We read up on it, and become sure we can do it. After all, hitting a good tee shot seems a lot harder than casting a spinning rod.
So we march to the lake with visions of hooking and landing a faraway lunker. We set up our fishing rod and step up to the bank and cast. Our lure, however, flies off to the right and not very far. Disappointed, we cast again and again. The results don't change.
Stem Caster
Golf didn't seem this frustrating! So we think all you need is some practice. But after hours and hours of it, we're still in the same, going-nowhere casting boat, so to speak. Discouraging, to say the least. No wonder we think about giving up fishing.
Yes, I know!
But instead of giving up, I wondered, what if there's a lot more to casting a spinning rod than what I read? What if I experiment with using other techniques, the techniques of throwing a ball and of casting a fly rod?
So I began a year of casting trials and errors. Lots of errors!
Then finally it happened: Consistently, I felt the beauty of loading the rod, of watching the lure streak over the water, and land right where I wanted it to.
Here's how I got there.
THE OPEN STANCE
Most of us feel more comfortable using an open stance; so, assuming we're right-handed, our left foot is forward and pointing straight at the target. This is similar to the position we're in when we throw a baseball. The front of our right foot is about in-line with the front of our left heel and points outward, about 30 degrees to the right of the target. (If our right foot is too far back or too far outward, we'll limit our hip rotation during the forward cast.) To help increase our leverage and power, our knees are slightly bent. We shift our weight to the ball of our front foot. Our right heel is off the ground. We flex our thumb and put it on the top of the rod handle. We hold the rod loosely and point it straight ahead and parallel to the water. Our elbow is even with the front of our waist. The lure hangs down about two feet from the rod tip.
THE CLOSED STANCE
I believe there is nothing wrong with using an open stance, but I also believe that when we cast a spinning rod, unlike when we throw a ball, we don't bend at the waist to generate leverage and power. Instead, we rotate our hips as much as possible, like a batter hitting a ball or a boxer throwing a punch. If our left foot, therefore, is forward we will not be able to fully rotate our hips and get all our weight into the cast. Therefore, I prefer to use a closed stance: My right foot is in front of my left. At first, this will probably feel awkward for many casters, but with time, I believe, it will become more comfortable.
THE POWER GRIP.
We start with two fingers in front of the reel stem and two behind. We pick up the line with our right index finger and move our hand back so only our line finger is in front of the stem. Next, we pull the line up and back, and then we press our fingertip against the stem, but not against the line. (I like to feel the weight of the lure to cast it accurately.) We hold the line this way for the same reason a good fly caster doesn't let slack form in his fly line: to keep constant tension on the line, so that as soon as we start the cast the lure pulls on the rod and therefore fully loads the rod. (Holding the line the conventional way made it impossible for me to keep enough tension on the line. Even worse, I found it very difficult to keep my index finger from prematurely straightening and releasing the line. No wonder my casts were short, high and off to the side.)
Until we get our timing down, we'll use a golf glove or a band-aid to prevent the line from cutting into our finger.
MOVING THE ROD.
I initially assumed the faster I moved the rod the farther I'd cast. For two reasons I was wrong. 1. A pitcher achieves maximum power and velocity only when his arm moves in sync with his body rotation. If his arm gets ahead of his body he becomes an arm thrower. No wonder major league pitchers seem to throw as if they're not using all their might! Maximum arm speed is reached only at the release. 2.To fully load the rod we must accelerate it. If the rod moves too quickly, the speed of the line, or in our case the lure, moves almost as fast as the rod and therefore doesn't fully pull on and load the rod. The cast dies well short of its target. (A stiffer rod loads better with a shorter, faster stroke, but the stroke must still be accelerated.)
THE CAST AND POWER SNAP.
We open the bail. Using our arm not our wrist, and slightly raising our elbow, we slowly accelerate the rod up and back. As we move the rod, we rotate our shoulders backwards and shift our weight to the heel of our back foot. When the rod is at about 2 o'clock, we break our wrist back and lower the rod to about 3 o'clock. Our elbow still points straight ahead. (If it points out to the side, we'll not be able finish the cast without lowering the rod tip from the target line and prematurely unloading the rod.) Our forearm, depending how far we raised our elbow, is between 1 and 2 o'clock. Our upper arm is parallel to the water or points slightly upward. If our lure is not too light, and/or our spinning rod too stiff, we should already be loading the rod. We must, however, not move the rod too fast, because if we do, the lure will bounce at the end of the cast and prematurely unload the rod. When in doubt, it is better to move the rod too slowly rather than too quickly.
We immediately start our forward cast, with our eyes focused on an imaginary target in the sky, about 45 degrees above the water, but higher if the wind is from behind, lower if from in front. Leading with our elbow, rotating our hips and shoulders, we accelerate the rod and soon move the tip in a straight line that points to the target in the sky. The rod butt moves at a right angle to the target line. (Fully rotating our hips and shoulders allows us to increase the length we can move, and therefore load, the rod at this angle.) When our arm is extended about three-quarters of the way, we tighten our grip, then, as we reach maximum arm speed, we shift all our weight to our front foot and snap our wrist halfway, as if we're hammering a nail. Without lowering the rod tip from the target line, we abruptly stop the rod and let go of the line. Our front leg is now straight. Our right shoulder is all the way forward. Our arm is fully extended. Our weight is on the ball and toes of our front foot. We hold the rod still so we don't lower the tip and pull the line down.
THAT EXTRA DISTANCE:
So, we practiced these techniques and we're casting farther than ever, but wouldn't you know it: We're back on the beach, and the fish are again ten feet beyond our reach. Now what's a caster to do? We'll borrow techniques from spey-rhymes with say-casters, and lengthen our so-called back swing, and therefore load the spinning rod even more. How? We begin our spey-like cast the same way we begin our traditional cast, but as soon as the spinning rod points to about 10:30, we swing the rod outward. Keeping our elbow in place, and thinking of it as a swivel, we begin to shift our weight back. Slowly increasing acceleration, and keeping the rod at the same angle, we pretend we're using the rod tip to draw a big half-oval in the sky. When we're almost finished drawing, we raise our elbow and break our wrist down. The rod should be at about 3 o'clock and point straight behind us. Immediately, we begin our forward cast.
AS I DESCRIBE ALL THIS. Learning to cast a spinning rod seems a lot easier than it was. Well maybe if, like most skilled golfers, I had learned the right techniques from the start it would've been.
But better late than never.
