1simplemann

At the time that I asked the question I was unaware that marshal actually helped JW get off the sandbar. Such action is clearly against the rules and I understand the weight disqualification although personally I think the penalty is a little steep since IMO it was safety situation but that's just my opinion. I thought JW did all the work himself and simply had the marshal get out so JW could free himself. I received a reply from JW's marshal and apparently they discussed this very same issue. Both were similar situation but different circumstances. An angler is allowed to reposition his marshal in the boat so Ish was well within the rules. Thanks for the reply. Let's let this thread die now.

That was my point. Both were stuck on a sandbar. One marshal moved out of the boat and the other moved in the boat. Both were able to free themselves because their marshals moved. If JW got a disqualification why not IM? Clearly IM got "assistance" from his marshal by moving to the front. It doesn't matter now anyway, I got a rule clarification from a marshal. Apparently anglers are allowed to reposition their marshals in the boat and moving them to the front is within the rules. I'm good with that. I simply just wanted to know what the rule was. Thanks to all that replied.

This is exactly how I feel. JW's marshal did get out of the boat which did enable them to get back. In this instance it's a safety thing that should be an exception to the rule. Maybe a weight penalty but certainly not a weight disqualification. I'm not a JW fan but I thought he got a raw deal in this case. BASS took a narrow view IMO. But an argument could be made that by moving to the front as requested by Ish, the marshal assisted in this case as well. Ish knew he wasn't getting off anytime soon if his marshal didn't move. By moving, the marshal sped up the process therefore allowing Ish more time to fish. Also a narrow view but IMO just as narrow as the JW case. One marshal just moved further than the other.

So last week, Wheeler gets stuck on a sandbar in Galvaston Bay that he didn't know was there. He asks his marshal to get out so he can get off. He self reports and his weight is disqualified because the marshal is not allowed assist the angler in any way. I didn't agree with total weight disqualification but that's what BASS determined. It is what it is and JW knows the rules. This week, Ish tells this big story about how he made a wrong turn and ended up getting stuck on a sandbar. Sound familiar? Ish then tells on BASS Live that he asked his marshal to move up front so he can get the boat off the bar. He spends an hour pushing and finally gets off. He's so tired that he basically starts fishing right where he get's unstuck. He unexpectantly has a good day there and goes on to tell us that it was good mistake to make. So my question is, Isn't this a different version of JW's disqualification last week? In both cases the marshal assisted. I been stuck before and moving the weight forward definitely helps. If his marshal didn't move then Ish wasn't going to get off that bar that quickly. Where does BASS draw the line?

I actually looked this up because his accuser said it was "all over the internet" and it peaked my curiousity. I didn't find much. What I did find a was in reference to a tournament on the Red River when he was fishing the FLW a few years back. He was accused of hiring a guide. JW stated he didn't hire anyone. He said he a had buddy show him into an area that he wanted to fish because it was a bad area to get into with out tearing up your boat. His buddy showed him a safe way in. Sounds legal to me but close to the line. Still legal though. From what I read, FLW questioned him and he also passed a lie detector test. To me, that's the end of the issue. I found nothing in reference to him looking at Basstrakk which was also suggested. I think the guy is clean.

Ok here's what I did tonite after work. I swapped the # 2 and 3 batteries hopefully trying to isolate the problem. # 2 and 3 lights are now red 1 and 4 are green. I will let them sit all night on the onboard and see what I have in the morning but I think I my charger is going bad.

Has your lake's water fluctuated in the last 20 yrs? Here's what I did. My lake is not mapped. I looked at older GE maps that had lower water levels. By doing that not only did I find humps that I didn't know existed but I also found rock piles that I didn't know existed. Not all produce but some are pure gold. In late summer or early fall, I have whacked them pretty good in 30' water. Numbers and size! It's a timing thing. I was on the lake last week end and it was a ghost town out deep which is what I expected but I had to keep them honest and check anyway. Everything was 8' or less.

OK I did that and I get 2 red lights and 2 greens! I put them back and I get 3 greens and a red. I have Everstart batteries. They are 1 week old. Each one has 12 volts going across. I'm going to pull it and put it on a charger. All the leads coming from the onboard are #'d. The weird thing is the # 3 light is the one that's red but when I pull it I get 2 reds and 2 green. When I pull the # 2 lead I still have 3 greens and a red.

I bought a used Ranger VS 620 this winter. I took it out this last weekend 1st time to familiarize myself with it and plus get some fishing in. All 3 of the trolling motor batteries had to be replaced Sunday despite me religiously plugging in the boat over the winter every month for several days. My mistake was never actually reading the lights because there was a 1' of snow on the cover and didn't want to have crawl in there. I just had the plug hanging out under the cover. The original owner said the batteries were only 18 months old. The batteries going bad seemed odd but I thought it was my fault and they had froze somehow. Anyway, my onboard charger has 4 lights. All 4 read green on Monday morning after a day of fishing the day before but I had trolling motor issues. The prop on the Ultrex would not turn but would power up. In fact part of the problem was that the rocker switch would not power down. The blue light stayed on constantly. Which explains why my batteries died because I basically had a draw on them all winter because the trolling motor was on I'm assuming all winter. There is a kill switch in the battery compartment that I thought killed all the batteries. The service center said bring me the motor so I unbolted it Friday evening. That's when I noticed that the blue light on the trolling motor at the foot pedal was still on. Since I had flipped that switch I started looking around and noticed that the switch was only for the main battery. So right away I thinking I had a draw on the batteries all week. I check and sure enough all 4 read "red". I plugged in the boat and yesterday I had 3 "green" lights and 1 red. So now I'm thinking that the draw on the batteries killed a battery or least drew it down far enough that the onboard charge wouldn't pick it up meaning that I'm going to have to pull out the "red" one and put it on a regular charger. Now I need figure out which battery it is. Following the lines back to the charger would be very challenging so I just put test light across all three trolling motor batteries and the main battery. All 4 read good! I'm confused as to why that 1 "red" light is on. The boat is new to me and my previous boat didn't have 36 volt system. So why are there 4 lights in the 1st place if only 3 batteries are hooked to them? Why did they all read "green" last Monday?

Well that clears things up. Brian perhaps you should have taken a pic while it was on the scale. That usually silences the doubter's. Congrats on the fish of a lifetime!

I have about 10 rods in the rod locker for a 3 day trip. All 1 pc. On a 2 week family vacation to SWFL, I bring 6 rods in a rod tube. 6 reels as well. Saltwater is not good for reels so get them cleaned regularly plus i have had a few break while down there so it's good to have back ups.

For those above, this is how you answer a question. No jokes or vague answers. Some answers were well intentioned but not what I was looking for. Maverick gave a reasonable answer that describes his setup and how far he can cast it. A simple answer to a simple question. Maverick, thank you for taking the time to reply. I'm not obsessed w/ distance by any means. I'm just casting in the yard for fun. I can't really fish yet (We just another 2" last night. I'm so over winter!) and I'm bored. I just wanna see far this thing will go! In most case's, when I'm fishing my casts are 10-20yds of less. The only situation that I see where long casts will benefit me is when I'm trying to cover water and not casting to specific targets.

Mostly I was just asking about distance. My buddy came over last night and put one 40 yds on his 2nd try. He has been using BC'rs for 15 yrs. He said he could probably put one 45-55 yds if my yard wasn't so tight. My casting area is kinda restricted because of a overhead wire so side arm casts are a must. I pushed the issue tonite and accidently went over the wire. It went 40yds easy. Not very accurate at that distance but right now I'm just playing. I see a dedicated cranking rod for open water in my future. Yes your right it's the internet so your bound to get some joker's. It's to be expected.

Your a wealth a information. Thanks for clearing that up.

Actually, it was a simple question. The title to the thread is How far can you cast baitcaster? So Toxic How far can you cast a baitcaster with your set up? I realize there are variables between set up's and lure size etc. Catt gave a specific answer w/ his setup which I appreciated. Maybe it's me, I'm a direct person so I like direct answers. This answer that I can sink my teeth into. Thanks

Catt, Thank you for a serious answer. I asked a simple question and I got safety tips but that's to be expected on a forum. LOL Anyway, What length rod and action do you use for competition? What size weight/lure/plug is used during competition?

Guys don't take this the wrong way. I appreciate your answers. I understand about accuracy etc. The more I play w/ it the more accurate I will become and so will the distance. I'm just curious. My question is. How far can you cast a baitcaster? Particularly with a setup similar to mine? How far is far? 30yds? 40yds? 50yds? Tight Lines to all. Thanks in advance.

Your correct, loading the rod properly is important. What I really wondering was where do I stand? What is a long cast w/ an average setup? I hear stories about pro's casting 100yds with dedicated cranking set up's. I know 100 yds is unrealistic w/ my set up but is the top end 40 yds? 50 yds? I really don't know since I don't have the experience w/ a BC.

I have always been a spinning rod guy. Never learned to use a baitcaster since I saw no reason to change. My buddy gave me his older Diawa Procaster 100 H baitcaster since he hardly gets to go anymore. I've been playing with it in the yard over the winter. I'm getting better every time. I can cast it fairly accurately and the backlash are minimal. It's a 6'8" medium power and the butt is short so I can't really give it my all on a 2 handed cast. I have a 1/2 oz teardrop sinker on it and it looks like 12 or 14LB Stren mono is on the reel. Anyway, I can cast 30 to 36 yds reasonably accurate. I was wondering how I'm doing. How far can you guys cast with similar setup?

Don't Monday Morning Quarterback the guy. I am willing to bet there are days when you don't catch them either. I'm willing to give the guy a break since he's pro in the Classic and I'm the amateur who's never won a tournement. It's so easy to say "He should have done this or done that". You have no idea what was going through his mind at the time. He gave an interview. It's on ***. He basically thought his lead wasn't safe and someone else was going to catch a big bag. He figured he needed at least a decent bag of LMB so he went with what had been working. Based on what happened to him at Grand I can't blame the guy for thinking that way. Edwin was 6lbs behind him and smoked Jason on the last day. The other top six anglers did the same because they were trying to win it not back door into it. They held nothing back but they didn't realize the fish changed. 1st The fish adjusted, they got used to seeing chatterbaits all day, everyday for the last week. 2nd The fish moved, they went shallow as the water warmed up. Christie and the other top 6 didn't adjust. Lee did! He knew docks would be a factor and stuck with his game plan. Congrats J Lee! Christie was 1 bite away from being a Classic Champ. If he had gotten it then we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Good observations.. These young guys can fish!

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I wouldn't call it a choke. Nor do I think he spun out. He just ran out of time. The guy was one fish from the Championship. I saw a guy that really believed in that what he was doing was the right thing to do. He committed to his pattern and LMB from day one. That commitment got him to the final day w/ a 5 lb lead. I think he truly felt that it was a matter of time before he ran into the right fish. Should he have had a different strategy on the last day? Obviously yes but it's so easy for anyone of us amateur anglers to say that we would have done something different. I'm not gonna Monday Morning quarterback the guy for coming up 1 fish short.

The kid just took a major step towards setting himself apart from the crowd. I thought JC had it in the bag. Have to give the kid credit! Congrats J Lee!

He said he caught a 4lb'r on his last cast. There may have been some sand bagging as well.