Casting In Restricted Conditions

You say that on some boats you can cast that crankbait, fling your flutter spoon, or throw a tube jig with no problem at all. Yet on others, casting feels constrained? It’s no wonder. Even dedicated center-console fishing machines often have a cast-restricting hardtop, snaggy outriggers or VHF antenna, and other items in the way. And the more crowded the boat is, the less open territory you’ll have for using the standard, simple overhand cast. Never fear, dear angler, there are still plenty of ways to send your lure sailing out to the fishes. You will, however, need to get a bit more creative with your casting.

Overhead

Just to make sure we’re on the same page, let’s take a quick look at the overhead cast. You cock your fishing rod back overhead, swing for the stars, and heave that offering to the fish. No harm, no foul – just as long as nothing gets in the way.

Sidearm

When there’s an obstruction like a T-top directly overhead, but you have room on one side or the other, you can throw sidearm. It’s really no different than an overhead cast except that the rod remains on a plane more or less parallel to the horizon. With a little practice, just about anyone can get good at casting sidearm in short order. But there’s a catch, and we’re not talking about the one you’re hoping to make after completing your sidearm slinging. You’ll sometimes find yourself in a position where you can only cock back as far as the boat’s hullside, especially when standing at cockpit deck level (as opposed to being on an elevated casting deck). There may be people, lines, rods, or whatever in the way, preventing you from swinging the tip any farther back. And in this case, you’ll likely get just half of your normal casting distance.

Get a boost by holding the rod at a 45-degree angle to the boat, quickly swinging it back toward the hull, then immediately swinging it forward with your cast. Essentially, you create a bit of a slingshot effect if you send that lure traveling in the opposite direction before you propel it away from the boat. Just be wary of using too much sling and not enough shot, or you may smack the side of the boat with your lure – something no boat owner will be cheery about.

Underhand

There’s an obstruction overhead, and people too close to you on both sides to try for a sidearm? You’ll have to do an underhand cast (which is really half ­sidearm and half underhand in most cases, but significantly reduces how much room you need to the side). Reel your lure up until it’s just an inch or two from the rod tip, cock the rod tip back and hold it down low to the water, and swing up and forward. Underhand casts are easy to learn but generally have little power and don’t send the lures very far, though you can give them a bit of added oomph when standing on an elevated casting deck.

Bow-and-arrow

This is a technique used most often by shoreline anglers, but every now and then it can come in handy on a boat, too. When you can’t swing your rod in any direction, let a couple feet of line out, grab your lure, and pull back while pointing the rod away from the boat to put a strong bow in it. Then, simply let go and allow the tension stored up in the rod to sling the lure away. The harder you pull back and the more bend you get into the rod the farther the lure will go, but it’s tough to get more than a quarter of the distance of an overhand cast using this tactic. What’s critical about the bow-and-arrow, however, is making sure you do this in such a way that the hooks have no chance whatsoever of being propelled into your fingers or hand.

Flippy-dippy-doodah’

If you’ve never heard of the flippy-dippy-doodah, don’t feel bad. That’s most likely because it’s a made-up name, the brainchild of a neighbor who watched me use the technique and named it on the spot. If there’s a proper name for this cast, it’s news to me, and I’d welcome a note to let me know what it’s called. The flippy-dippy-doodah takes lots of practice and isn’t easy to learn, but once you have it nailed, you’ll be able to cast in an underhand position fully blocked above – and on both sides – with as much as three-quarters the power and range as casting overhead.

Here’s how it works: Leave no more than a foot of line between your lure and rod tip. Start with the rod about 45-degrees from the boat (or about 2 feet away), held with the tip as low as possible without letting the lure touch the water. Then quickly and firmly swing the rod tip in a circle, clockwise if you’re cocked to the left or counterclockwise if you’re cocked to the right (so the motion begins with the rod tip moving away from the boat). The lure will follow your rod’s arc, swinging in a circle. Allow it to travel beyond one full circle and about a quarter of the way into another circle, so it’s in line with the direction of your cast. Then swing the rod tip forward and away from the boat to propel the lure. This should all take place in a fraction of a second, and you need to make the circle with enough force that the rod tip is “loaded” (bent), filling it with potential energy that will be transferred to the lure when you let it fly. It’s not much different than the way a shepherd’s sling generates centrifugal force to propel a stone. Except that in this case, your target is more likely a goliath grouper than Goliath.

Which of these casts should you apply at any given time? The one that lets you propel that lure as far as possible without snagging an outrigger or piercing someone’s ear. It will vary by boat, your position in the boat, and the position of your fellow anglers. Each and every time you let a cast fly, it can change. But if you can learn them all and get that lure out to the fish, you’ll soon hook up and be singing “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” thanks to the results of that flippy-dippy-doodah!