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Distance Casting Soft Baits

2K views 13 replies 14 participants last post by  adamj 
#1 ·
I wasn't sure where to put this...mods, move it if need be, please.

I find that when I really lean into a cast, cut shad is all but impossible to keep on the hook.

Do you guys have any tricks up your sleeves?
 
#4 ·
Try using a fillet, or, cut it angled down (see pic for a rough example)...

Then try hooking it through the mouth, up through the hard grislty/boneish area tween the eyes... That should make it stick real well on the hook and still give you all the gut pocket goodness
 

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#5 ·
Dave ,I mostly use whole shad ,double hooked. Once through the eye socket and again about half way down. if I do use cut its allways fillets or a chunk of gill,which has a tough enough hide to keep it there.
 
#6 ·
Dear Brother Patton;
Dave, I don't know if it will help but I read somewhere {in some fishing magazine a long time ago} where one of the ways to get past the "tearing the bait" problem was to use a rod that did NOT have a Fast or Ex-Fast rating but rather something down in the Medium or Moderate power rating. The theory being that it applies the casting/launching force over a longer period of time and distance, because the rod bent more, and thus did not subject the bait to the faster acceleration of the faster action rods.
I also seem to remember that this person was using a fairly hefty rod too and I am thinking it was a rod that was in the Saltwater Class of some kind and was large enough to let the rod do the work of wearing down the fish.
I don't know if this would be viable in your situation and honestly, I like the thread idea of the others better for my particular applications:big_smile: but if I ever hit the Big Lotto I will buy a moderate/medium action rod or two for myself and do some testing on my own! :wink:
Just as a "Wilda*sed" idea, I could see where you could easily rig up such a rod to launch your bait for you while it's still attached to your favorite reel too. But I doubt you would want to get into something that radical. But it would not be hard to do.
Hope this helps somehow.
Fraternally,
Coyote1
[[[[[End of Post]]]]]
 
#7 ·
Dave I almost always pitch my bait underhanded, I throw cutbait and livebait this way. It is more acurate and allows the bait to land more gently, I used this method when I was a bass angler and have found it to work suprisingly well for catfish. I have found that a stiffer rod is better when pitching heavier baits large blue gill for example. But I also double hook my shad most of the time. You can cast a pretty far distance with this method then let the current due the rest.
 
#8 ·
I find that I can throw cut shad farther than any bait I use, and some of my cast are 100yds or better, but they are fresh and firm, or frozen when I toss them. But I am usually throwing a 8-oz sinker with a 12 foot rod also.
 
#9 ·
there 2 things you have to deal with as far as distance casting bait they are acceleration and deceleration. check this out on say a carolina rig the sinker accelerates then the bait does it so the hook is getting pulled through the bait at the beginning of the cast and on deceleration did you know that on a typical cast the sinker and bait hit the water at 40mph? so guess what happens to your bait once it hits the water the hook is pulled through your bait because of the water's surface tension. look at me i sound like i know what i'm talking about huh?

well there a couple of solutions to this first has already been mentioned, thats using thread. a few wraps around your bait can protect it. next there are ca couple of different baitclips on the market(i won't mention names because i'm not sure it cool to do that) then there's my favorite homemade clips i use a paper clip. cut a paper clip so you have 2 hooks from one clip take one of them and place it on your rig where the hook hits the rig body and wrap the line around the clip at least 3 times and you have a bait clip that'll protect your bait for those long distance casts. pictures to come soon hmmm i smell an article for the member library.
 
#12 ·
what I use is a nine inch needle looking thing called a threader where im from. It is genrally used on whole fish and can be made from a wire coat hanger and a grinding tool. first you snap or tie the "threader" at the end of your line then you run it through the fishes mouth and out the tail, take the "threader" off and throw a good size treble hook on.......... some around here like to cut the tail off the fish so it slowly releases the scent, I would have to say my hookups are around 99% with this method and as for throwing bait off "doesn't happen" the most you will do is rip the treble to the fishes belly which is not a problem, hey some people hook the fish through the head which is also affective but the hookups I think go down a considerable amount.

P.S I genrally use large baitfish and a #2 treble to keep the small ones from getting hooked but thats just me.
 
#13 ·
Elastic thread,rolls of the bagging sleeves that they put salmon eggs up in,Mosquito netting if you can find it and the great old sack full of NON-RUN Panty Hose that I bought for such years ago at a wreck salvage store.Queen size and you cut the size that you want.

As for needles.BP sells rigging needles to sew your bait.We use to buy them from the local funeral home years ago.Most likely still can.

A bag of assorted Rubber Bands.The small wire ties.Many things are used to rig offshore baits that can be used inshore.

I love you Brothers and Sisters,peewee
 
#14 ·
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