UNITECH CASTING – THE CARPERS ULTIMATE CAST
Terry Edmonds
Last time I wrote about the most used cast in carp fishing and that was the overhead cast that 95% of carp anglers use it is a very versatile cast that most anglers will use a lot of the time.
But this time I want to write about a very powerful casting technique that can reach distances of well over 200yds when performed correctly, it can be used in fairly tight swims as its an overhead cast and if you want a big, big advantage in your distance fishing this article is a MUST read.
Before I start writing about the cast I must stress that the forces exerted in this cast will test ANY carp blank to its extremes and will definitely show up any weaknesses, with this in mind please make sure that your rods are up to the job and are specialised casting tools there are many good makes around and I would get advice before selecting your rod because the investment of rods that will cope with this style wont be cheap.
I have experienced quite a few blanks blow up when doing this style of cast but if you choose quality casting rods and perform the cast correctly there shouldn’t be any problems 2 things to watch out for,
- Make sure the braid isn’t wrapped around the rod tip before casting as this is very easily done
- The cast is started SLOWLY and the speed and power is applied towards the end of the cast
13ft rods would be preferable for maximum effect due to the arc they create but powerful 12ft rods will do a good job, the test curve of the rods will be 3 1/2lb tc and above as the unitech cast will compress the rod so much, rods with a tc of less than this will not be able to cope and you may actually see a reduction in distance as the rods struggle to cope with the strains and compression you are putting on them.
Again safety is of utmost importance make sure you have a strong shock leader 85lb Berkley whiplash is a good choice, and make sure you have at least 5 turns on your spool plus the drop, a leather finger stall is essential and please make sure that there is plenty of room in front of you to perform this cast as it can/will go a long way!!!!!
UNITECH USES
The uni-tech cast is great for single hook baits and pva bags, if any of you are fishing a water where fish show out past usual casting distances and you want to present a bait out there this cast is ideal, its quite accurate in direction after you get used to it, and will get bait and rigs into areas that haven’t been fished before, often a great area to present baits.
HOW THE CAST WORKS
The Mechanics of the uni-tech cast works in such a way that the rod will compress a lot more than your normal overhead cast, which in turn will lead to higher tip speed and lead speed which is needed for distance, the early compression is achieved by laying the lead inside the tip.
To prove how easy it is to load a rod with the lead lying inside the tip there is a simple test that you can do with a friend.
If you hold your fishing rod in the same way that you would when playing a fish, allow the lead to hang from the tip as it would in a normal overhead cast with a drop down to the spigot
Now ask your friend to pull down on the lead while you try to hold your rod in the same position, the forces pulling down on you will make it hard to hold the rod in the same position when you are struggling to hold the rod in position, note how much the rod has bent!!!!!!
Right now repeat the exercise except this time pull the lead in towards the person holding the rod, note how hard it is to hold the rod when the rod bends as much as it did in the previous test, the difference will be obvious, this is how much force is required to load the rod to this extent, not much is it!!!!!!
How to perform the cast
To perform the cast correctly requires a body set up that will be very strange to most of you and this is best practiced without a lead or rig attached, and use just a rod until you fully understand the technique (The body set up is demonstrated clearly in the photos).
The first part of the body set up is the feet these must be placed around 45 degrees to the target and comfortably spaced apart, this is quite a natural throwing stance.
The next part of the body set up will be alien to most you now have the twist your waist so your chest is pointing at right angles to the target, with your left arm straight and at just above head height and right arm slightly bent so its comfortable and so the rod points down and the tip will be an inch from the ground.
If you see the photo 1 you will see how the set up is from the side, note how high the left arm is this again is to aid leverage and get a bigger arc
The head will be facing the target but looking above it to stop the cast being performed to low.
After you have got used to the body postion practice with just the rod getting the arc of the rod right and as said before the rod will come over your shoulder like an overhead cast NOT round the body as I have often seen.
LEAD POSITIONING
After you have practised the technique it will be time for you to have a go at casting, after you have set up as previously described you will have to place the lead in the right position, the position for the lead will be in side the tip in line with your left heel (if you’re a right handed caster, the photos will show this much better) the lead and rig will be lying on the floor I have placed a bait bucket where the lead should be placed when performing this cast its lying on the floor inside the tip photo 2
Don’t be worried by the fact that the rig is on the floor as due to the action of the cast the rig will be lifted clean off the floor and will not drag along the floor where it can catch twigs, roots, grass etc
But if there is still abit of a concern then just place the rig on a lid of your bait bucket or something smooth and firm.
Its often a case that the ground is wet and you will have to place a PVA bag on something dry as otherwise your bag will weaken/melt and bait will fly everywhere a bait bucket lid is ideal.
Once the lead and rig is placed to the position shown in the photos, it will be time to cast, at first do it gently as the extra compression will catch you out otherwise and the lead will end up flying higher than it will fly long.
After a few casts the timing will become better and you should start to be able to increase the power as you become comfortable with the style, but this will take time and practice will be needed.
FINE TUNING
There are a few things that you can do to improve your casting to its ultimate potential, and believe me attention to detail will gain you distance,
- Small hook baits will cause less air resistance I very rarely use bigger than 14mm at extreme range 10mm being ideal
- If the rod feels to stiff when unitech-casting increase the length of drop, if the rod feels to soft shorten it, a good starting place is the butt ring.
- Use distance shaped leads fox leads are the ones I use at the moment
- Keep the hook lengths short to keep the bait near the lead during the flight.
- Make sure you fill the line to the lip of your spool, to reduce spool friction
- Thin mono/braid will cast further but please consider weed, snags etc before choosing line strength Fox soft steel is a good choice as is suffix excelon
- Use a minimum of 3 ounces when distance casting
- 50mm butt rings are ideal for reducing friction and have been proven to aid distance time and time again especially with thicker lines 10lb and above .
- Practice your casting in any spare time this is the only way to improve
- Look above the target not at it.
FISH SAFETY
When using braid shock leaders there is the potential to cause the fish harm if not used correctly I would like to highlight a few points that can minimise any fish damage
One of the main problems is that the braid is so thin that when playing fish the braid may rub against the flanks of the fish, this can cause cuts and scale lifting and has to be avoided at all costs.
To avoid this any rig that you use with braid leaders (and I would say use a helicopter rig) should incorporate a good length of tubing or lead core and the end of the rig to protect the fish if allowed I nearly always opt for lead core.
The length of the tubing or lead core should be around 3ft this is an ideal length as its not to long to inhibit casting but long enough to give good antitangle properties and to protect the fish.
Also when attaching a braid shock leader to the mainline the knots that are used must allow the rig components to pass over them, the knots used can be back to back blood knots, the mahin knot or my favourite the back to back grinner.
I always attach the lead core to the braid leader via a needle knot this knot is very streamline and the rubber beads pass over the knot with ease
Whatever knot you choose please slide the rig components over the knot a few times and check that they will pass over easily, as this is the only chance the fish has off getting rid of the lead and shock leader if used in conjunction with a helicopter rig.
If during casting you hear a suspected wind knot pass through the rod rings please reel in as the knot in the line can turn your perfectly safe rig into a death rig if the line breaks above the knot, if in doubt reel in.
POTENTIAL
The unitech cast on the right waters used correctly is a real advantage especially on pressured waters having your bait and rig cast into un pressured water could lead to some right results.
The potential of this cast is awesome in tests I personally have recorded casts off 230 yds with off the shelf carp rods (lead only) but realistically most anglers with the right tackle will now be looking at 170yds + and that’s with bait!!!!!!
I have done a casting sequence as I did with the overhead casting notice how the rod comes OVER THE TOP not round the side a big mistake when trying to perform this cast see photo 3,4,5 and photo 6 shows the set up from behind this should give a good idea of where the lead, arms and body should be remember start slowly at first.
I will be back soon with some more techniques of extreme range carping.
Until then
Cheers
Terry Edmonds
Telrck1@aol.co
