Reel Up Or Reel Down

[arthurcodsbody]

Having just swapped to a low reel posistion I must mention how much more comfortable casting is on the body! I think its added a few yards as well, probably as i'm not breaking my back casting which will have created a smoother casting technique, was wondering what all you guys prefer and why?

 

Matt

[Spur-Hound]

Having just swapped to a low reel posistion I must mention how much more comfortable casting is on the body! I think its added a few yards as well, probably as i'm not breaking my back casting which will have created a smoother casting technique, was wondering what all you guys prefer and why?

 

Matt

 

Matt,

With the reel down, casting becomes so much more easy, and you can add yards as the rod compresses to its fullest. Some people cant get used to it though. For me its more comfy and i can hit much better distances, there are problems though... For our coast rough ground cod fishing having the reel in the low position is not good as it gives you very little leverage and gives you one heck of a task in getting fish through the snaggs, even with a butt-pad. I have a major problem in rough ground cod fishing. With the reel up the butt, especialy big bulky cod reels, i just cant cast any distance at all, and my fingers slip all over the place. Luckily the fish arent at distance usually! Might be daft, but im going to get a movable reelseat, so i can cast it down butt, and move it up for fishing.

[Grant]

So, do you still keep the same hand on the reel, and just hold the whole thing lower down? Just trying to picture it in my head, as have a rod with an extender for such a thing, and more comfortable/ further casting all sounds good!

[maximo]

i like casting reel down as well and it looks smarter that way but its just a ball ache to fish that way,i decided to do it once but i was fishing shallow sandy beaches at the time with nearly all the line out on a 7ht,by the time youve reeled a double shot of flounders and a heap of weed in you know the true meaning of the word pain.so it was back to reel up.

[Guest Feels like Winter to me]

Sean the new fuji real seats are excellent for moving up and down. I would avoid the more bulkier brands if like me you have smaller hands. Personally I like the reel up, guess thats how im used to it. Paul Kerry is a reel up man I believe !!!

[Ken Davison South Wales]

I have tried it down but find with a longer rod compression is a lot easier and the need to cast reel down is not so important.

 

The double taper rods were designed to make the rod compress with the reel up and I wonderd why they have vanished??

[Slashley]

Have fished with reel down the butt since being taught to pendulum cast about fifteen years ago. Would never go back to "up the butt" position. ....In fact, if I try casting now with the reel "up", I am all over the shop and any anglers within about 100 meters, beware.

[jabee]

I do very little shore fishing these days, but when I did, I switched from a 12ft rod with reel up, to a 13ft rod with reel down. Improved my casting and always felt as if the cast was slower and more forgiving. Once I'd got used to retrieving with the reel down it was no problem. I mount my reels about 12 inches up the Butt. I struggle to cast with a reel up these days (although, strangely, I have no problem casting from a boat with the reel up on a 10ft rod).

[Guest Feels like Winter to me]

Did anyone answer grant?? Sorry to repeat if they did. No Grant your other hand goes on the reel. If your a right hander and your reel is at the bottom your left hand goes on the reel. I think

[jason.p]

I started with "reel-up", and have recently converted. The hand and body positions are totally different, and take a bit of getting used to, but it seems better at loading the rod for a better cast. As has been mentioned there's much less leverage when retrieving heavy loads (usually weed). I know you can get butt extensions, but that is a bit of a fiddle, and I'm sure I'll have lost mine before long

I like the idea of the moveable reel clamp. Must look into that