Baitcasting
Freshwater
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cant really tell you what the best reel is, all i use is spinners. but backlash is your worst nightmare escepially if you only have one real, backlash is when you spool spins faster than the line is going out. then everything backs up on the spool and have fun untangling it.
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Personally , I much prefer baitcasters to spinning gear for the following; no line twist, more line capacity and longer cast. A backlash is is an overrun of the spool during the cast that causes the line to loosen on the spool also know as a bird's nest but you will probably identify that quickly once you begin you use a baitcaster. Most quality baitcasters now have a centrifugal control that help reduce the backlash. The thing to do in the beginning is to to have the cast control on a fairly high setting until you get the hang of controlling the spool with your thumb. They're really not as difficult as they are made to seem but there is a learning curve.
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I started with spinning gear, then had a few outings to the local pond in which I decided to throw a small crankbait, and every time I'd retrieve and lift it out of the water, it would spin like a top. So I decided to try my hand at a baitcaster to try to avoid the line twist.
I was fortunate to be able to borrow one for starters. I was also fortunate to live on a cul-de-sac and have a neighbor who likes to fish as well, so I'd stand in the street and practice casting a practice plug at his dogwood. If you do practice on dry land, spend some practice time at a pond as well -- the line feels different when it's wet, you need a slightly different touch with your thumb.
My most recent fortune was being able to pick up a second-hand baitcasting combo at Castaway in Smithfield (Thanks, Corey!!) I've been warned that the bottom price point in baitcasting gear can sometimes be more trouble than it's worth, which makes some sense to me. Unfortunately, that puts most of the reels you'd actually want to try out, somewhere around $70 new, or thereabouts -- significantly more than a spinner.
I'm still no expert, and I haven't worked out just where in my roster the baitcaster will play, but I'm looking forward to figuring it out.
Lefty
I was fortunate to be able to borrow one for starters. I was also fortunate to live on a cul-de-sac and have a neighbor who likes to fish as well, so I'd stand in the street and practice casting a practice plug at his dogwood. If you do practice on dry land, spend some practice time at a pond as well -- the line feels different when it's wet, you need a slightly different touch with your thumb.
My most recent fortune was being able to pick up a second-hand baitcasting combo at Castaway in Smithfield (Thanks, Corey!!) I've been warned that the bottom price point in baitcasting gear can sometimes be more trouble than it's worth, which makes some sense to me. Unfortunately, that puts most of the reels you'd actually want to try out, somewhere around $70 new, or thereabouts -- significantly more than a spinner.
I'm still no expert, and I haven't worked out just where in my roster the baitcaster will play, but I'm looking forward to figuring it out.
Lefty
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2,766 Posts
In some cases there is no real advantage to a bait caster over a spinning reel. I use both and often use either one for the same task. Over the years spinning reels became know for putting twist in fishing line. It was found that by closing the bail on a spinning reel with your free hand, twist was greatly reduced. line rollers on the bail of many spinning reels have been redesigned to eliminate another source of line twist. Reeling a spinning reel when line is going out against the drag is another source of twist.The drag is what allows the spool to turn backwards and pay out line rather than trying to stop the fish in it's tracks. (this saves the line from breaking.)
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Spinning reels used to be the hands down favorite for casting light lures on light lines. They still retain the edge with the lightest of lures but the gap has become narrower.
This is due to increasingly lighter spools, more and better bearings and improved spool braking for the bait casting reels. Until recent years most hooks were made of a heavier wire and required more force to cause the hook to penetrate a fishes mouth. Heavier lines were used for fish like bass because light lines stetched too much during the hook set and with the bigger, thicker and duller hooks used until recent years. the heavier lines casted better on a bait caster.
Technology has improved the hooks to a point that they are now able to make strong hooks from smaller diameter wire. They are also able to make them much sharper with modern methods such as using an acid solution which sharpens the hooks as it drips off the points. Other methods are also used. In the old days the better fishermen sharpened their new hooks by hand before using them. Nowdays you will only dull a new hook by attempting to sharpen it. As technology improves the reels rods, lines and hooks the advantages of one type reel over another diminish. In the not so distant past, if you wanted to cast light lures you used spinning reels and light line and had to deal with some extra line twist. Now you can buy bait casters that will easily cast all but the lightest of lures. Small spinning reels have been redesigned to take advantage of the Small diameter super braid lines. Nowdays you have more options available,
This is due to increasingly lighter spools, more and better bearings and improved spool braking for the bait casting reels. Until recent years most hooks were made of a heavier wire and required more force to cause the hook to penetrate a fishes mouth. Heavier lines were used for fish like bass because light lines stetched too much during the hook set and with the bigger, thicker and duller hooks used until recent years. the heavier lines casted better on a bait caster.
Technology has improved the hooks to a point that they are now able to make strong hooks from smaller diameter wire. They are also able to make them much sharper with modern methods such as using an acid solution which sharpens the hooks as it drips off the points. Other methods are also used. In the old days the better fishermen sharpened their new hooks by hand before using them. Nowdays you will only dull a new hook by attempting to sharpen it. As technology improves the reels rods, lines and hooks the advantages of one type reel over another diminish. In the not so distant past, if you wanted to cast light lures you used spinning reels and light line and had to deal with some extra line twist. Now you can buy bait casters that will easily cast all but the lightest of lures. Small spinning reels have been redesigned to take advantage of the Small diameter super braid lines. Nowdays you have more options available,
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The point of My previous 2 post that I have been shooting for is that that there have been so many recent advancements in fishing tackle technology that you really do not need to learn baitcasting just to catch fish such as bass, catfish and stripers that have traditionally fished for with baitcasters.
My advice to anyone wanting to learn to properly use a bait caster is to get an older hand at it to show you how because first and foremost, you need to learn how to properly adjust the reel you will be using. After that it may only take a few minutes to learn the basic cast technique to where you can cast without fear of backlash. (which is just as puppydrum described it.)
I think Lefty was pretty much on target about buying a used reel and taking some time to work on practicing your casting at home. He was also right that you will have to adjust a little for the difference in casting a wet line as opposed to a dry line. It isn't a big differnce, just enough to make you wonder what happened to your new found casting skills. LOL
Instruction from an old hand is the best way to go. I've shown quite a few people how that swore up and down they just couldn't do it. Normally I can teach them how in just a few minutes without their ever having the first backlash.
My advice to anyone wanting to learn to properly use a bait caster is to get an older hand at it to show you how because first and foremost, you need to learn how to properly adjust the reel you will be using. After that it may only take a few minutes to learn the basic cast technique to where you can cast without fear of backlash. (which is just as puppydrum described it.)
I think Lefty was pretty much on target about buying a used reel and taking some time to work on practicing your casting at home. He was also right that you will have to adjust a little for the difference in casting a wet line as opposed to a dry line. It isn't a big differnce, just enough to make you wonder what happened to your new found casting skills. LOL
Instruction from an old hand is the best way to go. I've shown quite a few people how that swore up and down they just couldn't do it. Normally I can teach them how in just a few minutes without their ever having the first backlash.
Strangely, the first reel I had as a kid and learned to fish with was an old JC Higgins baitcaster filled with black cotton fishing line so I have always been partial to a baitcaster. I inherited this from my dad who died when I was seven. Dad had the JC Higgins and a big Penn saltwater caster reel and he used the two along with cane poles for pretty much all types fishing. I find it more awkard to use a spinning reel than a baitcaster. Backlashes are a part of baitcasters you must overcome with a little practice but you still get one ever now and then. If you are looking for a reel on the used market you will find spinning reels much more abundant, probably like 20 to 1.
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