# Casting a 6/0w- what I've learned in one hour.



## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

First let me say how amazed I am about how great it was talking and working with PompanoJoe and how pleased I am with the reel he built for me. It may not be that big to some of you, but compard to the 309 I'm used to it is huge and runs like a Farrari. 

I paired the reel with a 6' 40-80# rod from bass pro. http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Snaggin-Special-Snagging-Rods/product/12082905321832/. Probably not what most of you would choose, but try finding a shark rod in central Arkansas. 

I spooled about 50-60 yards of 30# mono on it and added a 4oz pyramid weight.

I think either I'm too short or the rod is too short for a pendulum or off the ground cast. A regular over hand cast is way too hard because of the size of the reel. It might be easier with a full spool. What ended up working the best was almost like a hard flip with the reel in free spool. I swung the weight under the rod a few times under about 4' of line then loaded up and let go about 45 degrees up swinging my legs almost like a baseball swing. The weight went nearly streight behind me at about the 7 O'clock position. I started out with a lot of birds nest and 10'-15' cast, but after about 1/2 hour I was hitting out about 35 yards on every cast and was hitting in about 10' area every time. 

I'll try to get my wife to video it next time I go out. Forcast says 4-6" of snow tomorrow so it Could be a while. 

Other things I learned.

PomanoJoe's hands are obviously a lot bigger than mine.
Always wear a glove when casting it.
The 6/0 will easily pull in a 40# Labrador pup.
I'm not in shape to do this for more than 30 minutes.
30# line needs to be retied after every 10 or so cast. 
The weights are a lot harder to find after you figure out how to cast further.
O I only HAD one pyramid weight.:001_huh:

Things the puppy learned.

Don't try to fetch the weight
She can't Winn a tug of war with me.
NEVER TRY TO CATCH THE WEIGHT.

I think she'll be ok.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Most of these guys around here would be launching that off a 10 - 12 foot surf rod. Great post an excellent read!


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## The Pitt (Apr 7, 2012)

I remember that reel being for sale. Man I wanted it but couldnt talk myself into it til after she was gone!


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

The Pitt said:


> I remember that reel being for sale. Man I wanted it but couldnt talk myself into it til after she was gone!


Actually a different reel, but that was what I was hoping it turned out like. Extremely pleased.:thumbup:


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## MoganMan (Feb 24, 2013)

Keep it up man! I just picked up a tld 15 from Joe that I have been practicing casting on, getting pretty good at it, now i just need a surf rod for it so I can really sling her!


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## jcallaham (Dec 13, 2009)

Hey guys those things aren't for surf casting but once you can cast one of those a surf rod and reel will really be fun!


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

jcallaham said:


> Hey guys those things aren't for surf casting but once you can cast one of those a surf rod and reel will really be fun!


Yes I know, but I like shark fishing at night. I generally kayak my baits out around dusk, but I'm too much of a panzy to do it after dark. I'm only down there a week out of the year and only get to shark fish 3-4 nights. If I hook up early the night can end pretty fast unless I can get another bait out. I figure a bait 30-40 yards out will catch a lot more fish than a dry one.:thumbsup:


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## Sharkyatl13 (Jan 20, 2014)

Had any luck john??


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

Not since last June. I live in Arkansas. 

Here's my last report.

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f31/another-big-one-fort-morgan-155236/


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## Sharkyatl13 (Jan 20, 2014)

Ya I'm from Atlanta. I wish it was warmer here!! I think our luck would be better. We're thinking about chummin the sound today at chicken bone souly for the fact we don't have the proper clothing to continue getting soaked for nothing. Gonna get a Bonita or two as well. I figure if we chum all day were bound to have some sharks come and check it out in the sound.


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## foreverfishing (Nov 30, 2012)

i can honestly say i've been inspired by this.... now im gonna go destroy my thumb and 80lb mono top shot in the lot by my house with my 6/0w!!


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## tigershark (Oct 16, 2007)

John,
try and find a 12 ft Ocean Master Heavy Rod it is a 2 piece. With the right practice you could throw bait plus weight a long ways. I used that rod with a 4/0 wide and could throw 8 ozs close to 100 yards with a lot of practice. I'm almost 700 miles from the beach so I had lots of time to practice. My son fishes with a 6/0 and I can still throw it really well and the 9/0 decent without too much backlash . It just takes a lot of practice. The Ocean Master rod can throw some serious weight. I do recommend wearing gloves when you are learning


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

foreverfishing said:


> i can honestly say i've been inspired by this.... now im gonna go destroy my thumb and 80lb mono top shot in the lot by my house with my 6/0w!!


What do you have under the 80lb?


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

johnf said:


> What do you have under the 80lb?


On my 6/0 I run 80 mono and 50# braid. Probably going to up my braid but I have probably 1200 yards in mine. 9/0 has 80 braid 80 mono


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

I was planning on 100# braid. Too much?


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

johnf said:


> I was planning on 100# braid. Too much?


If you plan on doing 100 braid and like 80 or 100 mono you're not gonna get much line capacity out of it.


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

Was planning on doing 50# on top of the braid and then maybe a short 30-40 yards of 80# Mono. Is the 100# overkill?


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## TeaSea (Sep 28, 2013)

Sweet looking reel! You live around Little Rock? I lived in Fayetteville for 3 years before moving to Pensacola. Loved Arkansas in Spring and Fall but winter sucked too much -- I see you may be getting more snow next week.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

johnf said:


> Was planning on doing 50# on top of the braid and then maybe a short 30-40 yards of 80# Mono. Is the 100# overkill?



100 isn't necessarily overkill, but you won't get much capacity. Maybe if you were bottom fishing or something like that but I wouldn't do 100 when line capacity is your friend. I would do like 500+ yards of like 65 braid and the rest 80 mono. You want a good amount of mono to be in the water. The braid will get cutoff at times.

There's some guys that will only put a little bit of line and yak out until they see the bottom of the spool. Not smart. A big shark will spool you in a matter of seconds. I like to have 800+ yards in all my reels and I usually yak about 400-500 yards pretty consistently. 

I'm looking at an avet 80 now. 600 yards of 130# JB hollow and 400 yards of 130# mono.


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

TeaSea said:


> Sweet looking reel! You live around Little Rock? I lived in Fayetteville for 3 years before moving to Pensacola. Loved Arkansas in Spring and Fall but winter sucked too much -- I see you may be getting more snow next week.


Yep about 45 minutes outside Little Rock in the country. I grew up in Bentonville and went to college at UofA in Fayetteville. Calling for 1-3" of snow today too. The snow isn't so bad, but down here by Little Rock we get a lot more ice than in Northern Arkansas. We've had ice on our trees sense Sunday. Lost quite a few pines on our property. Had a small one come down on my truck on the way home the other day. Wasn't going fast, but it still tore off my drivers side mirror. Missed a lot of school this year for ice.


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

Justin618 said:


> 100 isn't necessarily overkill, but you won't get much capacity. Maybe if you were bottom fishing or something like that but I wouldn't do 100 when line capacity is your friend. I would do like 500+ yards of like 65 braid and the rest 80 mono. You want a good amount of mono to be in the water. The braid will get cutoff at times.
> 
> There's some guys that will only put a little bit of line and yak out until they see the bottom of the spool. Not smart. A big shark will spool you in a matter of seconds. I like to have 800+ yards in all my reels and I usually yak about 400-500 yards pretty consistently.
> 
> I'm looking at an avet 80 now. 600 yards of 130# JB hollow and 400 yards of 130# mono.


So according to my calculations from Penn's web sight I could do 500 yards of 65lb braid with 237 yards of 80lb test or 370 yards of 50 test. Last year I only had 30lb and caught two big hammers, but I was also using a 309 that I figure was only giving me about 12-13lbs of drag. I keep second guessing myself on what to do with line. I've only got 4 days tops to fish so I want to get everything right before I get there. 

Which way would you go with line, strength or distance?


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

johnf said:


> So according to my calculations from Penn's web sight I could do 500 yards of 65lb braid with 237 yards of 80lb test or 370 yards of 50 test. Last year I only had 30lb and caught two big hammers, but I was also using a 309 that I figure was only giving me about 12-13lbs of drag. I keep second guessing myself on what to do with line. I've only got 4 days tops to fish so I want to get everything right before I get there.
> 
> Which way would you go with line, strength or distance?


ideally you want both. I would never put 30# test in a 6/0 just to have 2 miles of line, though. I like distance for getting bait in deep water, but I want strength too.

I don't see 237 yards of 80 if running 500 of 65 braid. Here's why. 80 mono it holds 290 yards. You put 500 of 65 braid is just under half spool. So you would be lucky to get 200 yards of 80 mono. But, actually, 237 could be feasible if you pack the crap out of it. Pack all the way to the top. 

Ideally you want more mono in the water, but you can fish with braid in the water no problem. Mono is just better for cutoffs from sand, bluefish running and hitting it etc. So I would do the 500 yards of 65# braid and rest mono. This will give you over 700 yards of line which will allow you to run bait up to 400. If you wanna go further go for it, I wouldn't. The 200+/- yards of mono is a decent amount. 

Or you could just pack like 1000 yards of braid and top with 80 mono. I fished braid all the time and only one cut off on my 6/0


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

Justin618 said:


> ideally you want both. I would never put 30# test in a 6/0 just to have 2 miles of line.
> 
> I don't see 237 yards of 80 if running 500 of 65 braid. Here's why. 80 mono it holds 290 yards. You put 500 of 65 braid is just under half spool. So you would be lucky to get 200 yards of 80 mono. But, actually, 237 could be feasible if you pack the crap out of it. Pack all the way to the top.
> 
> ...


It is a 6/0 wide.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

johnf said:


> It is a 6/0 wide.


Just looked up some spooling ideas and about 700 like you're talking will be maxed out. 

What I would do is search "penn 6/0w line spooling" this will give results of what guys did and actual results. I did this for my 9/0.


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

That's great if you can cast that big of a reel. On the west coast they cast them all the time and don't use spinning reels as much as we do. Hat's off to you..!!


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

Tried it again yesterday and sucked it up. Went to my practice field and only got past 20 yards once.. Had a few 5 yard casts with 30 yard bird's nests.


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## Guynamedtom (Oct 6, 2013)

John- I am enjoying this thread. Every birdnest is a um learning opportunity! When you come down let us know. I will be glad to hit the beach with you and paddle baits. Hopefully by the time you are down I will have the balls to yak bait at night :thumbsup:


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

Guynamedtom said:


> John- I am enjoying this thread. Every birdnest is a um learning opportunity! When you come down let us know. I will be glad to hit the beach with you and paddle baits. Hopefully by the time you are down I will have the balls to yak bait at night :thumbsup:


Then your balls shal be bigger than mine.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Guynamedtom said:


> John- I am enjoying this thread. Every birdnest is a um learning opportunity! When you come down let us know. I will be glad to hit the beach with you and paddle baits. Hopefully by the time you are down I will have the balls to yak bait at night :thumbsup:



Oh come on Tom it's not that bad. Lol. I still have nightmares of that one night lol. That was a rough night.

john, I'd be more than happy to run your baits if you were fishjng with us. Me and don usually buddy team out together so it's a little better and a lot safer too


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## Guynamedtom (Oct 6, 2013)

I dumped a few hundred yards out a few weeks ago and this time of year it ain't fun. Climbed back in settled in the seat and wave dumped me again. Got in that time and back to shore after swallowing a lot of seawater. Can't imagine at night this time of year. Was rough seas that night you dumped for sure


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Guynamedtom said:


> I dumped a few hundred yards out a few weeks ago and this time of year it ain't fun. Climbed back in settled in the seat and wave dumped me again. Got in that time and back to shore after swallowing a lot of seawater. Can't imagine at night this time of year. Was rough seas that night you dumped for sure



It's a very humbling experience lol. I'm extra careful now. Being dumped offshore at night is a really crappy experience


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