Fishing - Preparing to Cast

Hi, I am Captain Steve Chaconas with National Bass Guide Service. We are going to teach you how to cast a spinning reel. One of the things we have already talked about is the anatomy of the spinning reel all that knowledge is going to come in handy, because now we are ready to cast.

What you need to do, is remember all of the parts of the reel that we had talked about earlier, this is the line roller, this is the bail, this is the rotor the whole assembly that turns around, this is the handle, this is the spinning wheel. We take our hand, we have already learned to grip, so now we are gripping, we also want the line roller in the top position, so we can grip it with our finger. If the line roller is not in the top position, obviously we can't do that. So, rotate it around until we can have that line roller close to our fingers, so we can grip that line with the index finger. Then were going to open up the bail with our opposite hand, we are going to grip the rod in the back, with our opposite hand and we are going to make a cast simply by bringing the rod back and bringing it forward and releasing this finger. So, heres what it looks like. Close the bail by hand, pull the line underneath the line roller, that eliminates any kind of twist or any kind of problems that you may have with loops forming in the reel, now you are ready to fish and bring your lure back to the boat. Okay, now were going to get ready to make a cast, but before we do, we have to make sure our bait isn't too far away from the tip of our rod. We want to have it about maybe about a foot or less, so I can either turn the rotor, or turn the handle, the rotor actually allows you to make smaller adjustments to get that line in a proper position. Now, I have it about a foot or less from the tip of the rod, I am going to open up the bail, take my right hand put it on the back of the rod, I am going to bring the rod back, let it flex, when it flex it stores energy, when it stores energy it allows you to use the rod to help you do the work.

Also, look the only thing that I am moving is my wrist, I am not moving my forearm, I am not moving my shoulders, I am not leaning into it, I am not stepping into it, it's all in the wrist. Using the right hand or in the case of a right-handed person using the left hand, you could stabilize the rod, cast straight forward, look at your target, bring the rod back, let it go and you got a perfect cast every time. Close the bail by hand, make sure the lines are underneath the line roller and then you can retrieve your lure back to the boat. Next we are going to talk about the pre-cast.