Anyone Else Yard Fish? 2024
Josh Smith reply :
Hi Folks,
As I make modifications to by beloved Abu Ambassadeurs, they of course needed tested. I take them out into the yard to test cast before actually fishing them.
This evolved into practice casting daily. There are plenty of trees to simulate fishing, just no water.
The spot I've chosen to do this only has a castable distance of about 40 yards before I hit the tree line to the woods, but the woods has overhanging boughs from trees and underneath them makes good long-range practice for getting under overhanging branches at the lake.
My wife thinks I'm weird for this.
Come to find out, when Dad got his Abu Garcia 5000 back in the '70s and mounted it on the Lew's Tournament Grade fiberglass rod, he'd practice out back by pitching to the neighbor's basset hound and playing tug-of-war with the dog! (The neighbors knew this and enjoyed watching it! They were family friends I guess.)
Practicing casting is relaxing to me, like shooting my bow, or 1911 pistol, or .22 rimfire, or even black powder and centerfire rifles. I do all these in the yard or the woods, depending.
So, does anyone else do this? Yard fish, I mean?
Josh
kikstand454 reply :
Guilty.
I will throw a paper plate, a small saucer and a Frisbee out from the back deck and stand on the bottom step and pitch/ cast to them.
A-Jay reply :
Yup - and it's a year round evolution . . . . . .
A-Jay
Alonerankin2 reply :
Yes, whew! Finally others confessing about it.
One place, folks would laugh every time I would do it...
No problem, keeps me sharp between trips, and as you say... Is relaxing to boot!
FlipSide reply :
i have a cardboard box that i wrote pitchin box on because my lady kept throwing them away lol.
i too am guilty of yard fishing.
Heron reply :
I find yard fishing to be essential, particularly during any "off-season."
gulfcaptain reply :
Cats make great subjects to fish for while practicing (without a hook of course) Have to do something when we can't go fishing.
RAMBLER reply :
I like the physical act of casting, so, I will cast in my yard for practice and just to relax.
I am right handed and like to practice casting left handed. It's surprising how fast my left hand and wrist will tire, and yet, I can cast all day, right handed.
Jd_Phillips_Fishin reply :
I do it all the time
atcoha reply :
was out front just a little while ago...doing the same thing.
Fish_Whisperer reply :
All the time... My daughters playhouse has tiny windows and openings, practice my pitching into them, along with a small bowl I will throw out and pitch to from different distances. It's good practice to also place larger objects in front of your target to simulate different situations.
Jolly Green reply :
I like to practice when the squirrels are out; they will stalk and pounce like lions on my practice plug. I also have a small drainage pond out back that I can use for casting and dog-walking practice, as well as bonus entertainment watching herons yank some of the hundreds of puny bullhead out of it.
K_Mac reply :
I've spent many happy hours pitching under and into a wide variety of targets. I would rather figure out how to make accurate and quiet presentations in the yard anyway. Gives me more time to fish and puts more fish in the boat. Many of my neighbors don't quite know what to think of me as a result. That is a great unexpected benefit!
reb67 reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 7:54 AM, RAMBLER said:I like the physical act of casting, so, I will cast in my yard for practice and just to relax.
I am right handed and like to practice casting left handed. It's surprising how fast my left hand and wrist will tire, and yet, I can cast all day, right handed.
I started doing this in the yard {practicing left hand casting} because when fishing bank lines on the river there some places you can't cast to do to the position of the boat and you are right the left wrist tiers quickly but it is get better.
everythingthatswims reply :
Or sitting in the living room pitching jigs at my little brothers until they make me stop. Most dogs try to eat fishing lures when they see them moving...for some odd reason, my dogs don't even look at a jig crawling across the rug in front of them 
Darren. reply :
Never called it yard fishing, but yeah, I cast n' retrieve in the yard often enough! 
Nick_D reply :
Yea, and my wife always asks if I caught anything.
Sam reply :
Yes, all the time.
Not only do I cast but I have a 24-inch round plywood cutout that I pitch and flip to with various baits at various distances.
Only problem is reeling in the line with treble hooks after a cast can be a pain so I walk to and from where the bait lands in the field reeling in line as I go.
joefish reply :
My flipping and pitching sucks so I really need to do some yard fishing. Guess I won't be the only one.
Montanaro reply :
Yeah...had a passerby ask if they were biting well.
buzzed bait reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 8:56 AM, everythingthatswims said:Or sitting in the living room pitching jigs at my little brothers until they make me stop. Most dogs try to eat fishing lures when they see them moving...for some odd reason, my dogs don't even look at a jig crawling across the rug in front of them
mine could care less too....
i would get some weird looks at this snooty a** town home i used to rent... but yeah it didn't bother me much. now i have all the room i need out back and it's great!
Raul reply :
You don't think you can drop a jig in a tea cup 30 yards away without some practice, do you ?
OntarioFishingGuy reply :
No, but i have damaged a couple rods by hitting the ceiling while 'hallway fishing'.
Mswen reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 7:04 AM, gulfcaptain said:Cats make great subjects to fish for while practicing (without a hook of course) Have to do something when we can't go fishing.
When I learned to fly fish, they told me to practice casting in the yard, without a hook. I was doing this one day, and I tried to pull forward from the backcast, but it was stuck. My sister's cat had snagged the end of the line and had it pinned to the ground.
If you cut the hook off a marabou jig, it makes a great cat toy. I had one kitten who would play with one for hours, while I would pitch and cast to him in my living room and yard. Afterwards, I would have to hide my fishing gear in the closet (it was a small apartment) or he would get into it. I woke up in the middle of the night one time to this "Thok, thok, thok, thok," sound. I had left the rod in a corner of the living room, and the line wrapped around the tip, to keep the jig in place. Angus had climbed my desk and could just reach it, and he was swatting the jig against the wall, trying to dislodge it.
What do you use to keep from snagging on the grass? Lead weights don't cast the same as most lures. Cutting the hook off of a cheap jig is another option, or removing the hooks from a crankbait. I know they make practice plugs, but that seems like an unnecessary expense.
jbw252 reply :
Yes Sir...Guilty as charged. Although I call it squirrel fishing. Thanks to "Chris at Tech" for teaching me that term.
blongfishing reply :
I do this a lot!! I find myself usually doing this in the winter when I can't fish.
hatrix reply :
I don't cast in my yard. But about the cats thing. My uncle had a spincast I think it is really called like a zebco 404 type. It had a little cloth bag of catknip tied on it and we would cast it across the house and reel in my cousins cats when I was little. I was actually tons of fun when you are like 8 or 9. They put up a good fight.
SirSnookalot reply :
Having a pond about 100' from my door and a canal around 125 yds my answer is no. When I have a rod in my hand I'm fishing.
Brian Brazier reply :
Yep, all the time, my neighbors think I am crazy. I have a large greenbelt behined my house where I usually practice. One day I was testing out my casting distance, tied on a 3/8oz practice weight, and let it fly. I got 50yrds a few times, decided to go down to 1/4oz thats when the wind picked up. This wouldnt have been a problem, but there are high tension power lines that run parallel to where I was casting, sure enough I launched one, and a huge gust of wind carried it around the line closest to me. I know mono shouldnt be cinductive, but these are like 51,000 volt lines, and the power is carried on the outsice of the line, I was a little worried, but I would have been dead before I knew what hit me. So I dropped my rod, and grabbed a knife with a thick rubber handle, and cut the line. Unfortunately the weight wrapped around the line, so it didnt just fall down and the pigtail that you tie the fishing line to was touching the power line and making an arc. I had to call Bonneville Power and have them come out and fix it, they showed up with 3 trucks, all the lights on and it took 2hrs to get it down becuase they had to call and shut them down, and fillout a bunch of paperwork, but they got it down in one tug with their safe stick. So for now I am practicing out front, and of course every neighbor that comes by has the same joke, "you catch anything".
Rhino68W reply :
I yard fish for sure! And I live in a very busy apartment complex. People drive by and stare at me like im crazy haha.
Bassguytom reply :
I do whenever I spool up with new line or when I get a new reel.
WdyCrankbait reply :
My name is WdyCrankbait, and I yard fish.
Yep, when I am trying to dial in a reel before wasted time on the water.
CDMeyer reply :
I practice flippin' this way, taught myself to not have to switched the rod in my hands when I flip
DogBone_384 reply :
No can do - I live on a peninsula, in the city. House lots are small, but the ocean is 300 yards down the street.... I guess I can practice there.
CDobber reply :
I have only done it a couple of times and caught all sorts of flack from the wife when I did. If/when I do get into fly fishing though, I will likely practice that in the backyard a fair amount to get the timing down.
starcraft1 reply :
This all started when I was taught (was being taught) how to flip. I had to stand on a 5 gal. bucket and flip into 9" pie plates. Once I got to where I was hitting the plates on a reg. basis they were fulled with water. I got a lot of strange looks back then. I'm glad I kept it up.
ZRT-42 reply :
I have, doing a lot more now because I'm trying to get way better with my baitcaster.
TorqueConverter reply :
Last time I went yard fishing I got brand new DT16 stuck in tree.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I don't yard fish but I do puppy fish. I have a short piece of knotted rope on a 5' 6" MH pistol grip Lew's rod with a 6600 Abu and 30lb mono that I roll cast around the house while our goofy golden retriever bounds through the house after it then plays tug-o-war with me until I can wiggle it loose from her. She gets excited every time I pick that rod up.
Grizzn N Bassin reply :
i do all winter for the most part but after the winter had this year me and my uncle are going to give ice fishing a solid go
SirSnookalot reply :
On 9/7/2014 at 8:45 AM, DogBone_384 said:No can do - I live on a peninsula, in the city. House lots are small, but the ocean is 300 yards down the street.... I guess I can practice there.
I'd love that.
Bankbeater reply :
I stand on the deck and target my wife's empty flower pots. They are heavy enough that they won't tip over even if I do manage to hit one.
StormEasy reply :
When i got my first baitcaster, i practiced out in the yard for about a good month before i wanted to risk embarrassment on the water, and did the same thing again when i got a fly rod this summer.
Kevin Beachy reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 7:04 AM, gulfcaptain said:Cats make great subjects to fish for while practicing (without a hook of course) Have to do something when we can't go fishing.
They are very nasty when they jump from there hiding spot and attack your hookified lure and then you get the fun of having to pull it out of there mouth before they swallow it!!! Happened 2 times to me.
geo g reply :
I always work the yard after lubing the reels. You have to love those old Abu reels, bullet proof and strong as a winch. I still use one all the time and load it 65 lb. braid.
FirstnameLastname reply :
Anybody who says they don't do this is a lair. Every time I get a new rod or reel, I test in my yard. Just so I can get a feel for my equipment before it is truly tested.
gramps50 reply :
That's where I learned to use a bait caster, much easer to get the hang of it in the yard with a practice plug. Great place to practice. Why waste time on the water learning or honing these skills.
Jd_Phillips_Fishin reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 4:25 PM, Mswen said:When I learned to fly fish, they told me to practice casting in the yard, without a hook. I was doing this one day, and I tried to pull forward from the backcast, but it was stuck. My sister's cat had snagged the end of the line and had it pinned to the ground.
If you cut the hook off a marabou jig, it makes a great cat toy. I had one kitten who would play with one for hours, while I would pitch and cast to him in my living room and yard. Afterwards, I would have to hide my fishing gear in the closet (it was a small apartment) or he would get into it. I woke up in the middle of the night one time to this "Thok, thok, thok, thok," sound. I had left the rod in a corner of the living room, and the line wrapped around the tip, to keep the jig in place. Angus had climbed my desk and could just reach it, and he was swatting the jig against the wall, trying to dislodge it.
What do you use to keep from snagging on the grass? Lead weights don't cast the same as most lures. Cutting the hook off of a cheap jig is another option, or removing the hooks from a crankbait. I know they make practice plugs, but that seems like an unnecessary expense.
just get a beat up worm and an old weight that doesnt have any paint left on it
LApanic reply :
Oh yeah, once a week at least for 20-30. Mainly standing on a bucket and pitching to small flower pots, treelined, etc. Ive got a few practice weights and roll cast from the ground and bucket. Right now fine tuning my soft landing of a creature baits at 40yds and soon to get on the walking path and start learning to skip. Standing on a bucket you definitely get looks, but really don't care, lol
Senko lover reply :
All the time.
My neighbors laugh at me when they see me casting out in my front yard ("Tryin' to catch a grass carp?") every time I forget to cast in the back yard. What's wrong with practicing in my yard? Would I say "tryin' for a hole in one?" if I saw them practicing a golf swing? No. I always take my newly-purchased combos out in the yard to get a feel for them and then I hone my skills by casting, flipping, and pitching with them all the time after that.
It's a fishing thing.
DogBone_384 reply :
I admit it, I yard fish.
When I'm re-spooling or cleaning reels I'll throw a test weight on and let our cats chase them.
The only catfish I've ever caught.
DFrench97 reply :
At my trailer i cast off the deck and try to hit my neighbors campfire pit!
S Hovanec reply :
I test cast rods in the yard, so yea, I guess I yard fish. You should have seen Lucky Craft Man heaving 30 oz. of lead in my yard after I did a mod on one of his musky rods. It was leaving craters. The dogs were scared!
Bassun reply :
Yup - guilty here too!
New rods / reels definately get a workout in the yard. I learned how to pitch, flip, and realy just cast a baitcaster in the yard. I also do a lot of fly casting in the yard. Just tying a small piece of bright yarn works great and you can practice all kinds of casts and see excatly how your line lays when it hits the grass, which is hugely important for fly fishing.
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