Wife And I's First Time On A Baitcaster.....

[Newbass112]

7-10 foot casts all day long! Haha....And they usually end up to the left instead of where we aim. Matter of fact there's no accuracy with our casts at ALL. We did figure out a few things, how to set them for the lures and set the brakes, etc. we've been setting our brakes at half.
The star drag we couldn't set properly because we don't have a scale, so we did it by what felt normal...can always set it better when we get a fish hooked (if we ever are able to cast these things!).

We also figured out how to fix birdsnests fairly easily, which was neccesary as we both got one within seconds of trying to set the brakes and adjustment knob....and many times after.

So now we're stuck at trying to cast right. I've watched glenn and many others, but we can't seem to get it down - or maybe we just don't have a heavy enough weight on the end? (We tied weights to the end for practicing casting). No idea what size weight, they dont ever say on the boxes but it felt heavy enough and are the biggest ones we got. We both have med/hvy rods. Even then though people cast baitcasters all the time with light lures and get far, just takes more effort.

Question we did have when feathering the line do you constantly keep your thumb slightly touching the spool while casting and then thumb down hard to stop the spool completely before it hits the water (this feels like it is what's causing the cast to not go far since your putting force on the spool line), or do you only put your thumb on the spool at the end of the cast to stop the line right before it hits the water? (This feels like it would birdsnest big time if we did this).

Heading back out next week, tips welcome!

[jherm87]

I can't answer all your questions, but it is definitely easier to learn with a bit heavier bait. Make sure there is enough line on the spool. Don't be afraid of the brakes, you will get better and be able to take off some brakes. Keep at it. I had the same problems my first few days out.

Good luck

[Preytorien]

I agree with jherm87 there that a heavy bait is easiest when you're first learning. You'll gradually get the hang of it. Once you do you'll be glad, you'll be able to cast a pretty good distance, even with some of the lighter lures in your tackle box.

 

My first 3 or so outings with my baitcaster was a mess. Backlashes everywhere. Then I learned that I need to adjust the spool drag based on each lure I tied on. One setting didn't work for all of them, so experiment with that. You should be able to let the lure freefall to the ground and have minimal or no backlash at the spool, this will go a long way in preventing backlashes at the cast (along with your brakes), so adjust that baby for each separate lure you tie on.

 

I had issues as well (and still do occasionally) with favoring one side to another as to where my lure goes. I've figured out that it had to do with the timing of when I was letting my thumb off the spool. I cast usually from my left, so if I let off too late it went far right, if I let off too early it would trend to the left. So experiment with the different timings of your release. Your thumb, arm, and mind will quickly learn and remember the best timings for bullet accurate casts.

 

I don't know if anyone on here could second this, but it seems easier to untangle a birdsnest when I've got 65lb braid on rather than a lighter/smaller diameter line.....just my observation though. I'm sure a thread somewhere on here has about 100+ posts about it. 

 

Good luck, it'll be worth it when you can launch your lure twice as far as your spinning outfit!

[The Young Gun]

I'm no pro who can cast lipless cranks 60yards, but the action and power of your rod helps cast certain baits better. Glenn says he pitches and flips to cups in his back yard to practice, I practice casting all the time across my yard.

Distance comes in time. Accuracy is key

[Brandon Dozier]

When you set your baitcaster right, you shouldn't need to keep your thumb on the spool unless you are trying to do fancy stuff to get it under low hanging bushes and such.  I only thumb my spool when I want my cast to stop, but I don't slam down on it, otherwise you will stop short of your target. The last second and a half/two seconds is when I start thumbing, starting lightly at first and progressively getting heavier.  Unless you are making hail-marrys with cranks and topwaters, your mag brakes should do most of the work.

[Newbass112]

Thanks to everyone for the replys, I'm sure within the next few outings we'll at least be able to fish instead of casting weights.
 

When you set your baitcaster right, you shouldn't need to keep your thumb on the spool unless you are trying to do fancy stuff to get it under low hanging bushes and such.  I only thumb my spool when I want my cast to stop, but I don't slam down on it, otherwise you will stop short of your target. The last second and a half/two seconds is when I start thumbing, starting lightly at first and progressively getting heavier.  Unless you are making hail-marrys with cranks and topwaters, your mag brakes should do most of the work.

That explains why our casts didn't go anywhere, when I heard people saying to "feather" the spool on casts I assumed lightly put friction on it the entire cast right from the release..it looked that way in youtube videos as well, glenns casting how to video for example. I guess he is just keeping his thumb close to the spool but not actually touching it.
I didn't try casting this way because I thought it would birdsnest up.

[Brandon Dozier]

If you cast and get a birdsnest just tighten your level wind very slightly.  It doens't take much.  The only time I really get them is when I cast and hit a tree limb, or try to cast too far without setting my BC up for it.  If you set it up so that your bait will fall to the water, hit, and your spool stops then you should be golden.  You will be surprised far you can cast with a soft cast or flick of your wrist when you have it set correctly.

[Bankbeater]

Put some cheap mono on the reel and practice, practice, practice.

[Newbass112]

Went back out to the lake today and still can't get anywhere with it. It casts maybe 15 feet but no further. I set it properly with the spool tension knob and then experimented with the brakes, and on the brakes I couldn't tell much of a casting difference whether full on brakes or no brakes at all, which in itself indicates something is up.

 

I noticed no matter how I casted the tip of the rod kind of "whipped" most of the time, even when doing smooth casts. I played with different casts and motions but they all ended up the same not casting very far. Need to try and find someone to teach me in person so I can figure out what the problem is. I know accuracy is key and distance comes with practice but if I can't get it casting very far regardless of brakes or not something is wrong on my part.

Even with 0 brakes I wasn't getting a birdsnest, just made sure to thumb down the spool before it hit the water.

[tomustang]

Are you thumbing the spool at all? If so lighten up on it, eventually you might even get away with not thumbing it at all.

 

another thing to look at is you releasing time, if you haven't tried yet, release a bit earlier and see if you're getting longer casts

[Stren_g]

I used heavy mono to learn on. If you're used to spinning gear it may take a while to learn. The casting mechanics are different. The whole arm is more involved vs whipping it with your wrist. To me the side arm cast was easiest to learn. If your casting too far left then you're not releasing soon enough, vise versa for too far right. I'd recommend at least 1/2 oz weight to learn on, and as said before set your spool tension to where the lure free falls with overruns when it hits the ground. If you're only getting 15ft I'd guess your spool is too tight. Practice and teach your thumb how to feather the spool ever so lightly. Eventually you'll be casting further and with more accuracy!

[Newbass112]

Are you thumbing the spool at all? If so lighten up on it, eventually you might even get away with not thumbing it at all.

 

another thing to look at is you releasing time, if you haven't tried yet, release a bit earlier and see if you're getting longer casts

 

As soon as I release for the cast I don't touch the spool at all until right before it hits the water I lightly start feathering the line and stop the spool before impact...other than that I don't keep my thumb on it.

It has to be something related to my motion of cast, I did try releasing earlier on casts and it didn't go far left like it usually does but it went the same distance if not maybe a bit shorter.

 

Stren_g,

From all of the videos it says to adjust until the lure falls about 50% of normal drop speed and to where when it hits the ground it doesn't nest up the line and that's where I've been adjusting the tension knob. Any looser and it does overrun some line but I'll try it a bit looser next time and see.

 

The side arm cast is what I've been practicing exclusively. I actually had a fish go after my weight when practicing, wish I would've had a lure and hook on there!

[Stren_g]

Keep at it, I made the switch from spinning gear about 2 years ago and it took a while to get it down.

[SCangler91]

Don't be shy, cast it with a good bit of force.  Too much will cause it to birdnest but I've found that putting a little effort into it gets me some really nice distance.  Also try over your head.  Try to release the spool like your throwing it straight up into the air with your free hand on the bottom of the rod as a pivot point.  

 

Here's an exaggerated pic to show you an example.  If you create this whip like motion with your rod it'll help "sling" the bait a good bit farther.  Just remember to let your thumb off the spool at an angle where the bait is going up and not down because it'll hit the water fast if you let it go late.  You can also cast to the right like this if you just turn your body.

 

[Brandon Dozier]

If after reading all of these posts you still haven't had any progress, try this:  Unscrew the level-wind knob almost all the way off.  Release all the tension.  You want the knob to just barely cover the o-ring here.  I personally fish with mine like this (some fell off though LOL) and only use my thumb and the mag brakes to control.  As a beginner it will be difficult but I think after reading your posts, the odd-man-out seems to be the level-wind tension.  Try it, just don't lose the knob like me!

[Stren_g]

I just remembered when I started out, I would leave around 16-18" of line out like I did with my spinning gear. After a while I tried reeling up to 8" or less and it being easier. Again this is just my experience.

[Brandon Dozier]

I do that from time to time myself.. pitch an flip to cups in the back yard... awesome to be able to practice an will certainly give you a better feel for your baitcaster.

 

 

 

I think others on here will agree when I say there will come a point when you can actualy hear when your real is gonna back lash an you can thumb it lightley an then

let it go, an it will lose spool for a sec or two then work itself out smooth again.

 

 

Haha, I know the sound of it spooling too fast all too well.