I know there have been several threads about this in the past but it was something that J.C. encouraged me to try mastering. I was out at the lake Tuesday evening and the bite was horrible so I figured why not use the opportunity to do a little off hand casting. After a few minutes of practice I started getting pretty good at it.

I was throwing 40-50 ft casts very comfortably but no double haul yet. That will come later on. I had noticed one fish chasing minnows near the surface to my right but a right handed cast was out of the question due to obstructions. I figured what the heck and started tossing "lefty" or off hand for me. I was not fully paying attention when suddenly this huge fish boils on my hopper! I missed the hook set not being used to having the rod in my left hand. I did not get to see the whole fish as the water was murky but the part that cleared the water had a huge dorsal fin, tail and tiger stripes. KERSPLASH!! Back into the water it went! Since this lake is known for big tiger muskies I figure that I missed the chance to hook the fish of 10,000 casts! This one was found by the Park Rangers in that lake a few years back:

51 inches, 41 pounds


My heart was really pounding just thinking about the fish I probably missed. After my thoughts calmed down I said a silent thank you to J.C. for encouraging me to learn the off hand cast. If not for him doing so I know I would never had had that strike happen. Thanks J.C.

So how many of you took J.C.'s advice and started working on your off hand casting?

I highly recommend that you try it. It is a good skill to add to your arsenal.