Flytier Loc: Wilmington Delaware

Great idea.

BruceI Loc: Canton ohio

For me..freshwater is all spinning reels from Mitchel 300’s to Shimano Stradics…Salt water surf fishing is my favorite…mostly Penn spinning but also several conventional reels.1 mag’ed and the other not. Rods and reels are matched…I keep a spread sheet with rod length and recommended lure/weight rating….so I cover a wide range from 1/2oz to 8oz …with 8 rods..9’ to 11’

Bob Teal Loc: San Francisco Bay and Delta

Interesting read, very well done. I just bought a baitcasting reel on line and totally suck with it. First it came from China with no instructions....unless I am Chinese! Later they send an exploded view of reel and very little info. My first cast it birdnested really bad. So I assume one setting is for the magnets that slow it down so it will not do that. You commented on something that woke me up, do not use for light lures. Makes sense, since if there is a small drag on line so not to bird nest, you need to throw a heavier object, otherwise it will go 10 feet. I press the lever in the back and when I cast I take my thumb off the lever and it "free spools"....I assume this is correct. Tiny little reel too, does not hold much line.

Any advise to a newb on the baitcasting reels? I am 67 years old, retired and doing a lot of fishing in the SF Bay for halibut, but like to striper and sturgeon fish also. I bought it for stripers and crappie so any help would be appreciated. Do they have a "Baitcasting for Dummies" book? Thank you Sir.

CamT Loc: La Porte, Texas

When you have your lure on the line push the cast button and let the lure free fall off the end of the rod, it should go slowly down if you have the drag on the reel set right, then practice, practice, practice casting and use some thumb control on the spool to help if needed to control the backlash. If you have it set to where it SLOWLY drops it will help a bunch in stopping backlash. Be patient and practice

Bob Teal Loc: San Francisco Bay and Delta

Thank you for the reply. That might be part of my issue. So I set the free fall to that when I push the button, it slowly falls. Ok...with that said, may I assume when I cast it, I cast then depress the button?? These may seem dumb questions but this may be my issue. I am also told that once the lure hits the water then you apply thumb pressure so prevent spool from continuing to spin and backlash. Correct? Thank you for your kind help. This is really new to me and want to get it down.

CamT Loc: La Porte, Texas

There aren't any dumb questions when you are trying to learn. And yes it sounds like you understand the basics, after that it takes practice. Get a practice plug and work on it in the yard or water, like anything new it takes practice, none of us could do it without working on it. There are probably YouTube videos to help!!

Rutinbuck Loc: Haysville, Kansas

Welcome to the stage Bob. Lots of knowledge, good people and a dose of BS every once in a white. Make sure you adjust your baitcaster each time you change lures, if you don’t you could backlash your reel. I’ve been using baitcasters since 83. I never set the magnetic breaking system to its minimum setting, that will get you in trouble. Another thing that can cause a backlash is whipping your rod out quickly, that’ll cause a backlash too even if your reel is adjusted properly. Don’t forget to practice, be smooth when casting. You’ll get the hang of it before you know it.

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

We just went through this recently Bob, a funny you should ask but I believe there is a book LOL.Let me look for the post, and get back to you.
Sorry Bob, I couldn't find the post I was looking for, so I'll do this again.
There are 4 controls on a baitcaster. The drag star, the free spool thumbar, the spool tension knob, and the magnetic brake control knob.
Set enough drag so line doesn't pull off easily when reel is engaged.
Tie on whatever lure you want to cast.
Holding your rod horizontally, push the thumbar to shift the reel into freespool.
Adjust the spool tension knob,(near the handle) so the lure drops smoothly to the ground, and the spool stops when touches the ground. Repeat until it does that every time.
Now, start with your magnetic brake set to the max (usually 10 on the dial) .
Try a cast, leave the lure hanging about 1-1.5 feet from the rod tip, depress the thumbar and hold the spool with your thumb, and cast the rod, releasing your thumb pressure like you would release the line on a spinning reel. Keep your thumb hovering above the spool, ready to stop the spool at the end of the cast.
Once you have mastered the cast basics, back off the magnetic brake, a little at a time, to increase your casting distance.
Any time you change the weight of the lure, you must reset the spool tension so it drops properly.
After that, practice,practice,practice. Good Luck, and let us know how you do.

EdwardL Loc: Tenino Wa.

Wow that was good information I never had anyone break it down like that
Thank all of you even if it wasn’t addressed to me. But at my age I’ll stay with my spinner. Just my opinion thank you 😊

Bob Teal Loc: San Francisco Bay and Delta

thank you Sir....will buy a plug today and practice. Whipping it to hard was a good point. I am now armed with a little bit of knowledge. Thanks again.

Bob

Bob Teal Loc: San Francisco Bay and Delta

Thank you for your advise and time. Ok....so I do depress the thumb bar and "hold" the spool with my thumb like a old penn reel....cast it....keeping a little pressure on the spool. Gonna try that today.

What exactly do the magnets do if I have spool adjusted with the tension knob? Isn't that acting as the brake a bit?

Thanks again.

Bob Teal

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Yes it is Bob, as the lure slows down, the magnets slow the spool down also, so the line doesn't overrun, causing a backlash.