angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

, casting is the act of the angler throwing the

bait Bait may refer to: General * Bait (luring substance), bait as a luring substance ** Fishing bait, bait used for fishing Film * ''Bait'' (1950 film), a British crime film by Frank Richardson * ''Bait'' (1954 film), an American noir film by Hugo ...

and

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

(or a lure) out over the water, typically by slinging a

fishing line A fishing line is a flexible, high-tensile cord used in angling to tether and pull in fish, in conjunction with at least one hook. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed attach ...

manipulated by a long, elastic

fishing rod A fishing rod is a long, thin rod used by anglers to catch fish by manipulating a line ending in a hook (formerly known as an ''angle'', hence the term "angling"). At its most basic form, a fishing rod is a straight rigid stick/pole with ...

. The term itself may also be used for setting out a net when

artisanal fishing Artisanal fishing (or traditional/subsistence fishing) consists of various small-scale, low-technology, low-capital, fishing practices undertaken by individual fishing households (as opposed to commercial fishing). Many of these households are ...

. The usual technique is to quickly flick/swing the rod forward towards the water, with the

inertia Inertia is the idea that an object will continue its current motion until some force causes its speed or direction to change. The term is properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his first law ...

of the

terminal tackle Fishing tackle is the equipment used by fishermen, anglers when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used in fishing can be called fishing tackle, examples being fishing hook, hooks, fishing line, lines, fishing bait, baits/fishing lure, lures ...

s lagging and bending the rod backward (i.e. "loading" the rod), and then use the "springing" (elastic rebound) of the rod to "whip" and rapidly sling the line forward, which in turn will hurl out the hook. There are several methods anglers use to attempt to cast farther, the most prominent of which is the shifting of body weight towards the front foot in synchrony to the forward swinging of the rod. That combined with using a longer rod, stopping the rod swing at 45 degrees, and using correctly weighted and more aerodynamic

s, will help anglers cast farther.

Casting techniques

Casting techniques vary with the type and style of angling involved. Different casting techniques are also used by different anglers according to personal preferences and proficiency, and each technique is named uniquely. In the single-hand ''sidearm cast'', the angler first points the rod towards the targeted area, and then swing it back and then quickly forward like a tennis stroke, creating a cast with a relatively flat trajectory. ''Drop-casting'', on the other hand, is all about fast sinking, and the angler must bring the rod high before releasing the finger grip on the line and drop the cast into water with full force. The double-handed ''overhead cast'', used more for distance, uses a

kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). Today, it is widely practiced within Japan and has spre ...

-like overhead swing to throw the line as far as possible. Freshwater anglers typically use lightweight, faster-action rods and for

panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational anglers to refer to a ...

ing or finesse fishing for popular mid-sized

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...

es such as

black bass Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

, while sturdier, heavier rods are used for larger, stronger and feistier fish. When casting light rods, sidearm casting techniques are typically used. If more distance is needed, an overhead cast is more common. For smaller,

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

-rich

bodies of water A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as p ...

(such as

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from tha ...

s, small

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

s/ creeks and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

s), where casting ''accuracy'' is more important than distance, anglers sometimes use a

swinging Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing ri ...

technique known as ''flipping'' or ''pitching'', an

elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, elastic used in garments or stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rubber used to hold objects togethe ...

technique known as a ''slingshot cast'', or a softball pitch-like technique that can make the bait/lure skim the water known as a ''roll cast''. Saltwater anglers usually use heavier rods and lines, as they often use

s and lures that are bigger and heavier than those used on freshwater. Heavier again are the rods and lines used in surfcasting, and specialized two-handed casting techniques are used to provide the added distances required for the baits/lures to get past the surfs and reach inshore fish feeding near the

upwelling Upwelling is an physical oceanography, oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted ...

s. In these casts, the angler utilizes the entire body, rather than just the arms, to deliver the

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass ...

of the cast, which may travel many hundreds of meters/feet. Fly fishermen use ultralight

artificial flies An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing (although they may also be used in other forms of angling). In general, artificial flies are an imitation of aquatic insects that are natural food of ...

as a lure and thus use flexible lightweight rods to cast heavy lines. The technique often involve swinging the line in circles multiple times to build up momentum, before releasing the hand hold on the line and pointing the rod towards the intended direction, so the line ends up creating a loop that propagates like a wave and carries the fly out towards the far end with great accuracy. Once on or in the water, the fly can then mimic

aquatic insect Aquatic insects or water insects live some portion of their life cycle in the water. They feed in the same ways as other insects. Some ''diving'' insects, such as predatory diving beetles, can hunt for food underwater where land-living insects ca ...

s or other

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...

s and attract

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

fish such as

and

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousa ...

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

Casting as a sport

Casting (known as Casting Sport) is also a sport adjunct to fishing, much as shooting is to hunting. The sport is supervised by the International Casting Sport Federation (ICSF) which was founded in 1955 and as of April 2014 has member associations in 31 countries. The ICSF sponsors tournaments and recognizes world records for accuracy and distance. This sport uses plastic weights or hookless flies, and can be held on water or on athletic fields. There are competitive divisions for almost all types of fly, fixed spool and revolving spool tackle, and competitor classes. It has been included in the

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

(see photo) and has been considered for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

. The American Casting Association held its 100th Annual Casting Championships in 2008 at the Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club.

References

External links

International Casting Sport Federation

American Casting Association
Fishing techniques and methods {{fishing-stub

Casting techniques

Casting as a sport

See also

References

External links