How to throw a jig, a step by step walkthrough

[tuna taxi]

The only I problem I see on the first pic is that both his feet are not planted....wet deck, rocking boat, bait on the floor, fish slime, etc. I'm sure you get the picture....great tutorial though.

[af dreamer]

NEVER take your eyes off the jig,nothing in front of you but water!Tom

[get some]

I know that this is an old thread, but it's the first time I've read it.
It's a pretty good write up.
There is one thing that I have a problem with...

In the photos, you guys are starting your cast with WAY too much line between your tip and your jig. Unless you are doing a lob (pendulum) type cast, I would start with my jig at less than 1/2 the distance from the tip to the reel. Once you get past the sweet spot, you lose casting distance the further your jig is from the rod tip.

The most important thing to keep in mind when throwing the surface iron is that the distance of your cast is directly relative to the speed that you can move the rod tip through the 90 degree swing from start of cast to end of cast.
Imagine a protractor with your body being the 90 degree mark, the ocean is the 180 degree mark and the deck behind you is 0 degrees. As you start your cast, your rod tip is pointed at 45 degrees and when you release the jig, your rod is at 135 degrees. The faster that you can sweep your rod tip from 45-135 degrees, the further your jig will fly.

Here is something for you long rod enthusiasts to consider...
Those big rods like Harnells and 10' Uluas take more strength to pull through the cast and will cause more fatigue than a shorter and lighter weight rod. This fatigue will cause you to slow down and will cost casting distance later in the day.
So... Although the longer rod may cast farther on the first cast of the day, it's probably casting shorter by the end of the day. If you average out the distance of all the casts you make on a normal day, you probably get more distance casting a shorter rod...

[sitonmyface]

The guy looks off balance right off the bat. My back foot comes up a little on the follow through but the guy in your pics has it up at the start of his cast. Looks a bit spastic too me.

[Rudso]

I might have missed this in the thread but what exactly do you guys do to prevent the line from over spooling and causing a birds nest as far as the thumb's roll goes?

[DenisB]

Tim
your main points are right on the money
- feet planted & using the leg muscles thru the hips, plus upper body muscles.
once your feet leave the ground its only momentum not optimum muscle application in rod rotation that can occur.
- rotating the rod between both hands so that the point the rod is actually rotating around is sort of halfway between reel hand & butt hand.
- the deal is rotation plus forward movement .
Understand that the original post was aimed at newbies.
Understand that the space for casting is limited.

If it was me standing on the same foredeck:-
I would be standing about 2-3 ft further back from the rail & dropping my jig over the rail on the other side to get a longer arc to load the rod & no feet would be off the ground until the rotation of the rod was completed & the lure released. The back stepping distance is nothing compared to the velocity gain from the longer casting arc achieved & the resultant lure velocity is driven by 2 components:-
1.
The vast majority of the energy imparted into the lure comes from the rotation of the rod.
The velocity from this action comes from the deflection of the rod & its reflex as the lure is released.
Deflection comes not just from lure weight but from the inertia in the lure & rod as it is accellerated in the casting arc.
Reflex of the rod comes from stopping the rotation of the rod butt between the hands.
the follow thru comes after the stop..........no stop........ no effective reflex & its just a momentum cast from forward motion & a lot less distance.
2.
added velocity comes from forward movement in moving body posture from the back foot to the front foot ( with rear leg pushing on the ground/deck )and rotating upper body forward........... this translates into accelleration of the rod PRIOR to release & greater rod deflection, greater reflex & increased tip velocity at release.

Optimal accelleration of the rod in the casting arc comes at not a vertical cast arc , but at about 20 degrees from the vertical where body rotation ( twist as it were ) between hip & shoulders comes into play with increased acceleration..........but it requires space on your casting side............so if its not available you just have to use a vertical arc cast.

The optimal casting action consists of 3 critical phases:-
- accelleration
- stop of the rod rotation as the rear leg & hands reach their maximum extension in movement ( effectively momentarily freezing your hand locations ) & release of the lure
momentarily after that as the rod reflex occurs.
- then the follow thru with the rodtip following the line direction & rotation of the reel to suit the mechanical layout of the reel.

Many anglers fail to recognise the significance of the "stop' in the casting motion & what it is you are stopping............ easier to achieve with spinning reels than conventionals (without jerky accelleration of the spool & birdsnests, but a necessary action to optimise casting distance).
Without that stop it really is a trebuchet motion & the reflex of the rod is not employed to increase lure velocity & cast distance.

As the boat skipper and righthanded, my spot is right at the bow & I stop the boat so that its position allows casting to the fish from that position with maximum freedom of casting action...........Skippers have rights you know, my choice of spot & my positioning of the boat.........Cattleboat ........different story.........He He He.

[get some]

Very well said Dennis!
You brought up something that I forgot to mention in my explanation and I think that it bears repeating.
Once you've swung your rod through to 135 degrees (a 45 degree angle to the water) you should stop the rod as you release the jig.
This is a VERY BIG factor in getting a long cast.
When I cast, my rod comes to an abrupt stop when I reach the point where I release my jig. As Dennis said, this allows the inertia that is built up in the rod tip to release and it snaps the jig out from the tip of the rod. After that, you can lower your rod to facilitate the flow of line from the spool.
This is often the point where I will switch my reel from my right to left hand in preparation of the jig hitting the water so that I can throw it in gear the second it hits the water and start winding. It takes a little practice to get used to feathering the spool with your left hand at the end of the cast, but it frees up your right hand to throw the reel in gear and start winding.
Once you get really good at this, you can cast, switch the rod to your left hand while the jig is in the air and use your right hand to grab a sip of your beer before the jig hits the water. That's the point at which you've "arrived" as a proficient surface iron fisherman...

[sitonmyface]

Originally Posted by Rudso

I might have missed this in the thread but what exactly do you guys do to prevent the line from over spooling and causing a birds nest as far as the thumb's roll goes?

Did you mean thumbs role?? That's an easy one, use it!!

[get some]

Originally Posted by Rudso

I might have missed this in the thread but what exactly do you guys do to prevent the line from over spooling and causing a birds nest as far as the thumb's roll goes?

When you release jig, your thumb should be at the ready to feather the spool if it is spinning faster than the line is going through the guides. If you released your cast smoothly and your line is wound tightly and evenly on your reel, you should not need to touch the spool mid cast. Then, when your jig hits the water all you need to do is clamp your thumb down on the spool to keep it from spinning.

It sounds like you're fairly new to the whole casting thing, so let me give you some advice.

Start off slow and easy. Don't try to get the jig out there a mile. When you are learning how to cast, just try to go through the motion of casting without much force. Your jig will probably only go 10 or 15 yards, but at this point you are just trying to get the feel of releasing the jig at the right point. Keep doing this until you can do it without backlashing. An important thing to remember when you make short casts like this is to always pinch the line between your thumb and forefinger when reeling it in so that you'll get it on the reel tightly and evenly (if you don't do this, you will backlash every time). Keep doing this until you feel comfortable just going through the motion of casting. Once you're comfortable, start putting a little more force into your casts as you go. Before you know it, you'll be casting as far as the next guy.
This learning process works! I used this technique to teach my wife, who had never even held a fishing rod, to cast and within a couple of hours she had it down. If you're having trouble and getting frustrated, take a break and try it again later.
Good luck...

[Rudso]

Thanks Erik, that helped.

[sdangler]

Originally Posted by get some

Here is something for you long rod enthusiasts to consider...
Those big rods like Harnells and 10' Uluas take more strength to pull through the cast and will cause more fatigue than a shorter and lighter weight rod. This fatigue will cause you to slow down and will cost casting distance later in the day.
So... Although the longer rod may cast farther on the first cast of the day, it's probably casting shorter by the end of the day. If you average out the distance of all the casts you make on a normal day, you probably get more distance casting a shorter rod...

Yeah but then we'd be gay like every other guy out there throwing 6X's with a seven footer.

Same can be said for fighting the fish too I guess. I'll take my chances with the long rods.

[get some]

I think that I take offense to that remark?
I don't fish 7' rods and I've never owned a 6X or 6X Jr for that matter...

More importantly, I've never felt the need to prove my manhood by fishing with a 10' long phallic symbol. I'd rather prove it by putting more fish on the boat...