Surfcasting Tip.

[Pferox]

Casting heavy weights in the surf with a spinning reel can be tough on the ''trigger finger"  Especially when you are using braided line, although you should be using a mono shock leader, some folks don't.  I usually start to have problems when casting anything over 2 ounces, and at that lighter weight and 20 to 30 lb line you can get away without a shock leader.

The European Surf and long casting carp anglers use a casting glove which is a very good idea, and is slowly making its way to the coast around here.  But they can still be hard to find, and can be a little pricy.



It is pretty easy to home brew one.  Just get an old worn out glove and cut the fingers off, then add a couple rubber bands and you have the exact thing, almost.  If you want to get fancy, you can use double sided velcro as the wrist band and a long bungee cord like hair band.  The thumb can be used when casting a conventional or level wind reel, BTW.

The glove I used was an old fish gripper glove, it has a rubber coating on the inside of the fingers, and it works well, although I would think it might be a little too tacky for feathering baitcasters unless you have a super light touch.  I'm pretty sure that a leather product would work better.



When you aren't casting, just take the tip off and tuck it under the wrist band, it is out of the way, and is still available for quick deployment.  This particular one fits pretty tightly, but will even stretch to fit over my fingerless gloves I sometimes wear depending what I'm catching.

[BenFishing]

Cool!  I have shredded my finger up many times from casting heavy rigs.  Sometimes I tried using some band aids for protection, but they got wet and came off, and because they were wet on my finger, they usually softened my flesh up, making the line shred my finger much quicker.   Good to see a better option!

[Smallie_Stalker]

Great idea Jim!    When we have our next tips contest you should submit this one.