'Feathering' casts?

[Gaffer]

How many of you out there 'feather' your casts?

 

Most of my casts are 'feathered' as a matter of habbit to prevent tangles, aid accuracy and allow me to be 'onto the lead' to be able to 'feel' and count it through the water, but I seem to see less and less anglers using this techniue these days.

In particular, I watched and angler last week misjudge a cast and actually cast over an island!!

 

Is it just me?

[Simon Newbould]

No Gaffer, it's not just you... I too always feather my casts...

[RobStubbs]

I don't

 

I will occaisionally feather the cast but more often than not I seem to end up casting with a cross wind creating a bow, which doesn't lend itself to feathering too well. Additionally I tend to be a little heavy handed and often end up stopping the whole thing mid flight, thus having to recast anyway.

 

Rob.

[Julian]

Yup.

 

Most of my fishing is done clipped-up to land bang on, though I still feather when using this method to reduce pressure when the line hits the clip.

 

Out of interest Gaffer (and others) how do you feather?

 

Dabbing the line off the spool, or striking the rod up?

 

I find it depends on how far (or bad ) my cast is.

 

Julian

[Neal]

I dont think I would even attempt a feather cast, not yet anyway.

[Gaffer]

Julian:

 

Out of interest Gaffer (and others) how do you feather?

 

Dabbing the line off the spool, or striking the rod up?

I've found that with braid 'striking the rod up' to not make a lot of difference unless at extreme ranges. So, I kinda cup the spool with my spare hand and use hand/thumb to slow the line coming off the spool.

[MarkeR]

i can understand why some don't feather these days,what with popularity of stiff rigs etc,but i'm a braid user myself,and i always feather the cast,as you say mate...it helps prevent tangles

[phonebush]

Gaffer,

I use spincast and fish with a feather. Does that count?

Phone

[Arian]

Do you not find you get a few more tangles when you feather, I do it occassionally but find it increases the chances of tangled rigs, cept for short stiff links.

[Peter Sharpe]

I always feather the cast without even thinking about it. I grew up chub fishing on the upper Welland, and you had to do it to cast accurately under overhanging bushes, and to straighten out the hooklink. Even at long range, I always do it so that i can give the lead a brief tug at the moment it hits the water, in the hope that it will make the lead land vertically. It would take an enormous amount of willpower these days to stop myself doing it, even if I wanted to.