Cam Steele

Hello Everyone, I've recently had an issue with two reels that have been sitting in my garage for the past 4 months or so. When I went to cast them they felt extremely rough and would deliver a devastating backlash everyone 5 casts or so. As far as baitcasters are concerned, i'm well versed in casting them. I have an extremely educated thumb and normally have no issues with backlashing. Please keep in mind that these reels were blacklashing with a dialed in tension knob and braking system. I normally keep these things low but turned them up accordingly to combat my perplexing problem. Even after dialing in my reels they would still backlash on me during the middle of the cast. Normally when your about to get a backlash you can feel it and apply some pressure with your thumb to give the lure time to pull the line off the spool. In this instance, both my reels were casting fine then blew up mid cast, to fast to do anything about it. What I ended up doing was oiling both reels. After oiling them they started casting like a dream again. I guess my question is can a "dry" baitcaster cause sudden and abrupt backlashes? Or perhaps it was another problem? I would love to hear your thoughts, Cam

Hello Everyone, Thanks for the advice. I simply oiled the reel and now it casts like a dream. I was bombing 1/4 lures in slight wind with no trouble. Thanks, Cam

Hello Everyone, I have a Daiwa TWS, SV and it's been getting under my skin. I've been casting in my backyard to hone my skills and I've noticed an intermittent issue. 50 percent of my casts my reel emits a strange grinding sound. Almost like a jet taking off or static on an old TV. During these strange bouts of ungodly sounds, my lure seems to travel less far and the spool itself feels less smooth. I also seem to have a higher chance of backlash during this period. The other 50 percent of casts the reel feels smooth and my lure goes much father. I've been fishing for years but this baitcaster is making me feel like a beginner. Thoughts? Thanks, Cam

Hello BR community, I have a question regarding Monofilament line. I recently spooled up my Shimano Citica with 17 lb. test Mono and the line just doesn’t sit right on the spool. It keeps bunching up and not looking tight and orderly around the spool like my other line does.it also seems to backlash quite frequently. I’ve been fishing for a while and have a pretty educated thumb so it’s a little frustrating. What gives? Is the line to heavy for the spool or is the line itself subpar? If I could get your opinions on this I would really appreciate it. Cam

Hey BR community, I have a question pertaining to how many spare fishing rods you can have in the boat at one time. To my knowledge, you can have as many spare rods in the boat as you wish as long as you don't exceed "two" active "lines" in the water. My family members seem to disagree and claim that you can only have up to two fishing rods "period", per fishing license. If someone could clear this up for me that would be great. Btw I live in NH and would fall under the NH Fish and Game's level of jurisdiction.

Are their some crankbaits that never need tuning? I have a crush 50x squarebill crankbait, that I've beat the hell out of, and it still runs true a year in. Are newer crankbaits more durable, and hold their factory tune better perhaps?

Whats colors do you throw when your fishing a crankbait that dives deeper the 20 feet? I was thinking louder colors like firetiger, due to lack of light at that depth. What do you guys think?

In all honesty, you should fish with whatever gear ratio your comfortable with. That being said, as far as my understanding is concerned, you want a 6:4:1 gear ratio for square bill crankbaits, because you want the extra speed to burn them back to the boat. Conversely so, you want a slower, 5:3:1 gear ratio for deep cranking, because your want more torque and power, opposed to speed. If your like me, and don't have unlimited money to buy three different cranking setups. I would recommend going with the 5:3:1 gear ratio. It will work good for all your square bills, and great for all your deep divers. I hope this helps, Cam

How often would you guys suggest that I check the tuning of my crankbait? Every hour or so?

Hey guys, I have a quick question regarding tuning crankbaits. Is tuning a crankbait, as prevalent as it once was, 10 years ago? I've fishing a lot of crankbaits recently over the past few years and I can't say that i've ever had a crankbait come out of the box out of tune, or have had a crankbait go out of tune while I was fishing it. For brands, I use Rapala and 6th sense, which I suppose are upper echelon lures. Present day, are crankbait manufactures getting better at tuning their crankbaits and keeping them in tune? I would love to get some insight on this. Thanks guys, Cam