[O'Shaughnessy]

Hi Tommy & others,

Practicing my pendulum cast and having a tough time gauging proper height of the backswing (when the sinker swings back toward you and past your head-- right before you start to load it up and start to rotate for the cast).

Generally speaking, should your line (shock leader) be horizontal, higher than horizontal, lower than horizontal or what? Online videos seem to indicate higher than horizontal but I wanted to check.

Thanks!

O'Shaugh

 

[Tommy]

OS,

There is no "right" swing height for the pendulum. Casters are competitive in tournaments using flat arc, high swing and just about every variation in between. Typically, the higher the swing the more timing critical it is (sinker will tend to slam into the ground if hit too early).

If I may offer some advise....

Focus on learning to truly hit the rod properly before advancing to a pendulum cast. This is best accomplished using a ground cast.

People ask me "what is the secret?" Or they will state to me "that pendulum cast is the secret to distance.... right?" The honest "secret" to casting far lies in learning how to properly hit the rod. I have broken and then reset the USA distance record using three different styles, Flat Arc, Ground cast and High swing . Once you learn how to hit the rod and finish the cast, you can easily learn to cast any style.

Tommy