I'm starting a new topic on TFF under Salt Water Fishing -- Surf Fishing -- about casting techniques to provide a place for people to swap info on techniques and rigs. I was just posting some info about rods under another topic ""Help with Surf Fishing" under "Open Saltwater Discussion", and there was another discussion about rods under another topic there: "Anyone have any Trout, Redfish & Flounder Rod Recommendations?":
http://www.texasfishingforum.com/.ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=001815

Here's a website that has some information about casting techniques used at the N.C. Outer Banks, including online streaming videos:

http://www.hatterasoutfitters.com/links.htm

If I find some other good links about casting techniques, I'll post them here, as I hope others will.

Please note that I am not trying to promote hatteras outfitters or any other fishing-related company. I'm a programmer, from Virginia, down here in TX (DFW area) for 3-4 months to do some consulting work at Bell Helicopter. I spent 3 months here last winter -- Heck, I'm almost becoming a Texan. Been bit pretty good by fire ants, sand fleas and almost by a huge water mocassin while stepping over to relieve myself at a bush while fishing a pond north of I635 in Plano/Irving area NW of Dallas. Only thing I'm missing is having an armadillo hop up in front of my car while I'm doing 70 mph and bash my windshield. Even had to call 911 to notify state police of a longhorn on the Interstate. Am I missing anything else to become a Texan before moving here?)

Here's some of what I said under "Help with Surf Fishing" under "Open Saltwater Discussion":

There's a neat shop called Breakaway Tackle right on the right as you get off the JFK bridge onto S. Padre Island, if you are coming from Corpus Christi down S.Padre Island Drive (358) and then taking 22 across the bay on the causeway to the JFK bridge. I was just in there the other day. Besides making their own version of spider weights that have the spines so that they can flip backward if they get caught by an obstruction (and hopefully the weight will come free), the guy who owns that shop, an Aussie, custom makes these really light 2 piece graphite rods. He makes 12' (actually, 11' 9") and 15' versions. (Maybe the 15' rods are 3 piece.) He charges a lot for them, but I picked a 12' rod up, and it was really light. He makes them specifically for casting really long distances. I don't know how well they would work for me -- I think some of the casting distance is in the technique. I found one website devoted to surf fishing that had a lot of info on various rigs and had a page on casting techniques. There's a technique called the Hatteras cast, which is named for Cape Hatteras, NC.

But there are people down there who rave about the casting distance with those rods. I'd sure like to get some more casting distance. I fish from the jetties, but am hoping to try some surf fishing soon.

I watched some of the video clips on different long distance surf casting techniques on
http://www.hatterasoutfitters.com/links.htm
and I see that all of them are sort of side-casts where the person casting swivels their body around, kind of like a pitcher or batter using the stronger torque they can get by twisting their body rather than trying some kind of over head technique. I have been casting overhead, so this weekend at Port Aransas, I am going to try these stronger, sideways casting methods -- or as best I can figure them out from watching the videos.

I did notice that there are two links related to Breakaway Tackle rods on the Hatteras "Links" page:
http://www.breakawayusa.com/pages/howto.htm
and even a forum:
http://breakawayusa.com/cgi-bin/noteboards/cast.cgi

Hope this helps some of you. I sure need some help myself.

Speaking of casting techniques, I wonder which technique might use the trebuchet' method, where one lets a length of line out roughly equal to the rod length before casting. I think, though, that for that technique to work, one has to use a pretty stiff rod.

(See http://nfo.edu/trebuche.htm)

CUSTOM BUILT ROD MAKERS:
Here are some good links for custom built rods that some people recommended on the other thread I mentioned above ("Anyone have any Trout, Redfish & Flounder Rod Recommendations?" under "Open Saltwater Discussion"):

www.waterloorods.com
www.billystix.com

and of course, Nick the Aussie's business on S. Padre Island:

www.breakawayusa.com

I do not mean to slight other good custom surf rod makers. Feel free to list others you recommend.

OVERHEAD CAST -- TREBUCHET METHOD:
Well, I was wrong about the overhead cast not being a good long distance surf-casting method, but I was right about asking if there was a method based on the trebuchet -- a medieval seige machine used to cast boulders at castles, far more powerful than a catapult. Nick's Breakaway Tackle website's "How To" pages (Lesson # 1) shows exactly that -- an overhead casting technique using the trebuchet method:

http://www.breakawayusa.com/pages/how-to1.htm

Of course, as I suggested before, the success of this technique requires a pretty stiff rod. A fiberglass rod just won't do it, and I doubt that even a med-heavy graphite rod like the Silstar I got at a heavy discount won't be very effective with this technique. Of course, another important factor in using this technique has to be using the correct weight to match the rod. (Almost sounds like I know what I'm talking about. I'll get to practice these techniques at Port Aransas this weekend from the jetties and surf and will report back on this amateur's success or lack thereof.)

I bought a 2pc/1pc from Nick that is a beast at 13'2". I would get Nick's second video for instruction. It's pretty good. Seems like I read somewhere that one should not even attempt some of the casts like the pendulum until he can reach 100-125 meters consistently with a simple off the ground.I think I got that from Neil Mackellow's website. He had the world record for a number of years in the 70's and 80's. What reels are you using? I am using the Daiwa 30 shv usually, also the Abu 6500c3ctmag. The abu will fly. Nick put ceramic bearings in mine. Good luck at Port A. I hope the water is green and fish plentiful.

For the Port A jetties, you do not have to cast very far out. There is a channel that runs right next to where the rocks end, and the fish travel there. In the '70's, someone hand tossed a rig out from the rocks and caught a 12'6" tiger shark. I'll be at the South Jetty Saturday morning, it'll be an incoming tide, so hopefully the reds will be actively feeding.

I posted a report of my 3 days at Port Aransas South Jetty, under "Salt Water" - "Reports". Friday was a wash for me - strong winds and strong current, but Thur night and Fri evening was great. Caught two reds over 40". Still not getting the casting distance I'd prefer, but it's better. I think I'm going to have to change equipment, plus get some instruction. Currently using all spinning tackle (9' and 12' rods) with braid. Wound some mono over top of the braid, and that helped.

Didn't get to visit Nick's Breakaway Tackle shop, as the only time I passed that way was Thursday (Thanksgiving) evening, and hardly any shops were open then.

TFF member "TOO" told me a new way to set up the rigs, hooks and sinkers so that I don't lose them by getting the line snagged in the rocks. First part of this technique is to use a breakaway weight, a type of weight similar to the usual spider-weight, but this one has wires that can flip backward and release from rocks. Look it up on www.BreakawayUSA.com -- Pics at:
(http://www.breakawayusa.com/pages/sinkers.htm)

The second part is to use a slip float with a stop-thingy to keep it from sliding too far up the line. I either tied a knot in the mono line to stop the slide-bobber at the depth I wanted or tied on a 30 to 40 ft shock mono leader and let that knot stop the slip bobber. On the channel side, I set this about for about 30 to 40 feet depth, and on the surf side -- even at the end of the jetty, I'd tie the knot at about 8 ft. After casting out and letting the sinker sink to the
bottom, I would reel up the line so that it was fairly tight, but even though the float was no longer on the surface, it kept the line out of the rocks. That worked. I got back my rigs on over 95% my casts.

First and foremost, let me tell ya'll that this is my first time on this Forum and on this site! This is awesome. I would like to thank all of ya'll for your posts, suggestions, advice, and everything else.

I'm a rookie at fishing, didn't have a lot of time in college, but now that Im out and the economy stinks, I've taken a liking to it. I've been trying to get my first red. Any suggestions or advices?

Thanks,
RsR

You cannot launch your boat off PINS, unless you want to loose it, the trailer, your fishing gear and your tow vehicle. The Rangers will impound all of it. You can use a kayak to run out baits, but unless your targeting sharks it's not needed.
According to Nick most people can't use the rods over 12 feet, it just becomes too much to handle for casting. The advantage of long rods is to keep your line clear of the waves and weed in the surf.
You'll want surf weights and shock leaders for casting. Your shock leader should be about ten (10) pounds for every ounce of weight.
A few double drop mono rigs and a few steel leaders if macks are in the surf.
You'll want one or two rods with larger reels for the line capicty in order to soak baits at the second gut, your bay gear will work just fine for artificials and as your in hand rods.