How to Cast a Spinning Rod

Fishing is one of those pastimes that are incredibly versatile. It can serve as your hobby, and it can serve as your livelihood. It offers a multitude of benefits that we will not go into detail about right now. However, it does require its own accessories which can snowball into a measurable cost.

It is such a great way to spend one’s time; it works your mental and physical capabilities while allowing you to separate yourself from the rest of the world and focus on the peaceful aquatic life. 

Moreover, If you choose to go for a high-quality fishing rod, it will probably serve you well and weather a good number of years by your side. With a little bit of maintenance every now and then, your rod should work perfectly. 

Therefore, if you decide to take up fishing and go for a spinning rod, there are a few tricks and basics that you will need to keep in mind. Throughout this article, we will walk you through a guide to the perfect cast possible.

1. Fundamentals

In any new sport, the very first thing that you need to take care of will be the fundamentals, basics, or terminology related to this sport. And, since we are talking about casting a spinning rod, there are a few things that you need to know down to the last detail. 

These are the parts that contribute to the casting process, such as the bail, which is the metal half-circle, which acts as a lock. It allows you to either put your lure in free-spin or lock it down. If it’s in free-spin, that means that it can fly out forwards to land in your target spot; however, if it’s locked down, then you can only pull it back to retrieve it.

The rail shaft is the part that connects the spinning mechanism to the rod, and it is quite essential when positioning your hands to hold your rod comfortably. 

The lure or the thread is the line that goes through the guides and hangs from the rod. It should hang 6 to 8 inches from the top of the rod as to avoid becoming too loose or too short

2. Practice Makes Perfect

Worst case scenario when you’re an amateur fisherman or even an experienced one is to have the hook stuck on anything, unintentionally. It could even hit someone else, and that is simply a disaster. You certainly wouldn’t want to be reaching for your emergency kit often, do you? 

Therefore, our advice is to attach a practice plug for safety. Take your fishing rod and go out into an open space, preferably one with as little obstacles as possible. This way, you can practice your casting skills as much as you desire. You could even take it down to the water and practice there. Still, most importantly, stay away from any trees, buildings, human beings, or animals.

3. Steps

Now to the actual steps required to cast a spinning rod:

1. The first thing that you need to do is to hold the rod in your dominant hand.

2. The place where your hand would go around is the shaft that we have spoken about earlier. Some people are comfortable putting the shaft between the middle and ring fingers; some put it between the index and middle finger, while others move it way back so that it’s placed between the pinky and ring finger. That is all decided according to your own preference and comfort; the essential thing here is that you know that you’ll be holding your fishing rod for extended periods, so you want to be entirely in sync with it.

3. The next thing is to open the bail and make sure that the lure is 6 to 8 inches from the tip of the rod.

4. Using your index finger, grab the lure back just a tiny bit. You don’t need to lay it flush against the blank of the rod as that will cause tangles and bends in the lure. You need to pull it a little bit. 

5. Take the right position of casting, which consists of facing your target and holding the rod in your dominant hand so that the handle forms a V with your forearm. Your non-dominant arm can be used as a steering one. Hence, all the energy will come from your dominant hand into the rod, expelling the lure in the intended direction. However, choosing and maintaining that direction will be the responsibility of the non-dominant hand. 

6. When you move the handle so that it closes on your forearm, eliminating the V, at that exact moment, you ought to release your index finger so that the lure can fly freely towards your target. If you find that your lure has fallen at your feet, then you have released your index finger too late; on the other side, if it flies upwards, then you have released too early.

7. Lock the bail and wait for your catch.

4. Different Casting Planes

As mentioned before, you should always face your target perfectly; however, there are various planes at which you can cast your lure. This all depends on your own preference and muscle dominance in your body.

You can cast either over your dominant hand or over your non-dominant hand, which. This is known as an above cast. You can also go for a side cast, which is a middle ground between the above cast and the lower cast (AKA rolling cast) that means that the lure skips over the water several times as it is initiated right above the surface.

Final Thoughts 

Some people might think that fishing is a complicated sport with all the tools, accessories, and baits included; however, you can choose the level of complexity that suits you. You can go out fishing with the most basic rod and any bait that you have on hand, or you can choose to go full out and try different ways and different baits in order to capture a specific catch. 

So, if you are an amateur, we would suggest that you take things easy and start at the very beginning of the learning curve. Learn the fundamentals and study them well as that will prove quite beneficial as you become more advanced and familiar with the sport.

Moreover, don’t forget that practice makes perfect, so do not hesitate to take your rod and practice the different types of casts in your backyard until you hone your fisherman skills.