Surface iron setup.

[RileyW]

This is my first time posting on the new website after kellan shut it down, I guess because of some issues. Anyway I had a question about this jigstick I picked up the other day, I got a Calstar 90J MAG, I’m fairly new to the surface iron game. I took it for a few test casts, and it just seems like i can’t quite load it up the way I want to. Not getting the distance I need either. Part of the casting distance problem might be because of the reels I’ve had on it,a Penn jig master and a old school Avet. Both have good freespool though, any ideas? I have 40lb or 50lb mono on both reels.

[camobass]

Let about a rod length of line out and cast in a pendulum motion rotating the rod to where the reel is upside down on the release. You can actually cast far with less energy.
Being smooth is key

If you have the room, a golf swing/pitch from the hip will actually cast further than over hand.

Practice in a park or empty parking lot, bay if you’re close….something with room and practice. Water bottle filled to the same weight or a torpedo sinker.

[Roncador]

Let about a rod length of line out and cast in a pendulum motion rotating the rod to where the reel is upside down on the release. You can actually cast far with less energy.
Being smooth is key

If you have the room, a golf swing/pitch from the hip will actually cast further than over hand.

Practice in a park or empty parking lot, bay if you’re close….something with room and practice. Water bottle filled to the same weight or a torpedo sinker.

Yep.. action plays a big key, some 8 footers out there that can outcast a 10fter.

[lazyfisherman]

The more glass, the easier it is to load a surface iron rod. The 90j mag is a reinforced composite blank. Check out the calstar btg690j for an easier loading jig stick.

[OOlicon]

Surface Iron are lighter than heavy iron, so a lighter power and more parabolic action will help with binging the metal out there.

If you switch to a heavier bait, a more powerful rod should still work well.

[professionull]

I took my Calstar 900M and cut 3" off the top before wrapping it. I prefer my jig sticks a little stiffer but it's better to have the right reel with it. Torium 20's are good but I always prefer the Trinidad 20 even if it makes the rod a little heavier and a lot more mono before the braid (casting mono the entire way through with about 20 cranks more of mono until braid). I prefer the extra stretch you can get with the mono as opposed to floro straight to braid. Don't get me wrong, penn jig masters with accurate frames are still bitchin.

I mainly throw the tady 45 or 7 which are lighter jigs and just let them dangle almost by my reel when I cast and let them fly.

[Mike M]

Just a couple of things...

Try letting out different lengths of line from the tip. With your "smooth" casting swing, I'm sure you'll feel it when it is too short, or too long.

Pull with your left hand to add more pressure to your right hand (fulcrum) and load the rod more.

Rotate your right wrist as you cast... not sure why this works, but it helps me.

Now this may seem like heresy, put you could try to add a few magnets to your jigmaster's inner left side plate. Epoxy/attach metal washers, then add rare earth magnets (they don't need to be glued as they will hold themselves). Adjacent magnets should alternate polarity. The tutorials I've read seem to indicate that 3 is about right.

Good luck and I hope you converge to a solution that works for you!

[NewPageWhoDis]

Glass rods take a while to get down, especially those 9ft to 10ft.
What irons are you throwing? I think the sweet spot on the 90Js are Tady45s, JRI stingers/7s.
Go out to a marina or park and practice man, that’s what I would do.
I enjoy throwing with my 90Js more than my UC. Much less effort, for me at least.

[Gotfish?]

Just a couple of things...

Try letting out different lengths of line from the tip. With your "smooth" casting swing, I'm sure you'll feel it when it is too short, or too long.

Pull with your left hand to add more pressure to your right hand (fulcrum) and load the rod more.

Rotate your right wrist as you cast... not sure why this works, but it helps me.

Now this may seem like heresy, put you could try to add a few magnets to your jigmaster's inner left side plate. Epoxy/attach metal washers, then add rare earth magnets (they don't need to be glued as they will hold themselves). Adjacent magnets should alternate polarity. The tutorials I've read seem to indicate that 3 is about right.

Good luck and I hope you converge to a solution that works for you!

The reason rotating the wrist works to prevent backlashes is that gravity becomes your friend instead of your enemy. When the spool faces down at the end of the cast, the line is pulled away from the spool by gravity and doesn't backlash as easy.

Another tip is to thumb the side plate of the spool rather than the middle of the spool. Thumbing the middle of the spool will sometimes stop the line but not the spool and that leads to a backlash.

Also, don't over fill the spool, that also makes it more prone to backlashing.

If you do use braid as a backing, use the FG knot since that goes thru the guides much better than other knots like uni-uni. I put a dab of superglue on the knot and wipe it clean with a paper towel so it can't come undone.

[Slater]

A graphite or composite / eglass, carbon fiber, etc equivalent to a 90J is sooooooooo much more enjoyable to throw the iron......
I'll get bashed-on but it's reality....
Much easier to load-up, & not as heavy as those glass 90j's...
You can throw one all day long & not be fatigued like you would be throwing that heavy glass rod.
Technology has advanced & from where im standing, its a good thing...

[Gotfish?]

Some good advice here but it it doesn't work, ask a deck hand or an expert caster on the boat to cast your setup and comment. If that doesn't identify the problem, then cast and ask them to tell you what you are doing wrong. There are usually some slow times where they won't mind helping you.

[William Ritchie]

This may go contrary to all of the above . If using a conventional open top reel , turning the reel during the cast so that the spool is perpendicular to the horizon , water or land lets the spool spin like a top , which allows line flow Etc, to follow a good progression . If you are using a closed top level wind , even the best is 80 to 90 yards . With practice conventional open top a 5 oz jig can travel close to 150 yards or even further . Practice with an approximate weight of dog chain or similar so you don't hook yourself in the ass , with the chain sitting just about a foot to the rear of the pocket of your jeans and learn to load the rod from that position . Takes a bit of practice but well worth the effort .