Anyone doing any casting? I had one rod out about 3 weeks ago but the tennis ball kept getting stuck in the snow or behind corn stalks, plus 2 sweatshirts, coveralls and gloves didn't make things any better but it still felt good having a surf rod in my hands. Spring is coming but the rental prices for the beach are out of control, frustrating!
Practicing?
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Was practice casting on a field last month but got tired of the lead getting stuck in mud or what seemed like quicksand. Also casting with no bait made it seem like I was better than I actually am. Now back to casting on the rivers which makes retrieval much easier. But also more depressed to see my casts not go very far. Back to the drawing board…
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The title reminded me of a story from years ago. My best friends dad was a game warden. About 35 years ago he was checking trout steams and it was the day before opening day of trout season. He drove by a stream close to our house and seen a local boy fishing. The boy was about 8 years old. We called him Poss. The warden parked his car and walked down to the stream where they had recently stocked. He said: Poss, whatcha doing. Trout season don’t open until tomorrow. Poss in his innocent youth said: Oh Mr. John I’m not fishing to catch trout, I’m just practicing for tomorrow. Our Game Warden was a great respected man. He said: Alright Poss, make sure you don’t catch anything until tomorrow. Poss said: Yes Sir Mr. John I promise. Game Warden got in his car and drove away.
Nice warden. Local guy here was walking down the road 1/2 mile from/towards the river with a fishing pole.
Warden stopped and checked him for a lic., which he didn't have. Gave him a $85 ticket for "Being afield with fishing paraphernalia while not possessing a valid license."
(could be more to it, I wasn't there and did not witness it)
But, he ended up having to pay it.
Warden stopped and checked him for a lic., which he didn't have. Gave him a $85 ticket for "Being afield with fishing paraphernalia while not possessing a valid license."
(could be more to it, I wasn't there and did not witness it)
But, he ended up having to pay it.
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I use a lacrosse ball to practice cast. They are about 5.5oz.
Seems to be across the LE board ... kinda sad.
Thank God for the good ones ! (large majority IMHO)
Thank you for your service to the citizenry, Papa-T ..... very much appreciated
I use tennis balls ( which I think weigh 2 oz.) and put different weight sinkers inside them so I can try all oz.'s. I have used a baseball which I think weighed 5 oz.. I will ask one of my younger granddaughters if they could round me up a lacrosse ball, never have used one of them
That's pretty bad.
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Drill a hole through middle…put a piece of heavy mono through and tie to a treble hook and pull the hook into the ball. Then tie other side to a barrel swivel.
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Former college div 1 lacrosse player (not a very good one though) and surf fishing addict.
After reading this I thought no way is a lax ball only 5.5 oz. It’s much heavier.
I just grabbed a ball from the garage and damn if you aren’t right. After weighing several, they averaged around 5.25 oz. Crazy how I thought they probably weighed around 8oz when I’ve been playing since grade school!
Great idea to use them for casting practice.
thanks,...pop.
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Yup…I weighed them too prior to making them to be sure 👍
Oh hell.....I got to tell this game warden story. And no I am not practicing casting but I am skeet for the new season. Ok here we go. One opening day (dove season)it was 3-4pm in the evening. My son was around 15. I had disc around a corn field and had honestly threw bait there but by using that disc it makes it legal as a planted crop. Went and checked NO birds. So I tell my son lets go skeet shoot some. I have a regulation field. We load our crap up on a side by side and here we go. Half way there I tell him I forgot my ear plugs. I'll walk back to the house and get them, you open the skeet houses. So here I have a auto slung over my shoulder walking to the field. I hear my son shoot 3 times. Bam bam bam. I see doves fly out but never shot nor loaded my gun. Because of a rise in the field and corn I cannot see him. All of a sudden it sounds like the devils chariot is coming towards me. Its a green chevy blaser. I think its my cousin. Its 3, yeah 3 game wardens. One piles out with me and continues on to the skeet field. Now we are half mile off the road at this point. So I have no idea how they know where they are going. He ask me for my "weapon". Ok. I tell him its unloaded. Oh and I forgot to mention I am in a white tee shirt. Cut off jeans and flip flops. he said got some shells? yeah. I had my pouch on. I hand him 3. He rams them in the magazine. Did you know you have NO plug in your gun? No shit I say? Have you ever seen someone shoot doves in my clothing or had a D grade remington 1100 out hunting with it? (It was my doubles gun at one time). He said come with me. As we walk aroud this big corn field his ass is on fire to get to the others. Well we get there and with his hands on the hood stands my son. So I ask my son what was he shooting at. The night before we had watched that guy, think his name was Knapp or something like that throw up 6-7 targets and break them before they hit the ground. He tried 3. Out in the field is one of the game wardens looking for a downed bird and bait. Now as all this is happening we are standing square in the middle of a regulation skeet field. So the head guy comes over. I know him. Saw him many times a gun club. Knew his reputation. Of course I told my story. he told me his version. He said my son ran. My son said he was loading traps and thought it was our cousin that drove up who shoots occasionally and he went back inside. So we got charged with no plugs in our magazines. Hunting over bait and impeding a officer due to me blowing my cool and simply cussing them ALL out. So it went to court. I was NEVER going to pay a fine. Judge reprimanded the officers for their stupidity. I took the clothes I had on. I had laid them out for the judge to see and what they didn't know is I postponed it until a judge who was a big shot in Ducks Unlimited presided. I wanted someone that knew what they were doing. So as a board member of that said club I mentioned we informed the Wardens who used our club for FREE range use and they did their qualifications there they were not welcome any more. My cousin a property manager for a company with 48,000 acres of public game land made this jerks life miserable on wildlife use areas. Stopped him from entering locked gates on thier property without notification. I then sent a video of my driveway cam where that fool drove approx 40-50mph up my driveway where my 8 year old daughter was playing to every supervisor in the Wildlife dept I could find plus my state representatives.I might not have won the battle but I won the war. He was eventually fired and removed from service for a array of stupid crap like that. So that is my game warden story. After they fired that jerk we allowed them resume use of the club and my cousin made their life easier. In the end I have gotten to know a coupe of the local wardens and they are cool. Its one of the old stories they say when they come to our district they often hear about. A story of learning not to be a damn jerk and work with people. Not against them.
Ok....I got to tell this one as well. Same warden shows up at the gun club and writes the manager we had a ticket for trapping without a license and NOT checking traps every day. Another gun club member ran a shooting preserve. He said he could not let out any bird, they were gone in a few days. He put up cameras and said he was over run with coyotes and foxes. He bought some type trap that you install in a 45 degree hole bored in the ground. Ask the manager that didn't he have a skid steer with a boring attachment. Yeah he did. So he went and bored the holes. Left. Never installed traps nor did any trapping.............of course that went to court. The guy with the reserve of course was guilty and plead as so. No license. But I think you can see where that was one jerk game warden. Guy with reserve had just casually mentioned who bored the holes and it got the other manager that BS ticket.Thrown out of court...........
I drill a hole for the mono in the tennis ball. Then turn the hole facing me and cut a small slit left to right in the top. Then I put the mono in the hole and out the slot in the top and tie on a 3oz weight , then I pull the weight inside and cast it. I practice in the field at the house and it's easy when changing the weight and refreshing the line and knots after a few cast . I used to do this years ago and get the border collie to chase the ball and wear itself out. They're really hyper.
Good idea !
Thanks WesB !
Golf balls are slick and dimpled to help them go faster/further.
Tennis balls are made fuzzy to slow them down.
You can take a gentle flame and "singe" the fuzz off, it makes a substantial difference in the flight.
Yes, I crimp a small loop of 100# mono attached to whatever oz. sinker I want to use inside the tennis ball after cutting a few slices as small as possible to insert the sinker, bank singers fit easier, the loop sticks out to attach to my coastlock swivel. My darn one cat likes to chase the ball when I'm casting, so I can appreciate your collie,...pop.
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I use lacrosse balls and realize they are not very aerodynamic. However, I am working on technique more than anything. Distance will be a by product of good technique once you hit the beach.
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