Thanks again to everyone for their encouragement. Here's an update.
As it stands, I have had great results in some aspects , but not in others.
My attempts to do the whole thing together, including a ZA style pendulum, were a disaster; it had mainly to do with the pendulum and that huge , arm-wrenching load up of a mistimed swing( with spool slip)...it was either just too overpowering when mistimed one way, or a useless bash into fresh air, when mistimed the other way.
I dumped the idea of this style of pendulum, and went back to the UK style pendulum, the hi-swing....although I had not worked with the style for many years, it all came back within a half dozen casts...the best of which, went 175 ish yards according to Google Earth. And then, I started thinking about it and of course, it then went all to hell and gone. What to do....
Presently, I have gone back to my well tried OTG and , with low reel ,(a Daiwa 7HT and .35 line),and 190 grams I usually better 210 yards on good days , i.e. those when I can just allow it all to happen by itself.
With the 9000 on 190g , running 0.5 line, the best I managed, was a 181 yards, wind assisted... and I tell you, that it frightened the life out of me.
But, this low reel business, is the best thing since sliced bread, it took me all of 4 casts to get used to it as if I had done it this way, for years...the only hiccup, is that I sometimes forget to put the leader knot on the t'other side of the spool.
Conclusions.. .. .. the low reel position makes "barge pole" rods feel softer and easier to manage; and makes it easier to take hold of larger reels; also seems to create more time in which the cast cast happens, probably its the seeming slow-down.
I have gone and permanently converted 3 more of my rods, to the low-reel position...and, awhiles, it seems to me that they look odd, with that great space 'tween reel and first ring, it dosn't seem to effect performance...except that the leader knot nicks at my wrist ( with 9000).
I think , now, I have probably got what I wanted... and that, was to be able to get a large-ish bait out to 120+ yards, on 30lbs line.........There's this one rocky ground spot , you see, that I always wanted to get into . Wishfull for many years, so many, that it quite likely that whatever lived there in its hey-day, has now transmogrified into some other specie......who knows?
Thanks and rgds all
Compass two
