As a teenager, and during my early years of surf fishing, I was so insecure about my casting distance and had no idea how far we could cast a surf rod.
Consequently, and after each cast, I wondered if I had made it to a good distance or not, and if I could/should do better.
I also used to spy on the other fishermen next to me, observe their casting range, and compare it to mine.
Long story short, I lacked confidence in my casting skills and always wondered if I should go further to get more bites.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), I’m not the only one who didn’t know the optimal casting range when I first started fishing. I am a member of many Facebook groups and online forums, and every week I see questions from novice anglers asking how far can we cast a surf rod and where they are supposed to deploy their baits. As a result, I decided that maybe I should write something about it.
So how far can you cast a surf rod ? How far should you go when surf fishing ? And does the casting distannce even matter when fishing off the beach ?
In a nutshell, you will be able to cast 50-70 yards on a good day using a surf rod. That being said, you generally need less than that to catch fish in the surf.
In this article, we will answer the question of how far can we cast a surf rod, discover all the factors that dictate the casting distance, and also discuss whether or not your productivity depends on how far you throw the bait. So keep reading 😉
What dictates the casting distance ?
The rod length
The first factor that dictates your casting distance is the rod length.
As a rule of thumb, the longer the rod, the further you will be able to reach.
For surf fishing, your rod should be longer than 9ft because that’s what allows you to reach the interesting spots in most surfs. Personally, I never go under 12 ft when choosing a pole for shore fishing.
Read more about the optimal length for surf tods
The rod action
The action (or the speed) of a fishing rod defines where it bends when subjected to pressure.
Slow action rods bend starting from their lower 1/4 part. Moderate action rods bend starting from their half, while fast action rods only flex their higher part when pressure is applied to the tip.
For a maximized casting distance, you need a slow action rod. Why? Because as slow rods bend completely under pressure, their flexing adds more energy to the energy you create by loading the rod. Consequently, a slow rod casts better than faster (firmer) rods.
With that in mind, it’s worth mentioning that, in general, a fast action rod is better for surf fishing because it provides higher sensitivity and better hooksets.
Read more about the best rod action for surf fishing.
The casting weight
The heavier your sinker, the further you will be able to cast.
Adding weight to the terminal tackle creates more initial speed during the load, and as a result, increases the trajectory of the cast.
That said, keep in mind that the more weight you add, the less sensitive your tackle gets, and the harder it becomes for you to detect bites and set the hooks. I would suggest, therefore, to never compromise sensitivity to gain more yards of casting distance.
As a general rule, you need between 3 and 4 oz of casting weight when surf fishing. But you can go up to 6 oz if you want to reach further spots.
Note that the weight of your bait or lure also matters. Heavier lures and baits also help to cast further.
Don’t forget to use a shock leader when using heavy weights (more than 2 oz) in order to protect your terminal tackle and avoid injuring people around you.
The bait
The size and shape of your bait will also dictate the casting distance. Large chunks of bait tend to be slowed down by air and wind during the cast and as a result, fail to go so far.
An aerodynamic and well-presented bait will manage to cut in the air better and reach a greater distance.
This also applies to the other equipment you use for the terminal tackle. An egg-shaped sinker, for example, is more aerodynamic and will, therefore, go further than a pyramid sinker.
The line
Keep your line thin if you want to cast better.
Thicker lines receive more pressure from air and wind during the cast, and as a result, get slowed down and the bait drops sooner in the water.
A low diameter line cuts well in the air and withstand the wind better, allowing to take your offering to further areas.
Braid is the best option here because, compared to monofilament, it provides very low diameters without compromising the line strength.
The rig
Your rig needs to be simple and minimalistic if you want to maximize the casting distance.
Rigs with multiple hooks and many snoods and droppers receive higher pressure from the air during the cast, and as a result, fail to reach far spots.
A simple fish finder rig or carolina rig are the best options if you want to improve your casting range.
Your skills and power
The power you apply during the load phase plays an important role in determining your casting distance. That’s why an adult is generally capable of reaching more distance than a 10-year old kid… obviously 😀
With that in mind, your casting style, your experience, and skills, and also the synchronization and coordination between your muscles and nerves, all help to reach a greater distance.
The wind
Finally, the wind also plays an important role in determining your casting distance.
As a general rule, seaward wind helps to take your cast further while on the other hand, onshore wind applies against pressure and makes your tackle drop sooner in the water.
How far can you cast a surf rod?
So after reviewing all the factors that dictate the casting distance, it’s time to answer the question we are here for today : how far can we cast a surf rod ?
Well, while it’s quite obvious that an accurate answer can’t be given without knowing all the variables above, I can confidently say that the average casting distance for surf anglers range between 40-50 yards and that on a good day, a skilled fisherman can reach up to 70 yards if he has all the factors in his favor.
When I say on average, I mean a normal fishing trip where the choice of the tackle is based on many different purposes and not only the aim to maximize the casting distance.
In other words, the optimal line/rig/reel/rod for your fishing conditions is not always in line with which maximizes the casting distance. In fact, most of the time we find ourselves having to compromise the casting distance in order to improve our overall productivity and get more bites and more catches.
That’s what normal, and as I said, on a normal day, you should be happy with 40-50 yards of casting distance.
Now if you adjust all the variables to maximize the casting range you might be able to reach 70 yards if you have the right skills and power for it 😉
It’s also worth to mention that the factors that have the most effect on your casting distance are :
- Your power
- The casting weight
- The rod length
- The rod action
These are the factors that will make you reach the first 30-40 yards (80%). The other variables will only help to reach an additional 10-30 yards if adjusted properly.
How much do you really need to cast ?
We have discussed in a previous article that, when surf fishing, you have to target the sandbars that run parallel to the shoreline because that’s where you are more likely to find fish.
The sandbars are simply small bumps in the underwater terrain that you can easily identify by observing where the waves rise and start rolling over. As a general rule, you will find 1 to 3 sandbars on any beach you choose for fishing.
What makes the sandbars a great spot to target is the turbulence of water that occurs there, providing fish with the necessary cover to hide from larger predators and to hunt smaller prey.
The water turbulence also turns up the seabed and exposes more sand fleas, shellfish, and nutrients. As a result, fish hold more around the sandbars in order to compete for the feeding opportunities provided by the waves.
Bottom line is, the sandbars are where you want to deploy your baits when surf fishing.
So where are the sandbars located ? and how far you need to cast in order to reach them ?
Well, to answer this I have gathered some satellite pictures provided by Google Maps of different beaches in different states. My goal was to use the distance tool provided by Google in order to measure the distance between the shoreline and the first, second, and third sandbar. Here is what I found :
As you can see, the first sandbar is usually within the first 50 yards of the surf. In some cases, you can even reach the second sandbar with 50 yards of line.
For the other pictures where the first sandbar is beyond that range, I want to point out that when I was working on this, I only counted as a sandbar where I see a sharp cut-off between white and blue waters. If you take a closer look, you can see that I have skipped some areas where there is a subtle line of white waters that could also be a sandbar.
What I mean is that in some pictures (especially the first three at the top), the first sandbar could be much closer to the shore than I actually estimated, and what I have counted as the first sandbar, it is, in fact, the second sandbar.
So to answer our question, you only need 50-70 yards of casting distance when fishing off the beach.
50 yards will get you to the first sandbar (and sometimes the second) of most surfs, and if you are skilled enough to make it to 70 yards, you can benefit from the rewards we usually find in further spots.
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