weight CGR would have done the trick :lol .


Haha I love that cast! But I think for whatever reason, luck was on the side of the jiggly wiggly worm instead of the flowy slowly twitched streamer. Oh, the never-ending fascination of fishing continues.


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 1:36 pm • # 5 
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Knotty wrote:
In many tight situations a spinning rod is the only workable approach. I’m sure your casting accuracy will improve w. practice. Plus we could use more posts in this sub-forum.

Thanks. Yes, I think I am getting a bit better. But my God, I'll never be able to do what the real spincasting fishers can do. A friend went fishing with me the other day, using his spinning gear and I was absolutely astounded! He could hit a 6" target at 20 yard over and over. Casting right up to the bank without snagging. Over and over. When we went fly fishing, where I am the expert, I told him, "yeah but I've seen what you can do with that spinny stuff. You are a wizard." He laughed:-)


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 8:32 pm • # 6 
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I’ve taking for granted casting with spinning equipment over the years as I grew up on spincast and spinning equipment. I’ve always thought it was simple to fling a cast out there and hit a spot , most of the time .
I’m not a bad fly casted either , but do better with spinning.
Thanks for opening my eyes to how hard it is for those who didn’t grow up fishing the way I did . Kirby


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:14 pm • # 7 
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My spin casting started as terrible and over the past year has progressed to bad. Still have a long way to go.


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:18 pm • # 8 
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Spinning gear has its place; it's a great for working with light lures or baits. Never been a huge fan of spinning gear, although I've used it a lot -- I've always preferred to fish with lighter tackle. I always opted for levelwinds before spinning reels, and the ultralight levelwind rig I got from Chris Stewart is absolutely the greatest thing since sliced bread. Since I fish with a fly rod 99.9% of the time, I focus on that tackle. Interestingly enough, I would probably be graded the highest for my skills with a levelwind, and the lowest for my skills with the fly rod. But I have always derived the most joy from the fly rod. As a kid I used a spinning rod a lot, and as a guide I did also, But that was because of the presentations. The Ambassadeur 5000 I used as a kid was not capable of anywhere near the casting performance, especially with light lures & baits, that my Curados and Castaics and Aldebaran are today. Gently lobbing a live shrimp or a small piece of squid without a weight, or a lightweight lure in skinny water (and I did it with the 5000 and with the Mitchell 300s and Penn Spinfishers) was a whole lot easier with the spinning reel than it was with the old red reel.


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 27, 2018 10:25 pm • # 9 
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Becoming an accurate spin caster requires practice and the right equipment. I've fished both fly and spin for about 50 years. Mastering pitch, flip, low side arm, and other basic spinning casts is much easier if you will try using a bit heavier lure rated closer to the upper range of the rod's casting weight range. It will soften up the cast and allow you to slow down a bit. Feathering the line will help keep those casts off the opposite bank and out of the brush and trees. Oddly, as much as has been written on fly fishing, very little is in print about casting with a spinning rod.

Think of it in this way, it's no different than expecting a person to learn to fly cast on their own, as become an accomplished spin caster on their own.


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PostPosted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 2:41 pm • # 10 
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JB in SC wrote:
Becoming an accurate spin caster requires practice and the right equipment. I've fished both fly and spin for about 50 years. Mastering pitch, flip, low side arm, and other basic spinning casts is much easier if you will try using a bit heavier lure rated closer to the upper range of the rod's casting weight range. It will soften up the cast and allow you to slow down a bit. Feathering the line will help keep those casts off the opposite bank and out of the brush and trees. Oddly, as much as has been written on fly fishing, very little is in print about casting with a spinning rod.

Think of it in this way, it's no different than expecting a person to learn to fly cast on their own, as become an accomplished spin caster on their own.


That's interesting.
Now three things come to mind on that. I went looking for books on spinning one day. And I think I actually searched for Lefty Kreh to see if he had anything to say on the matter--and he did. But that book is out of print!
Next, I was reading about Joan Salvato Wulff -- and came across a movie of her airboat fishing with an Abu Garcia spinning setup (she was a "Garcia Girl" at that time). Watching her cast I realized she knew a lot about that game too and sure enough, she won championships in that discipline too.
Finally, some time last year I came across vids on youtube by Chris Meyers "Florida Sight Fishing Charters." His tips on spinning gear were very helpful. But watching him do it makes it look too easy (as usual).


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 4:18 pm • # 11 
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Lefty Kreh did some casting demo films that were on YouTube at one time. If he isn’t their anymore, there are plenty of others.

There are more than a few, well maybe a few, people who carry a fly reel AND a spinning reel when they go fishing. The Joe Robinson designed Temple Fork signature rod is the bes5 I’ve found, but it seems to have been discontinued.

If you want to see some really impressive casting, do a search on YouTube for Joe Robinson. Also, you might find his little book, Piscatorial Absurdities an interesting read. I may not agree with him on everything, but it’s well researched and has some great insights.

One thing may be hindering you is unbalanced tackle. Rod, reel and line diameter is just as critical with spinning tackle as with fly tackle.

Then once you master spinning tackle, you can start spending money on BFS tackle!


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 9:11 pm • # 12 
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Didn’t know the TF Signature fly/spin had been discontinued. Glad I got one while they were still available.


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