Reach out and Hook 'Em by Jim Cox
Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, October 1996

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With this long-distance fishing gear, even the average caster can trow a lure almost into the next area code.

Have you ever stood helplessly on the shoreline, watching schools of game fish slamming shad on the surface about 50 yards beyond your maximum casting distance?

This is an especially familiar lament for those who enjoy fishing in the tailrace areas below dams, but can't quite ligature the channel to that sweet spot, and for surf anglers who would love to be able to cast beyond the third sandbar where a big one is bound to be lurking.

Of course, with a strong rod and oversized lure or lots of lead sinkers, a person can muscle a bait pretty far out there. But what if the fish are hitting tiny forage fish and turn their noses up at heavy, fast-sinking lures or bait?

The solution to this dilemma may emanate from an unlikely source.

Roger Seiders, a lanky former school teacher, heads a family-operated rod-building supply manufacturing company at his home in Driftwood, southwest of Austin. His long-distance casting float, simply called the "Launcher," resembles a saltwater popping cork. But when teamed with a nine- or 10- foot graphite rod of the correct action and one of the new wide-spool spinning reels spooled with light monofilament line, the rig allows a person with average casting skills to routinely make 75 to 100 yard casts.

Seiders is quick to acknowledge that the Launcher's design was not entirely his idea. "I was working a tackle show in Houston in the late 1970's when I happened to meet a guy named Lewis Brannen," said Seiders. "We both were interested in long fishing rods for distance casting." Brannen, who lived at Granite Shoals near Lake LBJ, also had experimented with modified popping corks while fishing for white and striped bass below Highland Lakes dams. Retiree Art Di Giovanni, who also lived at Granite Shoals, provided some valuable rigging advice and inspiration before his death in 1995.
"We modified popping corks every way you could imagine, tying the line and leader on various swivel arrangements," said Seiders. "We still had problems with the leader wrap- ping around the line and the float when we made a cast."

Aftermarket,Seiders and Brannen stumbled onto the correct arrangement. They tied both the line and leader to the top ring of a single swivel on a bullet-shaped, weighted float. With this arrangement they could use a long (five or six-foot) leader and fling a lure as light as a streamer fly without tangles.
Seiders' ultimate long-distance rig is a 10 1/2 foot graphite rod with whippy action, a wide-spool spinning reel, eight - to 14 - pound monofilament line and the largest (five-inch) Launcher that weighs 1-1/8 ounces.

"The good thing about this system is that a person of average casting ability can make up to 100-yard casts with just a little practice,' Seiders said. 'My father, who is 82, easily casts clear across the Colorado River below Inks Lake Dam." The Launcher also is a tremendous boost for those confined to a wheelchair or with other physical disabilities. In addition, the Launcher is a great way for kids to enjoy fishing success, he believes.

Launchers are available at many tackle stores or by mail from Seiders' factory. While Seiders also builds and sells custom rods designed to cast these prodigious distances, he points out that similar equipment can be found at tackle shops. "Steelhead" type rods used by salmon fishermen in the Northwest, and 'popping rods" normally used by coastal trout and red drum anglers, can be adapted to Launcher use if the correct weight and length is selected.

An expedition to the tailrace area below Max Starke (Lake Marble Falls) Dam in May 1995 demonstrated the deadly effectiveness of a well-balanced Launcher rig. Upon our arrival at around 8 a.m., some half-dozen anglers were lined up by a railing adjacent to the main discharge channel, casting into the swift waters.

The anglers were hooking an occasional white bass, but the action obviously was slow. Brannen, brandishing his I 0 1/2 foot Launcher rig, climbed atop a small boulder and with little apparent effort sailed his Launcher and1 1/16-ounce white jig clear over the channel, past a concrete abutment on the far side and some 40 yards into the swirling waters of the stifling basin beyond.
We watched the Launcher bobbing along as Brennen began his retrieve. The lure, a torpedo-shaped white jig weighing barely more than a streamer fly, trailed I 0 feet behind the red- and-white Launcher. As thy e lure came out of the stilling basin and crossed a ridge of submerged rocks, a white bass struck. That successful cast was followed by a half-dozen more, each resulting in a fish caught or strike missed.

Having proved his point, Brennen stepped down from his perch and handed the rod over to a bystander to try. Even the more coordination-challenged members of our group eventually managed to work up to nearly I 00 - yard casts after a few tries.

The casting motion is not the usual quick snapping movement normally used with shorter spinning rods and standard lures. Instead, the rod is gently swung to the rear and then brought forward in one smooth motion, and the Launcher is sent on a high, rainbow arc instead of a line drive trajectory cry. When the Launcher is a few feet from its target, the caster feathers the reel spool with his index finger for a gentle splashdown. This also allows the leader and lure to stretch out smoothly beyond the Launcher.

While Launcher fishing is keenly adapted to tailrace fishing, it also has a myriad of other applications. It offers a huge advantage in areas where boating is not allowed, such as on some state park lakes. Brannen proved that point on one occasion at Brazos Bend State Park south of Houston, where he caught a I 0-pound-plus largemouth bass on a plastic worn tied behind a Launcher. He was able to heave a cast to a mid-lake weed bed that defies fishing with ordinary tackle. Launchers also are useful for boat anglers casting for schooling fish in open waters, where a close approach would spook the school, and for coastal flats waders who often need to make long casts to reach wary redfish.

Seiders said he has experimented with some of the new small-diameter monofilament lines, but they failed to perform as reliably as the standard lines manufactured by Stren, Berkeley and others. Although he hasn't tested them, Seiders said some of the new single-strand or braided polymer lines that advertise high strength and small diameter may make even longer casts possible. However, he doesn't plan to change. 'The standard monofilaments have a lot of stretch to them, and I think that's important to keep from breaking fish off in the current," said Seiders.

Seiders said in spite of numerous testimonials from satisfied anglers, many still don't realize how a Launcher differs from other terminal tackle. "When they see how much additional water they can cover, and that they can cast lightweight lures and baits 70 to 100 yards, I think they'll get interested pretty quickly," said Seiders, adding that the Launcher "impresses friends, stimulates the user's ego and is just plain fun to use."

To receive a catalog on the various sizes of Launchers, rod building supplies or custom rods please write to the Questions and Product Support just below.