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Spinning reels: Long Cast Factors


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What are some of the factors that effect cast distance in Spinning Reels?

My main application is casting light weight surface lures.

A larger spool diameter I find provides me with a longer cast. Hence I prefer using 2500 size reels over 1000 size.

Spool length I am unsure of. I have a Vanford 2500 which has a longer spool to it's predecessor the Stradic 2500 Ci4+ but not a wider spool.

I don't feel a noticeable difference in the length of cast with the longer spool.

Are they any other factors to consider in a reel to improve your casting?

Cheers, Des

P.S. Attached a the spool size specs for the old Stradic Ci4+. Should anyone find one similar for the Vanford could you post it up please.

StradicSizes.jpg.dadce872f4614f3b9fe9a4eb76cfec90.jpg

 

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Heres some stuff Ive heard or tried for long casting with bream gear

Lightest line you can possibly get away with

FG Knots

Filling spool dangerously close to the lip

Smooth casting action, so lures dont tumble in the air or just use lures that arent prone to tumbling and are slightly heavier.

Having a rod correctly matched to the lures you throw most often

Ive been told long rods are the go -but Ive never gone much longer than 7 foot.

Long casting surf and carp spinning reels tend to have long, fat spools and I remember the super fat alveys being a great distance casting reel.

I also use 2500 for the fatter spool - but Ive never actually gone down to the park with different out fits to see which one casts the best. That would be the only way to be sure which outfit was your gun long casterimage.png.483cfe1b1d6b0261dd4e5fe404cc8c91.png

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1 hour ago, yellow door 1 said:

Heres some stuff Ive heard or tried for long casting with bream gear

Lightest line you can possibly get away with

FG Knots

Filling spool dangerously close to the lip

Smooth casting action, so lures dont tumble in the air or just use lures that arent prone to tumbling and are slightly heavier.

Having a rod correctly matched to the lures you throw most often

Ive been told long rods are the go -but Ive never gone much longer than 7 foot.

Long casting surf and carp spinning reels tend to have long, fat spools and I remember the super fat alveys being a great distance casting reel.

I also use 2500 for the fatter spool - but Ive never actually gone down to the park with different out fits to see which one casts the best. That would be the only way to be sure which outfit was your gun long casterimage.png.483cfe1b1d6b0261dd4e5fe404cc8c91.png

Yes  ... Rod, Line, Lure, leader Knots introduce a whole lot of different factors for the cast distance of lures.

My preference is to use a 7' 6" rod for mainly 4 to 9 gram lures.

However I am focussing only on the variables with the reels/spools here.

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1 minute ago, Des said:

Yes  ... Rod, Line, Lure, leader Knots introduce a whole lot of different factors for the cast distance of lures.

My preference is to use a 7' 6" rod for mainly 4 to 9 gram lures.

However I am focussing only on the variables with the reels/spools here.

Ahh gotcha - I was told wider spools cast further - so I jumped up from 1500 to 2500. I cant remember ever actually testing it but I got the impression it was true. And my experiences with Alvey reels made me think the wider the better.

The less the distance between the line and the spool lip - the easier it slips over that lip while casting. So a larger spool means more line has to slip off before it starts bumping hard on the spool lip.

Im sure theres a limit to how wide a spool can be before it starts bringing its own problems. But i havent had issues with 2500's

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Salt Strong looked at reel size. Using identical 7'6" rods, one with a 1000 Diawa Fuego and the other a 3000 Diawa Fuego, both spooled with 10lb Power Pro and using the same weight. They conclude there was a noticeable difference, but it looked pretty negligible to me.

They were casting what looks like a 28gm teardrop weight, so different to your use. I suspect the difference would be even less with lighter weights.

When I go fishing, if I'm fishing from the shore or with a tub in tow across the flats, I often carry a spare reel in case I have a session ending wind knot, then I can just swap reels (if only spare spools were readily available and affordable!). On the occasion when I have swapped out a reel, I haven't noticed much difference when swapping out a larger reel for a smaller reel.

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What MAH said.

Larger longer spool will give slight distance advantage, I feel this is less noticeable as line diameter reduces but smaller reels perform better else where, I'd personally favour comfort over an extra metre or 2 cast distance 99% of the time.

The rod & caster do the real work with casting if you want more distance I reckon you'll get much more by getting skinnier slicker braid assuming you're not already at the limit for that.

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Went from a 1000 to a 2000 and noticed I got better distance.. Same line, same rod.. Had a long cast spool and standard with the 1000 reel not much difference.. Might change with heavier lures, but Im like Des and cast 2-7 gram lures.. I have a long cast surf reel, which has a smaller diameter spool and I have a similar reel with a wider spool.. They wider spool seems to cast further with 30gram weights.. Same line. same rod.. Maybe its just me????

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With everything else being equal, longer casts boil down to less resistance on the line as it leaves the spool. Essentially the less times the line coming off the spool has to either change directions (long vs standard spool) or less times it is wrapped (spool diameter) the less resistance. 

Whether these factors are tangible or not is a different story.

Personally I enjoy the effortless casting of my 1000 on a UL 7'6 over the same reel in a 2500 on a standard 7'3 - they both cast the comparable distance (noting different blank actions). However, if I could find the same balance on a 2500 I would take it. Higher retrieve rate and in my experience less wind knots than on my 1000.

 

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As TL explains most long term casters find a happy medium with spinning reels,but after going through hundreds of casts in a day i just found it easier to switch to low profile bait casters.Light weight no wind knots,and having shoulder and upper back issues i switched from RH to LH winding using light weight rods and reels which are pricey.Now depending on species i can cast 3 to 4 casts per minute,just gave me a longer trouble free run in continuing fishing.

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Vector maths says larger and longer spools will have less friction, but I think it's very small in percentage terms between each reel size jump. I think the rod makes way more difference. Most importantly the distance, height, and size of the first eye to the reel. But overall I expect the rod length and loading ability is likely going to be the most important thing.

I've bought a lightweight baitcaster for the same reason @SurfcaztR but yet to use it. I look forward to birds nests as I didn't go with a DC cos I thought the sound they make would give me the irrits :D.

But I'm with TL, I think weight vs retrieve speed is my most important consideration due to lure fishing needing way more casts.

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Soobs..switching across to a totally different style of reel is at first challenging but can be a fun experience getting there and getting better at it.I still use both in spin and BC depending on wind conditions or species,but once you start mastering a BCaster your fishing experience changes but you have to do it to get there.Most of my BCaster use is at Happy Valley Reservoir or fishing the flats.

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My planned use is for the Murray flicking at snags, and I think it should be good for flathead from the boat too. I'll be travelling a fair bit next year and it will get used for Barra/Jacks etc. I'm tempted to get a quite lightweight rod too, 1.8-11g for YFW but wondering how the BC reels would go for that use.

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19 minutes ago, Soobz said:

My planned use is for the Murray flicking at snags, and I think it should be good for flathead from the boat too. I'll be travelling a fair bit next year and it will get used for Barra/Jacks etc. I'm tempted to get a quite lightweight rod too, 1.8-11g for YFW but wondering how the BC reels would go for that use.

Not great, unlike overhead surf casters at the heavy end of the scale BC reels are no good for getting distance with super light weights.

Top end BC gear is ok on the light stuff but won't match a light spin setup for distance it is however way superior for accuracy, with practice you'll be hitting pigeons at 20m with ease so perfect for flicking around lutes at structure from a boat or yak.

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It was mentioned earlier about lures tumbling through the air. I think this can have more of an effect on distance than spool diameter.

I can ping a 15g tear drop sinker that flies nice an straight noticeably further than a #3.0 squid jig tumbles through the air and moves with the direction of the wind.

There is a technique in squid fishing for reducing the tumbling of jigs. You place a bead on your leader, straighten one of the prongs on the bottom crown, then put the straightened prong in the bead, so the jig hands head down with the weight at the end of the line. After you cast, the first jig of the line releases the squid jig so it's point the the right direction again.

 

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@Wert Yeah it wouldn't be a day on the flats usage, though I do wonder if the ease of casting, when skilled, makes up for the lack of distance. BC reels are on par weight wise, and the spools are lower friction than ever, but certainly not as well sealed as a spin reel. The upside to that is they are quite easy to self service if you're mechanically inclined.

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Majority of my reels are BC low profile & Overheads. I have removed the brakes on most & placed the Knob to zero friction. You get used to them & only have spinning reels for the grandkids. Easy self maintenance & seem to work forever. Now & then have them fully serviced by South Oz Rods. Many are over 20 years old & still work a treat. 

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