The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting [Paperback]

Ron Arra (Author), Curt Garfield (Author), Nelson Bryant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

Casting distance is the key to successful surf fishing. In The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting, Ron Arra - five-time winner of the United States surfcasting championship - reveals the techniques that made him a casting champion, and explains how to apply these skills under genuine fishing conditions on the beach, as well as on the tournament field. Arra fully explains techniques for the off-the-beach cast, the overhead beach cast, the modified pendulum cast, the light-tackle cast, and many more. The helpful recommendations for lure and rig selection, tackle, and tuning reels for maximum distance will help any surf fisherman to cast and fish with authority. With scores of step-by-step photographs of Arra in action, and clear descriptions of all the nuances of distance casting, The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting will improve the casting and fish-catching potential of novice and veteran surfcasters alike. (6 x 9, 152 pages, b&w photos)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Casting distance is the key to successful surf fishing. In The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting, Ron Arra - five-time winner of the United States surfcasting championship - reveals the techniques that made him a casting champion, and explains how to apply these skills under genuine fishing conditions on the beach, as well as on the tournament field.Arra fully explains techniques for the off-the-beach cast, the overhead beach cast, the modified pendulum cast, the light-tackle cast, and many more. The helpful recommendations for lure and rig selection, tackle, and tuning reels for maximum distance will help any surf fisherman to cast and fish with authority.With scores of step-by-step photographs of Arra in action, and clear descriptions of all the nuances of distance casting, The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting will improve the casting and fish-catching potential of novice and veteran surfcasters alike. (6 x 9, 152 pages, b&w photos)

About the Author

Ron Arra is the first person in America to cast more than 700 feet and was also the first person to cast nearly 800 feet across the Cape Cod Canal in 1989. He lives in Massachusetts.

Curt Garfield is an award-winning outdoor editor for the MetroWest Daily News in Massachusetts. He is the international editor for Salt Water Sportsman. He lives in Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585742996
• ISBN-13: 978-1585742998
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Longer Distance Casting, December 29, 2003

By 

Harvey Gurien (Delmar, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting (Paperback)

I was an average surf caster,until I bought an old copy of John Holden's book Long Distance Casting. I studied that method, but couldn't get the hang of it. Then came Ron Arra and Curt Garfield's Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting. One can make the analogy between the Wright brothers airplane and a modern aircraft with the Holden book and the Arra-Garfield product.
Ron Arra goes into great detail about position, form,and posture,
all necessary to achieve significantly greater casting distance.He also recommends rods and reels which I have found to be the best one can obtain. Aside from these considerations, the book is as easy as it is enjoyable to read.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This could be a much better book, December 25, 2005

By 

Michael Carmel (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting (Paperback)

Hopefully, Ron Arra will write another book with more competent guidance. He is a great surfcaster and fisherman, but there are problems with this disappointing book. The main shortcoming is dreadful illustration -- the pictures reproduced on cheap paper are photographed from the wrong perspective with the wrong lighting. The drawings are sparse. You simply cannot see the fishing rod and line position that are the subjects and purpose of the illustrations. Because the book is billed as "Complete Instructions for Longer Casting..." you would expect an A-B-C guide to surfcasting. Other useful information may be ferreted out of what reads more like edited taped interviews of fishing advice and yarns illustrating how to fish. That is not all bad -- you may learn a few tricks as you re-read this opposite-of-a-textbook. If one looks beyond the sparse drawings and bad pictures, one can garner some good tips that may come in handy. Two things learned from reading the book over and over, trying to absorb the wisdom therein: you can cast very far if you know what you are doing, and the Eastern Seaboard has some great surf fishing. I am in in the Pacific Northwest where surf fishing mostly results in tasty perch. I was hoping I might find some wisdom that would reveal there are bigger fish that prey on those perch in that very same surf. This is an East Coast book that needs serious revision. This is a little weird as Lamiglas in Western Washington State makes a terrific line of Ron Arra rods. They need to buy him a Washington fishing license and finance a few months of surf fishing research. I believe there is a hidden fishery that Ron Arra could uncover.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good book, November 24, 2005

By 

D. G. Diveglia - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Surfcasting (Paperback)

Reading the reviews before I received the book, I had plans of returning it unopened. Well curiosity got to me and I opened it and read quickly through it. #1 the print and pictures are too small. #2 the pictures are in black and white . #3..the book appears to be written in the 1950's. Read all the reviews here..and you'll know what you are getting!....The only plus thing is the reduction in the price..I would say the 12.00 price from amazon saves this purchase from being a total disaster. Don't get expressed shipping since it will make the total purchase price 23.00 which is too much for this book..