Casting (fishing)

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A fly fisherman casting his lure on Soca River, Slovenia Fly-fishing-the-Soca-river-Slovenia.jpg
A fly fisherman casting his lure on Soca River, Slovenia
A Dutch angler beach-casting a multi-lure rig 00 0335 Angling in the Netherlands.jpg
A Dutch angler beach-casting a multi-lure rig
Barack Obama casting while fly-fishing for trout on the East Gallatin River near Belgrade, Montana President Barack Obama casts his line while fishing for trout on the East Gallatin River near Belgrade, Mont., on Aug. 14, 2009.jpg
Barack Obama casting while fly-fishing for trout on the East Gallatin River near Belgrade, Montana

In angling, casting is the act of the angler throwing the bait and hook (or a lure) as well as other attached terminal tackles out over the water, typically by slinging a fishing line manipulated by a long, elastic fishing rod. The term itself may also be used for setting out a net when artisanal fishing.

Contents

The basic technique is to quickly flick/swing the rod forward towards the water, with the inertia of the tackles lagging and bending the rod backward (i.e. "loading" the rod), and then use the "springing" (elastic rebound) of the rod to "hurl" and rapidly sling the line forward, which in turn will launch out the hook and bait. [1]

There are several methods anglers can use to attempt to cast farther, [2] the most prominent of which is the shifting of body weight towards the front foot in kinematic synchrony to the forward swinging of the rod. That, combined with using a longer rod, stopping the rod swing at 45 degrees, and using correctly weighted and more aerodynamic terminal tackles, will help anglers cast farther. There are also variation techniques the anglers can use to cast the tackles more accurately to an exact location on the water or to get past potential obstacles.

Casting techniques

Casting techniques vary with the type and style of angling involved. Different casting techniques are also used by different anglers according to personal preferences and proficiency, and each technique is named uniquely. In the single-hand sidearm cast, the angler first points the rod towards the targeted area, and then swing it back and then quickly forward like a tennis stroke, creating a cast with a relatively flat trajectory. Drop-casting, on the other hand, is all about fast sinking, and the angler must bring the rod high before releasing the finger grip on the line and drop the cast into water with full force. The double-handed overhead cast, used more for distance, uses a kendo-like overhead swing to throw the line as far as possible. [3]

Freshwater anglers typically use lightweight, faster-action rods and for panfishing or finesse fishing for popular mid-sized game fishes such as black bass or trout, while sturdier, heavier rods are used for larger, stronger and feistier fish. When casting light rods, sidearm casting techniques are typically used. If more distance is needed, an overhead cast is more common. For smaller, weed-rich bodies of water (such as ponds, small rivers/creeks and wetlands), where casting accuracy is more important than distance, anglers sometimes use a swinging technique known as flipping or pitching, an elastic technique known as a slingshot cast, or a softball pitch-like technique that can make the bait/lure skim the water known as a roll cast.

Saltwater anglers usually use heavier rods and lines, as they often use baits and lures that are bigger and heavier than those used on freshwater. Heavier again are the rods and lines used in surfcasting, and specialized two-handed casting techniques are used to provide the added distances required for the baits/lures to get past the surfs and reach inshore fish feeding near the upwellings. In these casts, the angler utilizes the entire body, rather than just the arms, to deliver the momentum of the cast, which may travel many hundreds of meters/feet.

Fly fishermen use ultralight artificial flies as a lure and thus use flexible lightweight rods to cast heavy lines. The technique often involve swinging the line in circles multiple times to build up momentum, before releasing the hand hold on the line and pointing the rod towards the intended direction, so the line ends up creating a loop that propagates like a wave and carries the fly out towards the far end with great accuracy. Once on or in the water, the fly can then mimic aquatic insects or other invertebrates and attract insectivorous fish such as trout and anadromous salmon.

Casting as a sport

A competitor, Jana Maisel, casts her fly into one of the goal pools at the 2005 World Games in Duisburg. Casting Fly (Sports).jpg
A competitor, Jana Maisel, casts her fly into one of the goal pools at the 2005 World Games in Duisburg.

Casting (known as Casting Sport) is also a sport adjunct to fishing, much as shooting is to hunting. The sport is supervised by the International Casting Sport Federation [4] (ICSF) which was founded in 1955 and as of April 2014 has member associations in 31 countries. [5]

The ICSF sponsors tournaments and recognizes world records for accuracy and distance. This sport uses plastic weights or hookless flies, and can be held on water or on athletic fields. There are competitive divisions for almost all types of fly, fixed spool and revolving spool tackle, and competitor classes. It has been included in the World Games (see photo) [6] and has been considered for the Olympics.[ citation needed ]

The American Casting Association held its 100th Annual Casting Championships in 2008 at the Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing</span> Activity of trying to catch fish

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques include trawling, longlining, jigging, hand-gathering, spearing, netting, angling, shooting and trapping, as well as more destructive and often illegal techniques such as electrocution, blasting and poisoning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing rod</span> Angling tool

A fishing rod is a long, thin rod used by anglers to catch fish by manipulating a line ending in a hook. At its most basic form, a fishing rod is a straight rigid stick/pole with a line fastened to one end ; however, modern rods are usually more elastic and generally have the line stored in a reel mounted at the rod handle, which is hand-cranked and controls the line retrieval, as well as numerous line-restricting rings that distribute bending stress along the rod and help dampening down/prevent line whipping and entanglement. To better entice fish, baits or lures are dressed onto the hook attached to the line, and a bite indicator is typically used, some of which might be incorporated as part of the rod itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing reel</span> Hand-cranked reel used in angling to stow fishing line

A fishing reel is a hand-cranked reel used in angling to wind and stow fishing line, typically mounted onto a fishing rod, but may also be used on compound bows or crossbows to retrieve tethered arrows when bowfishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing line</span> String or line intended for angling

A fishing line is any flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed attachment to the end of a rod, or via a motorized trolling outrigger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass fishing</span> Recreational activity targeting North American black bass species

Bass fishing is the recreational fishing activity, typically via rod-based angling, for various North American freshwater game fishes known collectively as black bass. There are numerous black bass species targeted in North America, including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass or Kentucky bass, and Guadalupe bass. All black bass species are members of the sunfish family Centrarchidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fly fishing</span> Angling technique

Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is insufficient to overcome air resistance, it cannot be launched far using conventional gears and techniques, so specialized tackles are used instead and the casting techniques are significantly different from other forms of angling. It is also very common for the angler to wear waders, carry a hand net, and stand in the water when fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angling</span> Fishing technique

Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniques such as handlining also exist. Modern angling rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a cranking device for storing, retrieving and releasing out the line, although Tenkara fishing and traditional cane pole fishing are two rod-angling methods that do not use any reel. The fish hook itself can be additionally weighted with a denser tackle called a sinker, and is typically dressed with an appetizing bait to attract and entice the fish into swallowing the hook, but sometimes an inedible fake/imitation bait with multiple attached hooks is used instead of a single hook with edible bait. Some type of bite indicator, such as a float, a bell or a quiver tip, is often used to relay underwater status of the hook to the surface and alert the angler of a fish's presence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big-game fishing</span> Offshore sportfishing targeting large fish such as tuna or marlin

Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore gamefishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game fish, usually on a large body of water such as a sea or ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recreational fishing</span> Fishing as a hobby

Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival and livelihood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing lure</span> Artificial fishing bait

A fishing lure is any one of a broad category of artificial angling baits that are inedible replicas designed to mimic prey animals that attract the attention of predatory fish, typically via appearances, flashy colors, bright reflections, movements, vibrations and/or loud noises which appeal to the fish's predation instinct and entice it into gulping the lure. Angling activities using lures are known as lure fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing tackle</span> Equipment used for fishing

Fishing tackle is the equipment used by anglers when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used in fishing can be called fishing tackle, examples being hooks, lines, baits/lures, rods, reels, floats, sinkers/feeders, nets, spears, gaffs and traps, as well as wires, snaps, beads, spoons, blades, spinners, clevises and tools that make it easy to tie knots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coarse fishing</span> Type of freshwater angling in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Coarse fishing is a phrase commonly used in Great Britain and Ireland. It refers to the angling for rough fish, which are fish species considered undesirable as food or game fish. Freshwater game fish are all salmonids, particularly salmon, trout and char. Generally, coarse fish are freshwater fish that are not salmonids, though there is often disagreement over whether grayling should be classified as a game fish or a coarse fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surface lure</span> Fishing lure

A surface lure or topwater lure is a diverse class of fishing lure designed to attract predatory fish through commotions produced at the water surface, imitating preys of interest swimming at the surface such as injured baitfish, frogs, wading mice, lizards and water snakes, drowning insects and dabbling ducklings. These lures are preferred by some anglers due to the belief that they attract larger-than-average fish, and from the added excitement of actually seeing the sudden splashes created by fish aggressively breaching the surface to strike the lure, in some instances even clearly seeing the fish stalking the lure before striking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surf fishing</span> Land-based game fishing technique

Surf fishing is land-based game fishing while standing on the shoreline or wading into the surf zone. A general term, surf fishing may or may not include casting a lure or bait, and refers to all types of shore fishing – from sandy and rocky beaches, rock jetties, or even fishing piers. The terms surfcasting or beachcasting refer more specifically to surf fishing from the beach by casting into the surf at or near the shoreline. With few exceptions, surf fishing is done in saltwater. The most common misconception about surf fishing is the idea that one must cast as far out as possible in order to reach the fish. At beaches on the west coast of the United States, and in fact, at most beaches around the world, you only really need to get your bait into knee-deep water. This is referred to as surf fishing the "skinny".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing techniques</span> Methods for catching sea creatures, especially fish

Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs and edible marine invertebrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing bait</span> Object or substance used to attract fish

Fishing bait is any luring substance used specifically to attract and catch fish, typically when angling with a hook and line. There are generally two types of baits used in angling: hookbaits, which are directly mounted onto fish hooks and are what the term "fishing bait" typically refers to; and groundbaits, which are scattered separately into the water as an "appetizer" to attract the fish nearer to the hook. Despite the bait's sole importance is to provoke a feeding response out of the target fish, the way how fish react to different baits is quite poorly understood.

Fly fishing tackle comprises the fishing tackle or equipment typically used by fly anglers. Fly fishing tackle includes:

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fishing:

Spey casting is a casting technique used in fly fishing. Spey casting can be accomplished with either a normal length fly rod, or a rod referred to as a double-handed fly rod, often called a Spey rod. Spey rods can also be used for standard overhead casting. Spey casting differentiates itself from other fly fishing techniques as it has no back-cast.

Kite fishing is a fishing technique. It involves a kite from which a drop line hangs, attached to a lure or bait. The kite is flown over the surface of a body of water, and the bait floats near the waterline until taken by a fish. The kite then drops immediately, signaling to the fisherman that the bait has been taken, and the fish can then be hauled in. Kites can provide boatless fishermen access to waters that would otherwise be available only to boats. Similarly, for boat owners, kites provide a way to fish in areas where it is not safe to navigate - such as shallows or coral reef.

References

  1. C. Boyd Pfeiffer (1999). Fly Fishing Saltwater Basics: Saltwater Basics. Stackpole Books. ISBN   0-8117-2763-7.
  2. "How to cast further: a beginners guide". Carp Fishing Hub. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  3. "How to cast a fishing Rod". 18 July 2022.
  4. "Castingsport - International Casting Sport Federation".
  5. "Members – Contacts List". International Casting Sport Federation. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  6. "CASTING SPORT". International World Games Association. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.