Casting Distance

[gunsinger]

I have a Shimano Caius 150HD on a Daiwa 7' AIXD MHF rod and am struggling to understand why the casting distance seems limited compared to similar setups.  It's spooled with 30lb spiderwire with a 3' 15lb FC leader.  It is used for Tokyo and Texas rigged soft plastics with a variety of weights and worms.  Even with the heaviest worm/weight combo, my casting distance is a good 10' - 20' less than similarly rigged reels.   I cleaned and lubed it over the weekend and gained a few feet but I'm still no where near what I would expect it to be.  I have the cast control knob backed way off and the brakes are at a minimum (assuming up is on and down is off).

 

Do y'all think this is something in the setup?  Or are these reels known to have shorter casting distance.  Is the line too much for the reel?

[MN Fisher]

Are the other rods Aird-X?

 

I know I don't get the distance on my Aird 701MHF that I do on my Fury 704C despite them having very similar line/lure stats and using very similar reels.

 

One thing is that the Aird is a bit stiffer than the Fury, so doesn't load up quite as well...that will affect casting distance.

[KP Duty]

I would replace (upgrade) your spool bearings.  May or may not be a bad bearing, but this is a cheap upgrade/fix to try.

[newapti5]

If you get much better distance on the same rod but different reels, then you can be sure it's the Caius reel's problem. Rods play a more important role in casting distance than reels.

 

If it's the reel's problem, like other's said, check your spool bearings first. For Shimano reels they are the one in the palm sideplate and the one under the tension knob. Change or upgrade them if needed. 

 

If the bearings are fine, then see if there is any oil/grease on the spool shaft. Shimano reels have a tight tolerance between spool shaft and the inside of pinion gear; any excess of oil or grease between them can impede the rotation. If there is, wipe off the oil/grease on the spool shaft AND the inside of the pinion gear with a thin Q-tip.

 

If there's no grease/oil on the spool shaft either, then the pinion gear may be misaligned. I don't think the pinion gear of Caius is supported by two bearings, so it's possible the pinion gear is not perfectly aligned anymore after some usage, a situation that causes some fictions between the pinion gear inside and the spool shaft. Try free spin your spool, if the spool stops quickly after you've done all the above, this might be the case. To fix it, you'll need to open up the reel, or just send it to professionals like DVT here.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

More then likely its just due to the rod being stiff and not the reel.  Never handled an Aird, but I have messed around with the MH Tatula XT MH F and it was a pool cue.   

[Chris Catignani]

Try swapping out the reel and see if it make a difference.

[Phil77]

3 hours ago, gunsinger said:

I have a Shimano Caius 150HD on a Daiwa 7' AIXD MHF rod and am struggling to understand why the casting distance seems limited compared to similar setups.  It's spooled with 30lb spiderwire with a 3' 15lb FC leader.  It is used for Tokyo and Texas rigged soft plastics with a variety of weights and worms.  Even with the heaviest worm/weight combo, my casting distance is a good 10' - 20' less than similarly rigged reels.   I cleaned and lubed it over the weekend and gained a few feet but I'm still no where near what I would expect it to be.  I have the cast control knob backed way off and the brakes are at a minimum (assuming up is on and down is off).

 

Do y'all think this is something in the setup?  Or are these reels known to have shorter casting distance.  Is the line too much for the reel?

Did you oil the brake ring? 

[Bankc]

4 hours ago, gunsinger said:

I have a Shimano Caius 150HD on a Daiwa 7' AIXD MHF rod and am struggling to understand why the casting distance seems limited compared to similar setups.  It's spooled with 30lb spiderwire with a 3' 15lb FC leader.  It is used for Tokyo and Texas rigged soft plastics with a variety of weights and worms.  Even with the heaviest worm/weight combo, my casting distance is a good 10' - 20' less than similarly rigged reels.   I cleaned and lubed it over the weekend and gained a few feet but I'm still no where near what I would expect it to be.  I have the cast control knob backed way off and the brakes are at a minimum (assuming up is on and down is off).

 

Do y'all think this is something in the setup?  Or are these reels known to have shorter casting distance.  Is the line too much for the reel?

I don't have a Caius 150HD to verify this, but isn't up on the dial going to reduce the brakes and down going to apply more brakes?  That's the way all of my reels work.  You may have your brakes maxed out, when you're thinking they should be off, which is causing the problem.  Double check that, if you don't mind.  

[Aaron_H]

2 minutes ago, Bankc said:

I don't have a Caius 150HD to verify this, but isn't up on the dial going to reduce the brakes and down going to apply more brakes?  That's the way all of my reels work.  You may have your brakes maxed out, when you're thinking they should be off, which is causing the problem.  Double check that, if you don't mind.  

 

My first thought, as well, depending on which version VBS the reel has. A picture of his brake setup would be helpful here.

[CrashVector]

Adjust the brakes and spool tension to be more loose.

 

If you're still not happy, swap reels on that rod.  If casting distance is still an issue, it's the rod.  If not, it's the reel.

 

Also, try going down to 15lb braid instead of 30.

 

The main benefits of braids is that it has very low stretch and is very thin for the pound test.  Thinner braid will cast much farther, and by using very heavy braids, you are negating part of this benefit.

[Phil77]

36 minutes ago, Aaron_H said:

 

My first thought, as well, depending on which version VBS the reel has. A picture of his brake setup would be helpful here.

From the pictures online it looks like an SVS system but the description says it has the VBS so no telling.

[gunsinger]

7 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Are the other rods Aird-X?

 

I know I don't get the distance on my Aird 701MHF that I do on my Fury 704C despite them having very similar line/lure stats and using very similar reels.

 

One thing is that the Aird is a bit stiffer than the Fury, so doesn't load up quite as well...that will affect casting distance.

The other rods are not Aird-X.  Swapping the reel to another rod would be a good test.

7 hours ago, newapti5 said:

If you get much better distance on the same rod but different reels, then you can be sure it's the Caius reel's problem. Rods play a more important role in casting distance than reels.

 

If it's the reel's problem, like other's said, check your spool bearings first. For Shimano reels they are the one in the palm sideplate and the one under the tension knob. Change or upgrade them if needed. 

 

If the bearings are fine, then see if there is any oil/grease on the spool shaft. Shimano reels have a tight tolerance between spool shaft and the inside of pinion gear; any excess of oil or grease between them can impede the rotation. If there is, wipe off the oil/grease on the spool shaft AND the inside of the pinion gear with a thin Q-tip.

 

If there's no grease/oil on the spool shaft either, then the pinion gear may be misaligned. I don't think the pinion gear of Caius is supported by two bearings, so it's possible the pinion gear is not perfectly aligned anymore after some usage, a situation that causes some fictions between the pinion gear inside and the spool shaft. Try free spin your spool, if the spool stops quickly after you've done all the above, this might be the case. To fix it, you'll need to open up the reel, or just send it to professionals like DVT here.

Thanks for the feedback.  You've given me a lot to check.

4 hours ago, Phil77 said:

Did you oil the brake ring? 

I did not oil the brake ring.  Should I have?  And by brake ring, do you mean the part in the left side fo the real you remove to adjust the brake?

3 hours ago, Bankc said:

I don't have a Caius 150HD to verify this, but isn't up on the dial going to reduce the brakes and down going to apply more brakes?  That's the way all of my reels work.  You may have your brakes maxed out, when you're thinking they should be off, which is causing the problem.  Double check that, if you don't mind.  

According to YouTube, you are right.  My reel doesn't have an external dial. You have to open the left side and flip the brakes up or down.  Up is off and down is on.  I think I have that backwards so i'll look at adjusting that.

[gunsinger]

2 hours ago, CrashVector said:

Adjust the brakes and spool tension to be more loose.

 

If you're still not happy, swap reels on that rod.  If casting distance is still an issue, it's the rod.  If not, it's the reel.

 

Also, try going down to 15lb braid instead of 30.

 

The main benefits of braids is that it has very low stretch and is very thin for the pound test.  Thinner braid will cast much farther, and by using very heavy braids, you are negating part of this benefit.

I wondered if the line size might be a big factor.  The rod/reel setup i'm comparing to only has 20lb braid.  It's an Abu Garcia on a Berkley Cherrywood 7' MH rod.

Thanks to all for the feedback.

[Phil77]

12 minutes ago, gunsinger said:

 

I did not oil the brake ring.  Should I have?  And by brake ring, do you mean the part in the left side fo the real you remove to adjust the brake?

 

Yes it is in the palm side cover and is usually a brass ring. Take one drop of oil an spread it around the whole ring, should boost your casting distance. Depending on how much you fish it's recommended to clean the ring with rubbing alcohol then oil it every 30 days or more frequently if you fish often. This goes for any centrifugal reel, don't put oil on magnets.

[CrashVector]

8 minutes ago, gunsinger said:

I wondered if the line size might be a big factor.  The rod/reel setup i'm comparing to only has 20lb braid.  It's an Abu Garcia on a Berkley Cherrywood 7' MH rod.

Thanks to all for the feedback.

 

The size of the line is definitely a factor.

 

It's why I use 15lb braid max.  Any bigger impacts casting distance/accuracy in a negative way.

 

As an added bonus, thinner braid is also more sensitive.

[jimmyjoe]

58 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

 

The size of the line is definitely a factor.

 

It's why I use 15lb braid max.  Any bigger impacts casting distance/accuracy in a negative way.

 

As an added bonus, thinner braid is also more sensitive.

 

   If you do this for distance, @gunsinger, please get back to us as to how well it works and whether you have any problems.  I, for one, would like to know.  ?               jj

[CrashVector]

1 hour ago, Phil77 said:

Yes it is in the palm side cover and is usually a brass ring. Take one drop of oil an spread it around the whole ring, should boost your casting distance. Depending on how much you fish it's recommended to clean the ring with rubbing alcohol then oil it every 30 days or more frequently if you fish often. This goes for any centrifugal reel, don't put oil on magnets.

This.  I'm a tad persnickety about my equipment, but I completely clean then re-lube my reels after every trip.

[Phil77]

The spider wire might be your issue, I've never been able to cast it very far. You can get a spool of berkley solutions braid or daiwa j braid at big box stores for 10-12 bucks and they cast very well in 30lb I cant speak for any of the lighter ones.

9 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

This.  I'm a tad persnickety about my equipment, but I completely clean then re-lube my reels after every trip.

I dont do it every trip since I try to go every day but it is a sunday night ritual for me.

[dodgeguy]

I've used 20lb braid snd 50 on bait casters. The 20 lb has far more issues and really does not cast further IMHO. I'd rather have less line issues than deal with 20lb. Then again my drags are always tight

 

[CrashVector]

1 hour ago, Phil77 said:

The spider wire might be your issue, I've never been able to cast it very far. You can get a spool of berkley solutions braid or daiwa j braid at big box stores for 10-12 bucks and they cast very well in 30lb I cant speak for any of the lighter ones.

I dont do it every trip since I try to go every day but it is a sunday night ritual for me.

 

I'll say this much for sure:. Of all the braids I've tried, spiderwire was always the worst as far as being manageable and smooth.

 

I use sufix ProMix braid.  Smooth and fade proof.

[gunsinger]

2 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

 

   If you do this for distance, @gunsinger, please get back to us as to how well it works and whether you have any problems.  I, for one, would like to know.  ?               jj

I’ll definitely provide some feedback.  Might be a week before I can get back out.  Thanks. 

[new2BC4bass]

5 hours ago, CrashVector said:

Also, try going down to 15lb braid instead of 30.

 

The main benefits of braids is that it has very low stretch and is very thin for the pound test.  Thinner braid will cast much farther, and by using very heavy braids, you are negating part of this benefit.

How much is 'much further'?  I've got 60# braid on a frog rod that I keep in Florida.  When fishing there I am sitting on a raised seat (about 9-11") that fits over the built in seat in a 14' canoe.  It will cast a frog far enough that I can't see it in the lily pads.

 

Some people have no problem using 15# braid on a baitcast reel.  Others do.  I received a used reel with 30# Sufix 832 Ghost.  Took me 15-20 minutes of casting and pulling line to remove all the tight spots left by the previous owner.  I haven't had any more tight spots since and I've been snagged with it several times.

 

I'm tempted to try some 15# braid on a ML rod next year.

[CrashVector]

11 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

How much is 'much further'?  I've got 60# braid on a frog rod that I keep in Florida.  When fishing there I am sitting on a raised seat (about 9-11") that fits over the built in seat in a 14' canoe.  It will cast a frog far enough that I can't see it in the lily pads.

 

Some people have no problem using 15# braid on a baitcast reel.  Others do.  I received a used reel with 30# Sufix 832 Ghost.  Took me 15-20 minutes of casting and pulling line to remove all the tight spots left by the previous owner.  I haven't had any more tight spots since and I've been snagged with it several times.

 

I'm tempted to try some 15# braid on a ML rod next year.

 

I tried 50lb braid of the same type as my 15lb.  I didn't measure it, but it was noticable as far as the distance increase.

 

Also, as I stated, as physics dictates, thinner line = more sensitive, which is of upmost importance to me.

 

I'll sacrifice a lot of things for more sensitivity.

[Phil77]

I use 50# on a couple of striper setups and distance has never been a problem. I used to fish a small private lake that was nothing but sunken timber and used 50# straight power pro for everything from a t-rig to crankbaits. If you can get by with a lighter one go for it, I just prefer something a little stronger for if the need arises. 

[Bluebasser86]

I use a 7' MH/F Aird X for one of my spinnerbait rods, it'll get them out there just fine, I doubt the rod is the problem.