There are a couple ways to guide your lure on the cast. Do not simply crank the handle to close the bail, or flip it closed manually while the lure is in the air. The lure will snap back toward you before landing, hurting your accuracy. Plus it will land too hard, possibly spooking the fish. It's better to gauge the flight of the lure, and then when the time is right, get that all-important forefinger back in the game by extending it and feathering the line coming off the spool, in effect slowing it down for a soft landing. Another method, which I prefer, is to put your opposite hand to work. As your lure travels to the promised land, move your opposite hand close to the reel and then feather the line with a finger or two as your lure approaches the target. Or, just cup the spool to stop the line. Take a look at the accompanying photos to better understand these techniques.
For casting lures at spooky red in very shallow water, use a light-tipped spinning rod to deliver a soft landing.
A quick word about one-handed versus two-handed casting: If you have been casting spinning rods with one hand all your life, chances are you won't need to change in midstream; otherwise, try two-hand casting for the sake of accuracy, and distance when you need it. If you're already an accurate "side-armer" more power to you, but beginners will do well to learn the "snap cast," a proven casting method for the flats. It's a two-handed, over-the-ear cast that helps with accuracy because both hands come into play to better control the path of the rod during the cast. Also, you can apply maximum power to speed up the rodtip to punch a lure into the wind because you pull the butt of the rod toward you as you snap the foregrip toward the target. A right-hander who normally holds a rod in the right hand will grip the back of the butt grip of the rod with the left hand, and vice versa.
Speaking of butt (rear) grips, they are usually too long on most off-the-rack spinning rods. Ten- to 12-foot spinning rods suited for offshore and surf fishing have grips 24 inches long and more, but for light-tackle casting, 8 to 10 inches max is more practical. You don't want the rod poking you in the gut, or catching in your clothes.
Spool up your Spinner: Monofilament or Braid?
Braided Spectra line, a.k.a. "super braid or super line" is catching on these days among inshore anglers most concerned with winching fish away from structure, such as a dock, bridge piling or bottom debris. The stuff has very little stretch. Many anglers also tout the extra sensitivity and solid hooksets that this fiber provides. Also, braid is more abrasion-resistant and lower in diameter than monofilament given equal line-test.
Sounds like braid would get the vote over mono for sight fishing with spinning tackle out on the flats, right? Not so fast.
Anglers sight casting with spinning tackle on an open grassflat need not be as concerned with things like abrasion resistance, unless of course, there are lots of sea fans, coral outcroppings, oysters or generally "crunchy" bottom to contend with. And keep in mind that a little bit of stretch can be a good thing. Since mono stretches under pressure, it is more forgiving, and you'll usually have a relatively short length of line outside your rodtip while sight fishing because casts are usually short. Case in point: If you've ever hooked a super-charged tarpon that went ballistic close to the boat after the hookset, or experienced the "blastoff" of a drag-burning permit or outsized bonefish, maybe you realize that in the heat of the moment, that stretch factor was your ally. Consider this: Fly line stretches a heap, too, and look at how many good flats fish are hooked and landed on fly tackle.
Also, there is much debate over casting qualities of mono and braid. Many anglers have jumped on the braid wagon, claiming they achieve more distance. But, many experienced anglers are still convinced that mono casts better with spinning reels, though braid may outperform mono on a revolving spool (baitcasting) reel.
Low-diameter braids (generally less than half the diameter of typical mono given equal pound-test) fly off a spinning reel spool effortlessly, and with zero memory, but are actually so limp that if you wind on the least amount of slack-which is hard to avoid-you'll bury a loose loop under the following wraps. Then, the next time you cast at that trophy tailing bonefish, you hear a big p-p-hffttthh, out comes the snarl and it's goodbye Mr. Bone. This happens with monofilament, too, but not as readily, and monofilament snarls are much easier to untangle. The fact is, even the limpest monos are stiffer than the average braid, and don't cause as much of a problem overall.
If you insist on flats fishing with braid, stick to the 20-pound-test stuff (similar in diameter to most 6-pound-test monos) or something heavier. Some manufacturers are now turning out 6-pound-test braids with the diameter of, well, your wife's sewing thread. And that will be a nightmare in the tangling department.
If you can manage to wind braided line on your spinning spool tightly over the course of a fishing day, you'll like the way it punches into a breeze. It is when you cast across a moderate to strong wind that you may notice it gets "carried" by the wind a bit more than mono. Mono is slick and smooth, cutting that crosswind a bit better. Braid's rougher coating creates more friction, thus can blow off course a bit more readily.
On the plus side, braid's low diameter allows it to cut through the water easier, and doesn't create as much of a "belly" as mono can, so there's possibly less strain on your knots when a big, fast-running fish is dragging your line at right angles.
When fighting a fish on the flats, after the run stops, you pump the rod, drop it a bit while gaining some line, then repeat the process until it takes off on a another run. Again, unless you're very, very attentive, the least bit of slack under subsequent tighter wraps of braided line will cause tangles on the next cast, or worse, will allow the braid to cut into the "soft spots" on the spool. Low-diameter braided line's tendency to "dig into itself" on the spool may cause a sickening "rifle shot" when your next fish heads for the horizon. I can still see-and hear-the end of a permit fight that I lost thanks to buried braid.
Also, you may inadvertently pack slack line on your spool when you wind in quickly to recast at a fish. You're watching that fish, not your line, and if you tend to hold your rod high to keep your lure or bait clear of grass or what have you, your lure or bait will flip in and out of the water and jump across the surface of the water on its way back to the rodtip, creating slack, which you invariably wind onto the spool. There are two ways to minimize this: One, dip your rodtip into the water while you crank in, or, keep your rod up, but extend the forefinger of your rod hand so that the line strikes it just before it reenters the bail roller. Both methods put a little extra tension on the line, helping you pack it a little tighter.
There are obvious tradeoffs with both lines. To determine which you prefer as a sight-fishing line, just spool up and put them through the paces.
