"Derek.Moody" wrote in message
...
In article 4325fa02.0@entanet, Eric The Viking
wrote:

"Derek.Moody" wrote in message
...

[ Long range beachcasting is a specialist technique that you only need
to
consider if you have very flat, featureless beaches and the fish swim
at
extreme range. It so happens that there are a few venues like this
near
London and home counties journalists naturally write about the
conditions
they experience. Most anglers in the west - with a few exceptions in
Lancashire/Cumbria - could fish successfully for a lifetime without
even
owning a conventional beachcaster. OK, most do use one sometimes when
fishing is slow or the whiting are running.
]

Utter bilge.

:-) Go on, think about it...

Longe range casting isn't just for casting long ranges. When fishing
into
the wind the ability to put some extra power behind the cast ( long range
techniques ) allows you to put the lead out far enough to get into calmer
water and get a grip on the bottom. Under such conditions you may still
only be getting 40yds - but anglers than can't cast as far end up packing
up
and going home.

Some would check the weather forecast and put in brownie points at home
until the storm is dropping and the disturbed bait is dropping out of the
water column into the gutter...

Some of the best fishing is in stormy weather, not to mention to
exhilaration of your nostrils being force fed sea air at 40 MPH! Or match
fishing for that matter, if you turn up for a match and it's blowing a
hoolie you will stand a better chance oif winning if you can fish the
conditions. Ok, match fishing isn't everything but it's another aspect of
fishing that benefits from a wide range of techniques and tools.

If you can cast long distances you have the option of fishing close in,
or
far out. Anglers that cannot cast long distances can only fish close in.

Fine. There are almost always more close in. Leave the specialist
long-range stuff 'til it's needed.

Absolutely, but remeber there are times when it is right to leave the carp
gear at home too.

The whole point is widening your options, if your limited to short range
you had better hope the fish are close in.

Furthermore distance casting in itself has developed into a sport enjoyed
by
many anglers. The process of learning and prefecting the pendulum cast
or

Which is fine if that's what you want. Have fun. The OP is beginning
sal****er -fishing- and has been misled into following a standard form
that
would result in him catching fewer fish than he might.

The OP actually started the thread by asking a genuine question about
casting distances and hasn't necessarily been mislead into anything. I
think its more misleading to summarily dismiss 'heavy fishing' and coax the
OP down a single route. Fishing is all about building skills in various
areas, sometimes light tackle is right, sometimes heavy tackle is right.
There is no single right way to sea fish, the best an angler can do - even a
beginner, is to just go out and fish without worrying that they are using
the right tackle, the right bait and the right techniques. This is all
knowledge that comes with experience.

With respect to beachcasters, what beaches do you fish on where the
anglers
"use one sometimes when fishing is slow or the whiting are running"?
Have

Practically all of them. The pity is that many use them the rest of the
time too. By far the greatest number of the fish I catch from the shore
are
taken flyfishing.

If you predominantly use a fly rod then you are going to catch more fish on
a fly rod. If you always use a beachcaster then you will always catch fish
on a beachcaster.

you been fishing since the 60's? Blimey even Mackerel fishermen use
beachcasters. I don't think I have fished a single shore match that
didn't
feature dozens of beachcasters.

A classic story is the one where two anglers turned up at a local beach to
find a match in progress. Dozens of beachcasters. They wandered down the
beach flicking out plugs and spinners between the matchmen and caught and
returned a dozen or so bass, several of them sizeable. The match was won
with two smll flatties.

I have fished matches where I have been stuffed by anglers using coarse gear
to catch Mullet - I fished for Wrasse with heavy gear and blanked, they used
match rods and weighed in 7 or 8lbs. I have also fished matches where I
have stuffed people using match gear, they caught no Mullet, I caught a 13lb
Conger. Who was right?

On another local beach (Chesil) organisers took to banning floatfishing
with
groundbait for gar and scad because the same two or three anglers were
winning everything.

I have fished these matches on Chesil, personally I think the ban is a good
thing as often 1st prize would go to 45lbs of Garfish. Thats just absolute
slaughter. Besides catching garfish after garfish after garfish just gets
plain boring after an hour or two. I usually fish two rods in these
conditions, beachcaster with big bait on the bottom at various ranges and
while waiting for a bite the carp rod goes out with a float on for a bit of
fun. The two styles of fishing aren't mutually exclusive.

Just because match anglers all do the same thing it doesn't follow that
they
know what they're doing.

True, but doesn't mean the techniques and tackle are to be 'poo-pooed'.

What strangely misguided advice.

I don't think I've used a beachcaster in the last three years - but I've
caught plenty.

Good to hear it. I've caught plenty on heavy tackle fished at long range
;-)

Cheerio,

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