Find a South African, they always know how to cast one well. Otherwise I think Terry is involved in a  dry casting club that uses overheads a lot.

Yer. Just need practise. For casting bigger baits/sinkers overheads rule.

Jim the club cammos is referring to is the Surf Casting and Angling Club of WA.

www.surfcasters.iinet.net.au

To give you the general run down, the club practises casting once a month officially at Yokine reserve.  If you need any tips on your techinique and how to cast overheads or want to have a look at any specialist casting rods and reels I encourage you to go down and have a chat with the club memebers on their monthly casting day.  There are some exceptional distance casters amongst the group.

Otherwise there is a fishing competition monthly at both a regional spot and a metro comp for those who cant travel.  The next one takes place at S bend on the first weekend of June which is the long weekend.  There is obviously also a metro comp on, Anyone is more than welcome to attend as a guest.

If you want anymore info Pm me

regards

Rig

need a lot of practise with O/H and need the right weight cast or it doesnt work out, im still learning to use them in windy-ish weather, but on a calm day i can get same or more distance then a big mean ranga on here... and he uses spin...

I love to use O/H reels on the beach, growing up in perth i did not see many people use them.

I tried to use one and gave up untill i met my brother inlaw from the eastern states. He spent a bit of time with me at a local park and i soon started to get some reasonable casts.

The beach was a bit more learning as well and i had  my share of stuff ups. Now i can outcast most people i fish with even into a sea breeze.

My point is , you should realy try and hook up with someone (who can cast ) and get some practice .

Rig gave some good advise, who better to learn from than a surf casting club.

Cheers Grant

wouldnt you trash your line casting into the dirt/grass? im better than average with a spin setup and im good with a bait caster so i dont see it taking me to long to pick up, i guess they work the same as a baitcaster with the spool control? getting that right for the weight your throwing would be the most important thing im thinking to stop the reel birdnesting?

Yeah the line level is not the best if you want distance, being a lefty i am limited in O'H casting reels of anything larger than baitcasters. Thats why i use the ABU's. I know you can get some American reels but they cost a lot .

Most important thing with line level reels is not to let the end of your line pass through the eye on the reel when your not using it. This will mess up the memory of the line and line level. It's not nice when you cast and the line is ofset to the leveler, this will certainly cause a disaster.

I sometimes think of removing it , but i'm lazy and like not having to level the line yourself. I have had to replace many pawl's inside them tho.

Cheers Grant

hey i was just wondering if casting an over head reel for beach rods is the same style as casting bait casters and so on

thanks for the info guys, blou walvis, casting into the water with no hook sounds like going to the pub and not drinking haha! i think i might grab a overhead reel/combo and start having a crack, anyone link me to a site of anything they recomend with pricing?. wouldnt mind trying the fishing where you paddle your bait out/ballooning if the weathers right if i seriously suck at the casting.

im lefthanded also Grant but ive been right handing fishing since i learnt to walk so its second nature, only thing i do left handed nowdays is wrighting and kicking the footy!

was down kwinana beach today and found im probobly not using the right casting weight for one or two of my rods and how much wind drag you get from bait/floats etc so going to hone a few rigs up this week.

Whats your budget??? It can get pricey. I can get a 13ft poseidon bantam for around the 420 mark. As for reels probably start with a daiwa saltist BG 40 for around 300. There arent to many specialised overhead rods on the market in australia.

rods a rod to me within reason, i honestly probobly couldnt feel much of a differance from a $100 rod to a $200 rod. going to pop down the tackle shop this week and find out whats good.

epic casting is epic, pendulem cast looks nifty!  might have a dry dry tomorrow..

just my opinion

but make sure you get a low mount, much more suitable for casting, welll justt what us saffas use...

most common combos are, poseidons or sharkey rods both in the 14ft range, and a 50 daiwa Saltist/Sealine    or    30 shimano Torium/Trinidad reels...

There is a casting fraternity in Australia that uses overheads exclusively for tournament casting.

You can have a look at their site at: http://www.australiansurfcastingfederation.org/ and follow the links to their forums.

All of these people are also ardent fishermen.

Over the weekend of 11th & 12th June 2011, they held a competition in Victoria at a location called Lancefield. I took the time to travel over and compete and ran 12th in the field with a cast over 200 metres with a 125 gram weight. The overall winner was from NSW and threw a 150 gram weight 262+ metres.

The rods used are all readily available and are manufactured as 'fishing rods' mostly out of the UK. The reels used are generally ABU's, however, of recent times there has been a few Daiwa 7HT Mag & 7HT Mag ST's coming into play.

These newer reels are almost impossible to 'bird nest' when set correctly, unless you let them over run at the end of the cast.

My 'go to' fishing set up at the moment consists of a SONIK NCT (5oz) rod low mounted with a PENN Torque 100 reel, and loaded with 160 metres Ultima 30lb 'Red Ice', backed with 300 metres of 30lb braid.

Anyone wanting to learn to cast an overhead, especially with a 'pendulum' cast, please feel free to PM me a contact number and I will arrange to help out ASAP. Currently the ASF holds competitons here in WA, albeit not on a regular basis. If enough people were interested, a day could be arranged to have a casting session.

Love the penn torque 100!!!

Solidly built little reel with adequate capacity for my needs, plus good drag. Capable of excellent distances with appropriate gear.

Only problem I have with it is that I tend to 'overcast' where the fish are feeding out of pure enthusiasm when using it.

Hey roundisashape. Are you running stock bearings in your trq100?? I cant find any aftermarket ones to suit. They arent too bad, but not as fast as the penn 525 I had. I have degreased them and Ive put quantum hot sauce through them.

Saffy found.......

Most important probably is to have you outfit balanced. Even on a limited budget you can have a success with O/H. Some characteristics of the more expensive O/H is magnetic cast control and cetrifugal braking systems which makes the casting easier. Look for one which at least have centrifugal brakes

The principle of overhead casting in my experience is:

an initial acceleration of the spool: this achieved by a gentle swing releasing the weight at the 11'clock position with the rod loaded,

then a "free" flight phase: during this phase the sinker must have enough momentum to pull the line away from the front of the reel (not of the reel). The drama sets in when the spool spins faster than the line is cleared in front of it. The flight arc of the sinker is important - if you cast to low the sinker hits the water with spool at high rpm = explosion. 

Braking the spool: this happens at the last 10% of the cast. sometimes it is just a "soft brake" when the sinker hits the water. Other times it is a frantic brake if you feel large loops forming (I normally have my thump just above the spool on the last third of the flight). Learn to brake the spool on the spool on the side and not on the line, it will save your finger prints and a couple of swear words.

Couple of tips/considerations.

I will suggest that should be at least be able to cast a 3oz weight - too light weights are difficult to cast.

Casting into the wind is more difficult, so is night casting.

Spool your reel with the correct line dia that match your rod and drag pressure. - Bear in mind thick line strips of quickly causing the spool to increase rpm during the "free flight" phase. Spool with the intermediate rating for the reel.

Some O/H are meant for boat fishing and is difficult to cast- ask advice from your dealer.

Clean the shaft bearings using lighter fluid, dry them out, and oil lightly with low viscosity such as EP90. Increase viscosity as you gain experience.

If you have centrugal brakes, make sure the brake disk is free from oil/grease. Double up on the brakes if you are struggling - reduce as you improve.

Spool the reel to about 2mm from the rim of spool - under spooling increase the rpm making it difficult to control.

When reeling in - ensure you have an even line lay on the spool. Keep a bit of tension on the line when reeling in a broken line.

There is a spool tensioner on the handle side - don't use this to control your spool rotation. You'll find if you turn it anti-clockwise the spool will move sideways in the reel. Tighten it only enough to stop the spool to have sidewards play.

Probably best to practice at the water - footy ovals are often in populated area's. A 3oz weight fly's a million miles if the line snaps - lethal! Often the sinker gets buried in the ground - you'll then have to walk up and down and waste time.

A lot of technical ho but it would be similar telling you how to ride a push bike on a forum! We all know how easy that is - all it takes is a couple of falls then walla - skilled in the art and very rewarding.