Longer Casts for Topwater Tuna
As experienced bass anglers, we figured that our casting skills would translate easily to popping for tuna. In some respects they did, but in other ways we’ve struggled a bit with casting for schooling yellowfin. The reasons are several:
The boat is rocking
The equipment is more cumbersome – heavier reels, and rods with long butt sections
There’s often a rail in front of you, both protecting you from falling and inhibiting your casting motion
The rigs have leaders of up to 4 or 5 feet
You need to be careful not to impale your fellow caster’s scalp, or whack an outrigger or rod rack with your popper.
There’s also just the sheer excitement of the process. When you fly up to the foaming fish, heart pumping, and need to get a cast out before they move on, that’s when you’re most likely to make a mistake or sacrifice form. The result is often a subpar cast.
Even when everything’s going correctly, though, we’ve found that we still can’t cast nearly as far as the captains and mates at Sport Fish Panama Island Lodge. Our best casts might approach the length and accuracy of their worst, but it’s typically like we’re playing checkers and they’re playing chess. If you’re going to head down there, it pays to realize this ahead of time and work on improving your casting. You may never be as good as them, but longer, better casts will equate to more fish in the long run. Here are some resources that’ll help you add length to your game:
Nomad Design Tackle
How to Cast a Heavy Spin Rod
Jarvis Walker Brands
How to: Casting Poppers on Tropical Reefs
JP DeRose
Casting for Yellowfin Tuna on Spinning Setups
Escape Fishing With ET
Casting for Giant Trevally
Of course, the best way to get better is to test these strategies out on prime waters. If you’d like to join us on a future trip to Panama (or elsewhere), shoot us a message and we can get the process started.
