Ultimate birds nest, and thumb control for a newbie

I did a bunch of running around yesterday, I went by Hi's tackle and got an Okuma rod for my Penn Jigmaster.  It was on sale and nothing fancy 7 foot Blue Diamond rod.  I decided that I would also try praticing some casting so I went to the park in Foster City up the road from Aquans boat house also on Norfolk.  I tied an old piece of 3 oz weight on casted it first cast and I got some looseness, on the spool ( I know there might be term for it, call it pre-bird's nesting or something). 

Mind you I have never casted a conventional, just dropped it to the bottom and jigged.  I know there is this learning curve on thumb control and I wanted to figure it out, which is why I was praticing.  Cast number two, thumb wasn't on there that well and the weight goes out 20 feet and I must have 50 feet of birdnest.  I am looking at this and see this is not going to be an easy task.  So I remove the side plate and pull th spool out (now I know why Penn made that easy take down feature) , and start untangling.  Well that works for a while, but I am not making the progress I like, and decide to hand line what is out in the water, and cut the weight free.  About 30 mintues go by and finally get it right, rethread the rod and try some more, now I have thumb on th espool every cast.  By the time it is dark I am getting in the 30 ish yard area, and I can live with that for the first time trying it. 

You should not have to pull apart the reel to remove a birdsnest unless it is major and then you will likely have to use a knife .

On your casting try thumb on at the beginning of cast and then thumb off until just before it hits water or land if your practicing , then lightly apply thumb pressure until touch down . When you do get a bit of over run ( minor birdsnest , looseness ) pull it out and wind it back on tight , reeling over it and casting again will just cause more problems . All guys using conventional reels have these minor problems on occasion , nature of the beast !

Keep practicing , try practicing in water with a hook and bait or a lure , MORE FUN that way !

The Jigmaster is not a good reel to learn on you should try something with a lighter spool,cast control and a brake like an Abu 5000. If you learn to cast on the Jigmaster you should be able to cast anything. Buy some cheap line to learn on then replace it and go fishing.

I pull the excess minor nes toff after every cast.  I have tried adjusting the spool tension, with minor improvement,  If the rain lets up I will head out agian.  I agree with you Mickfish on the Abu, but that has line control, anti backlash, and everytihng else, and the old Penn si something of a challenge. I am using some cheap 30 lb to practice on.  I had planned to use this mostly for jigging, but wanted to try my hand at it. 



 On a Stripers online thread I once read about some guys from Hawaii casting  4/0's and 6/0's with 100 lb test.  I have hard time trying to imagine casting a sucker that big.

I would also recommend adjusting the preload on the spool to match your lure weight...this is especially helpful when your just starting out.

On a Stripers online thread I once read about some guys from Hawaii casting  4/0's and 6/0's with 100 lb test.  I have hard time trying to imagine casting a sucker that big.

I think it all depends on how much the bait/lure weighs on the end of the line. On long range trips, I have difficulty in casting 40 pound test more than 15 feet while flylining sardines.

Thanks Sean,  I worked on that as well.  As most people state, you have to develop a feel for it, and I am still in the development phase.  It's funny how some old Penn reels were designed for surf casting and others were for jigging yet both externally and  internally there weren't huge differences. Some have almost all the same parts. Names were different.  Mostly they were jack of all trades reels, which were good in there day, and okay by today's standards.  Also I think part of trying to learn these old reels is the Military and Medic side of me that has learned that the simpler something is the greater the likelihood it will work in the worst conditions.  Overly complex things fall in the void known as Muprhy's law, what can go wrong will go wrong.  WHen I look at the guts of an Abu I get confused, when I look at Old Penn the light bulb goes off, well until I loose that spring that likes to fly off into the dark void of my apartments carpet. Lol

The jigmaster is the reel I learned on as a kid in Long Beach.  I used them surf casting along with Penn squidders all down the So. Cal. coast and on piers and party boats.  I love the new reels but you're right the simplicity of the jigmaster and the squidder is an enticing feature.  One tip I have is to thumb the edge of the spool rather than the line itself.  If you get good and want a real long distance surfcaster you may want to invest in the Penn 525 Mag.  It is truly a mix of old school with the best of magnetic anti backlash control.  Good luck with your practice.--Jeff

I find it's easier to learn with a heavier weight.  I learned on a comparable reel to the jigmaster (silver beach) and generally used 4-6oz sinkers.  If it's got a metal spool you could probably buy a plastic/composite spool and get better performance with lighter weights.  Also you definitely don't want spectra on a large conventional you plan on casting a lot, it'll burn off the skin of your thumb from braking, is much worse when it birds-nests, and can cut you badly if a finger gets caught in a birds-nest in progress.

Also, if you practice with larger weights you should use a shock leader of heavier line long enough to go around the spool a few wraps.  That way when you're loading up for a cast you won't break the line.  Once practicing the pendulum cast I broke off 50lb line at Pt Isabel, fell down and the rod whipped around into sand and nearly broke.  The sinker probably landed with deadly velocity hundreds of yards away.

I almost bought a 525 mag, but I was just starting to kayak fish then and very quickly lost all interest in shore fishing. 

I have some 30lb mono on it right now.  I have an image of some getting struck by a 4 once weight..... that would of knocked some one out if it had hit them.  Which is why I practice  at the beach, I can't find a field where I wouldn't take out a dog or a five year old.

I think Goliath was felled with less. 

It is fun to hear that reel sizzle and actively thumb the spool for several seconds though. 

Another good way to learn on one of those reels is to let out about 30 feet of line and then put some tape across the line to stop it. Practice like that for a while until you get the hang of it. Less bird nests.

Thanks Mahi, I will give that  a try next time I get out.