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suitable braid for overhead reel lure flicking


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Keen to get on the braid with my overhead reel (abu's)  for flicking my 60g slugs around, have mastered the mono but would prefer to use braid when lure fishing.

 

Anyone on this site use overhead reels with braid for lure flicking ?

 

what brand/lb would you recommend for starting off ?

 

was thinking 20lb but have read some people go 30lb (seems heavy to me)

 

cheers,

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I have used braid on overheads for years, not as much since moving here, but heaps back in the US.

 

You mention flicking around 60g metal slugs, I assume for salmon? Beach or boat?

 

20-30lb would work well, depends on the size reel and it's capacity, but 30 certainly wouldn't be too heavy. On a 6500 Abu I have generally used 50lb for similar work.

 

For overheads I prefer a true braid, not a fused line like Fireline. I have had good experiences with Cortland, Power Pro and Jerry Brown.

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  • 1 month later...

No good for bait casters with the anti tangle breaking system they have to prevent over winds, as I found with my shimmano cronarch.

Seems to be, because the braid makes more resistance coming off the spool, it tends to kick in abit for no apparent reason while casting, and if your using light leader, and casting something with a bit of weight to it, with a decent cast, you end up throwing a fair bit of tackle away! Very frustrating! More advanced reels, don't always mean better reels in some cases!

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shimano chronach 50 & 100 sizes i use up on the murray throwing lures for callop the 50 has 15 pound code red on it & the 100 has  20 pound rovex airstrike on it no problems casting minnows & spinner baits in fact the 50 set up correctly does'nt need the educated thumb employed, magic little baitcaster!

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There are a number of factors involved in controlling the cast from an overhead reel. Various different factors work together when casting, such as bearing oil viscosity, brake blocks, mag brakes, spool tension and last but not least, line diameter.

Line diameters are an important consideration when casting overhead reels any reasonable distance. If the line is too thick, the effective spool diameter (circumference) drops too quickly, and allows less line out per revolution. This will have a braking effect on the reel as the line has to try to increase the spool RPM in order to keep the same lure speed. Reel control is good, but distance suffers. In actual practice, air resistance will have an effect as well.

If line of too thin a diameter is used, then the effective spool diameter does not decrease quickly enough to keep the line taut as the lure gradually slows. It is a matter of balancing line diameter with other forms of braking, be that blocks, mags, oils etc in order to get the best distance and best control of the spool. When a reel is correctly tuned, or set up, it will not need any "thumbing" except when the lure or sinker touches down.

 

I used to use braid on overheads when casting lures for salmon, but not any more. Braid definitely has better feel, but does not seem to cast as nicely as mono off an overhead. Fixed spool is different, with braid definitely offering better distance.

 

Abu 5000 and 6000 size reels are ideal for salmon off the beach. My favourite mono sizes are 0.28mm (nominally 8lb) for the 5000 and 0.32-0.35 (12-15lb) for the 6000. Appropriate braid sizes would be roughly 20lb (5000 size) and around 30lb or slightly higher on the 6000. You can go up in line size, with a reduction in distance, or down in size, with a somewhat greater tendency for overruns. With decent knots, good 8 lb mono is more than a match for salmon up to at least the 4kg mark. A full length casting leader of heavier mono such as 30lb (wrapped several times around the spool) is needed to prevent snap offs when casting. It also assists when landing the fish.

 

As a last general tip for overheads, getting rid of the levelwind is one of the best things you can do. It will increase casting distance, reduce tendencies for overruns, and will be one less maintenance issue for the reel. The downside is getting used to manually levelling the line, but IMHO it is well worth the effort.

 

Regards,

 

SB

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For easiness of casting with baitcasters, use a line that is stiff; a line that has a body with it.  If it feels too limp in your hands it's bound to give you trouble.  Lines like Fireline and Power Pro are stiffer and easier to use.  I have a JDM line that handles like mono, but has the strength & sensitivity of braid. (Like Fireline, but more refined)

 

Castaway I would stay away from, 8 strand braids are way too soft & limp.  Stick to 4 strand if using braids.

 

Mono is the easiest to cast, but the sensitivity is lacking & stretch is troublesome. 

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Makes me giggle when I think about my mates in the UK who fish 90lb braid off the beaches and if they get any wind knots or tangles they just wrap one end of the line around the boot and the other end around the arm and rip the knots straight out! (better if the line is wet  ;) )

 

We used 4 oz to 6 oz sinkers with 60lb mono shock leaders for "Pendulum" casting, normally with 15 to 20lb main line.

 

Fairly easy to get extreme distances even with large baits with this method  :wub: 

 

PS Pendulum casting was rightly banned on competition days off the beaches for obvious reasons  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:  :rolleyes:

 

PPS Check out where the cameraman is standing in this video!!!!  :unsure:  :wacko:  :blink:  :o  

 

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Hi Tonyb,

 

As you are aware, technique is critical in distance casting. Distances with correct gear and clipped down baits can get to around 150 metres, but it's hard to convince people that have not seen it with their own eyes :-)

The John Holden videos are great, easy to follow and demonstrate how distance can be drastically improved with the right technique.

 

Cheers!

 

SB

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Yes Indeed SB, and the first thing we'd do would be too take off the level winds from our Abu Overheads (we call them "Multipliers" in the UK) and get the "educated thumb" too such refinement that night or day rain or shine it would be second nature and bird's nests became a very rare occurrence.

 

I had a mate who did a bit of tournament work who used to cast out and actually back off the spindle end thumbscrews as the cast was going out and all without thumbing the reel at all. Not for the faint hearted nor the inexperienced!

 

 

I have my first ABU 9000C reel still and can punch 170 yards out all day long with just a bare bones rig ie no bait.

 

I brought a 14 ft "Leslie Moncrieff" rod over to Aussie which is also around 50 years old now but my son eyeballed it gathering dust in the shed and it's now his pride and joy.

 

Happy days, tho' the need for these fast tapered, aircraft grade aluminium butts and graphite tips are not an option for Aussie fishing, neither is the need to be able to cast a minimum 100 yards with bait which was a norm in the UK.

 

http://lesliemoncrieff.wordpress.com/

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Hi Tony,

 

You are absolutely correct. This sort of casting is quite rare in Australia. There is a small group in Adelaide who practice casting over grass in order to refine technique. It may seem strange to some but it is the best way to learn as casting performance can be measured/quantified. I'll put up a link to a useful site, I hope the Mods allow it as there is a wealth of information there and I do not believe believe the site has any conflicting interests with this one:

 

http://www.australiansurfcastingfederation.org/

 

There are a number of people in general who think that distance casting is unnecessary, and that the fish are usually at your feet. In the main they are correct, but when the situation does arise when you need to get out to that salmon school that is 120 metres out, or get past the sand bar or surf break, then the ability to do it is there.

I should also clarify that my mention of a 30lb leader in an earlier post was intended for casting lures around the 2-3oz mark. When casting any more than that, the 60lb full length leader that you mentioned is defintely required for practical and safety reasons.

 

Cheers!

 

SB

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Had a giggle about your mention of practice casting in open paddocks as this was exactly what I was doing one day (while living in the UK) when a couple of cheeky young kids came by and watched me for a while then one of them asked what I was fishing for as the grasshoppers don't grow very big in this particular field?

 

Tis a bugga casting in soft ground as you sometimes found you had to walk near 200 yards each time to dig your 4oz to 6oz aerodyne sinker out of the ground!!

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Here's a pic of some practice casting weights. The lead weighted/plastic ones work well but have a tendency to shatter when they hit concrete paths etc. The aluminium one was turned up recently by one of the guys at work, I haven't had a chance to use it yet. The size/ shape means that they approximate a lead with a small clipped down bait but they do not "plug" when they hit the grass.

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Here are some reel pics: the top one is a modified reel, with the levelwind removed, a stainless steel bar installed in it's place, and an adjustable magnet installed in the sideplate. The second one has had the levelwind removed, bar installed, and a commercially available sideplate with magnetic cast control installed. The third pic is a UK made reel, (Abu 6500 style) with all the mods as standard. The last pic is of a Penn Squall 12 with 30lb braid. The Penn is a very tough reel with magnetic cast control, and casts extremely well, while having a much heavier duty gearing and drag system than the Abus. The Squall 12 is between the size of an Abu 5000 and 6000 and suits the 30lb braid well (back on topic :D)

 

Regards,

 

SB

 

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Wow! technological advances bring some good ideas to improve casting and here's the evidence.

 

My pride and joy was and still is, my good old ABU 9000C with it's lifetime Guarantee still valid 50 years down the track I believe.

 

First thing I did was to remove the levelwind and also all 4 of the centrifugal brake blocks. Regular lubing with the finest machine oil I could find was a given for this classic reel. I remember when they were first introduced to the Brit fishing scene they were installed with a plastic spool. We Geordies soon had them rethinking the design as the big cod we used to haul up which kicked the lower of the two reel ratios in, was enough to snap the spools in two pieces on the spindles!! Aluminium spools are standard now with these reels. It is a great shame that the Swedish craftsmanship of ABU Svangsta is now farmed out to mass producing nations with the advantage of lower costs but not as good build quality?

 

Cheers, tonyb.

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Hi guys.a bit off topic but wasn't sure how to message pictures.newtontony wanted to see sum pics of a old snyderglas I had refurbished.

One of the pics has a old penn sports 5120 with a shrink grip that I use as a spare rod.you will notice how the 4120 snyder is thicker in the butt section.must of been extended and shortened slightly because slightly thicker in the tip than the 5120.purchased from sports off the shelf in the mid 80s, haha.hope this helps you bud . Cheers mate

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