Thumb button

[oinkeyface]

Hi all,
I hope someone can give me advice, I have heard of something called a thumb button which will help with casting (as im a pants caster), I just wanted to know if they are any good and how easy they are to fit and use?

Any advice would be great
Cheers

[scottish_and_mental]

I take it you use a fixed spool reel ?
A thumb button is used to 'grip' the line instead of having it on your index finger when casting .. all it does is stop your finger hurting when you cast time after time ie. when mackerel bashing..
wont help your cast one jot im afraid - unless you grip the line too tight when casting...
just how pants is your casting ? its easy to add distance with a little bit of help mate

[oinkeyface]

Cheers for the reply, and yes its fixed spool, and what i mean by casting is the pain then the line tries to take my fingers off lol

Im slowly getting better at casting but have been out of the game for a rather long time so its like im starting all over again.

[scottish_and_mental]

Originally Posted by oinkeyface

Cheers for the reply, and yes its fixed spool, and what i mean by casting is the pain then the line tries to take my fingers off lol

Im slowly getting better at casting but have been out of the game for a rather long time so its like im starting all over again.

there are a couple of things that will prevent the pain in your finger when casting ..
one is to make sure when you are holding the line with your index finger is to make sure its as close to the end of your fingertip as possible , and don't have the line too tight from the spool to your finger when you put the bail arm over ..
flick bale arm over , hold line with finger and with other hand pull the line through your finger about an inch so you have a little loop next to the reel body ..
the other thing is to slow down the cast and not try to slam it over your head .. power is a lot less important then technique

Maybe we need to meet up when i'm down next

[oinkeyface]

Thats really helpful, thank you.

I am gonna practice next week as have some time off and if you want a laugh at a loony trying to cast then yeah, let me know when your down!

My mate (who is on the forum site too), has tried to teach me but ends up crying with laughter, but I took my little brother fishing the other week and was suprised how well I did, we didnt catch anything but it was fun as he had never gone fishing before and is a better catser than me lol

[scottish_and_mental]

Originally Posted by oinkeyface

Thats really helpful, thank you.

I am gonna practice next week as have some time off and if you want a laugh at a loony trying to cast then yeah, let me know when your down!

My mate (who is on the forum site too), has tried to teach me but ends up crying with laughter, but I took my little brother fishing the other week and was suprised how well I did, we didnt catch anything but it was fun as he had never gone fishing before and is a better catser than me lol

Im only just up the road and will be down sometime this week ( maybe tonight/tommorow at milford ) and no doubt out next week at Hayling or Lee on Solent ..
If you are near Sholing then even better . when i'm at Johns house we can go over the sports field

your wee brother will be like EVERY new angler - a jammy bugger
I'm sure we can have you out casting him in no time

[oinkeyface]

That sounds good to me, I will have to look at my rota as am on nights this week and not sure whats going on nxt week yet?
And it would be great to out cast my bro as he took great delight in the constant reminders of how he cast lol

Im glad he has the fishing bug now tho, I got him a cheap rod and reel so he all set up now too.

It wont take me long to get to sholing, hayling area as its just up the m27 from me.

[Dadwood]

Scottish and Mental has given you some good advise here (as usual), and I don't suppose I can help except to pass on a tip given to me many moons ago. It is this: You can make some finger stalls for next to nowt if you go to your local kids bike shop and ask for an old discarded innertube. When you get it home cut in into tubes about 2" to 3" long. Then cut each one longways, overlap the cut edges and superglue them back together so your finger fits in snuggly. Hey presto - finger stalls aplenty, and for nothing! Kind regards.

[oinkeyface]

thats a great tip ans I have a few unused innertubes in my shed! That will give me something to do while on my night shifts.

Thanks

[scottish_and_mental]

Completely Agree !! finger stools are a great idea to prevent the tramlines you end up with on your finger

Off to West Hordle tonight now with two other S'oton boys .. will let you know how we get on