Rod Recipes – Surf Casting Rods with Tommy Farmer

In this episode of the Mastering Rod Building Podcast, Bill Falconer talks with Tommy Farmer of Carolina Cast Pro about building true long-distance surf casting setups for big red drum—rods, reels, rigs, and the casting mechanics behind them.Tommy shares how a 1996 trip to Cape Point, including landing a 45-inch drum and watching champion caster Mike Langston bomb a cast, sparked his path into competitive distance casting and surf fishing.They break down the real-world system: why overhead (revolving-spool) reels outcast spinning when set up right, why Tommy prefers 20–25 lb mono with a 50–60 lb shock leader, and how compact fish-finder “8-and-bait” rigs help maximize distance without helicoptering.On the rod-building side, Tommy explains why heavy surf rods need leverage (longer handles set to the angler), how guide placement can change how a blank loads, and the five fundamentals he teaches: footwork, body rotation, arms, acceleration, and the importance of 45 degrees.Mastering Rod Building is brought to you by Anglers Resource — your source for genuine Fuji Tackle components.Where to buy genuine FUJI®️ rod components (Area Distributors)Japan: FIRST Corporation — https://first-fuji.co.jp/ • mail@first-fuji.co.jpAmerican Continent (North & South America): Anglers Resource — https://anglersresource.net/ • info@anglersresource.netOceania: Frogleys Offshore — https://fujitackle.com.au • enquiries@frogleysoffshore.com.auSpain/Czech/Finland/Sweden/Estonia/Latvia/Poland/Denmark/Belgium/Germany/Netherlands/Ireland/Luxembourg/France/Portugal/UK/Norway/Belarus/Ukraine/Russia:: CALICO S.A. (Kalikunnan) — https://kalikunnan.com/ • fuji@calico.esEurope: MAJORA Intelligent Fishing (FUJI Tackle Italy) — https://www.fujitackle.it • info@fujitackle.itAsia: KOWA Company, Ltd. — fujitackle@kowa.co.jp