START RIGHT
Why your sinker’s starting position plays a major part in casting distance
Last time I explained the importance of getting some bend into a rod before the power goes in. Two steps are involved. The obvious one happens at the rod handle where a combination of arm and body action injects energy into the cast. The other, equally vital, but generally overlooked, is to give the rod tip something firm to pull against when we do whatever we do at the handle end.
It should work against fairly strong resistance right from the start. Resistance is felt as a dragging or “stickiness” the instant the rod tip starts moving. Some of this is down to the sinker’s mass – obviously, the more lead weight the greater the load becomes - but that is only part of the story.
The sinker’s starting position is even more important because it is a control system in its own right, which can make a light sinker feel like a ton weight, or a heavy chunk of lead seem tiny.
Here’s an idea of how it works and why casting styles need choosing with care. The overhead thumping method dangles the sinker directly under the rod tip where it generates hardly any resistance. The rod will not bend much, no matter how hard and fast the angler lashes into the cast. He or she will be the worst caster on the planet if they insist on going down this road, though a very long rod might help a little.
SINKER LAYOUT
To cure that, I increase the leader drop, then swing the sinker towards me and drop it on to the beach under the rod. With the rod tip fairly low, I start the cast by pulling down quite slowly with my left hand. As soon as I feel the rod start to work well, I continue to pull down, speeding up along the way. The rig flies an impressive distance. This is the basic off-ground Easy Cast or Brighton style.
Once I get used to that, I can find a more refined off-ground layout that works even better. Rod angle, leader drop and the sinker’s size and position on the beach let me dial in exactly the right level of resistance. This, combined with other factors such as how far I turn my body when I set up to make the cast, lets me develop my own version of off-ground casting, which will be somewhere between the compact Easy Cast and the wide South African style.
When everything comes together, the resistance feels exactly right and the whole cast flows like syrup. Within reason, I can use any tackle I like. The system performs beautifully anywhere between a modest lob and full power.
Beach fishing being mostly a matter of relaxed cruising, this means that I can put baits a long way out with no sense of effort and absolutely no control issues. Pendulum casting works in similar fashion, but with even more options, including freedom to tune the casting action for a wide range of rods and sinker sizes. More next time. ■
SALTWATER FLY-FISHING would be far less popular in the UK without the presence of bass in their summer feeding grounds. Our vast coastline offers a great challenge for the adventurous angler, but fly-fishing on any beach can be intimidating, particularly on the open coast.
Thankfully, bass can feed in just a foot of water, and therefore up to the shoreline, which makes things easier for fly-anglers.
Bass like moving water that traps their prey, so, like trout, they love current because it brings them easy pickings.
Sometimes bass will wait in a gulley for food to drift past, changing position as the tide changes. They visit key areas at certain periods of the tide too, and therefore keeping your own diary of fishing locations, time and tide size will be important to finding future success.
A useful indicator of bass activity is the presence of birds. Those of interest are primarily gulls and terns, but also herons, egrets and swans in shallower brackish water. Where baitfish are abundant and school together, bass will attack these schools and push them to the surface. The commotion attracts those birds. Look out for concentrations of birds, even if there seems to be no activity. Gulls seen to be dipping or moving their tails off the water can also be an indication of activity beneath.
Don’t expect a potential hotspot to fish on the outgoing as well as the incoming tide. Bass will be where they can find the most food. One of the reasons why slack water may be unproductive, depending on the location, is the baitfish are not being moved on by the tide.
Retrieving, then moving to the right or left and then re-casting can make all the difference for a hook-up. After you have made your cast from a beach, take a few steps back to get better control of your line.
Remember that casting further gives the fly-angler an edge because the fly remains in the feeding zone for longer, and therefore gives more of a chance for the bass to see your prey. It pays to practice casting and consider having lessons if you are new to fly-fishing. You can look up a local Game Angling Instructor’s Association (GAIA) instructor, Association of Advanced Professional Game Angling Instructor (AAPGAI), or by contacting Orvis UK online.
With the chance of a double-figure fish, the favoured set-up is either an eight or nine weight rod with a reel holding a floating or intermediate line. The latter are slick and cast well into the wind on more blustery days. I recommend a 9ft, nine weight, medium-to-fast action rod to handle a large fish, and sometimes large flies, as well as dealing with the wind.
Having a line tray means you can avoid weed and waves taking control of loose fly-line, and you collect your line in it and keep moving without needing to reel your line back on to the spool. If you are walking a fair distance, travel light and take a handful of patterns and change them as light conditions change. Waders are essential unless it is warm enough to wet wade.
Favourite open beach fly patterns for bass