CASTING CONTROL

Cast your rig in the right place.

Learning to cast is only half the story when sea angling. Maximising those skills on the beach means getting to grips with a wide range of restraints and conditions. I learned the hard way to be realistic about distance achieved. I have rarely cast the distances on a beach that I can over grass, but it took me years to come to terms with the futility of trying too hard.

Life is more enjoyable when I cast at comfortable cruising speed, choosing tackle, and even my style, with the focus on fishing rather than on ultimate range. Looking back over more seasons that I care to remember, I recall only a few occasions when stepping up to tournament gear and an all-out blast did produce enough extra fish to justify the pain. But many, many times I’ve missed fish by casting too far, even with my everyday gear.

In round terms, casting to a maximum 140 metres with bait suits me fine. If I were starting again, I would not bother learning to cast any farther for fishing. The time and effort I once devoted to casting 220 metres or more over grass would have been better spent by settling for less casting and more fishing.

BASIC LESSON

The beaches I fished before I could cast well were protected by groynes too long for me to reach the open sea beyond. I was happy for waves to wash my rig close to the weedy wooden piles that fish seemed to like. As far as I knew, the tides just went in and out, and up and down.

As soon as I could cast much farther, though, I ran straight into trouble with the force and speed of lateral currents. Steelwork and pilings became deadly tackle traps.

Many lost rigs later, it dawned on me that the best bet was to pitch camp near the uptide groyne of the gap I was in, then angle the cast even farther uptide into the sea offshore of the next gap along. A combination of grip lead and slack line would see the rig anchor just upstream of me. When I hooked a fish, there was plenty of time and space to bring it ashore before the current swept the line around the downstream groyne.

Putting a bait in the right spot is basic, but crucial. Every time I fish, no matter where or what for, I go through a familiar routine: where to set up, best casting direction, effect of wind on the cast, rig anchorage, keeping clear of other anglers’ lines. On crowded marks, there are safety issues as well.

All shore marks, species of fish and different types of tackle and techniques need their own strategy, but the skills involved are drawn from a common toolbox. It boils down to control; making the rig do what you want it to.

Putting a baited rig in the right spot is so fundamental to success that if you master only one thing besides casting fairly well, control should be top priority.