Novice Question On A Bait Caster

[PaBass74]

Hi folks, 

 

Time and time again I have been provided with courteous responses here...

 

• Bought the wright & mcgill skeet reese crank bait rod - 7' medium fast action. I have no clue what the best type of line is for a bait casting rod. I am planning on learning how to use it this summer. Any help is appreciated. Many thanks in advance. 

 

Best, 

 

PAB74

[new2BC4bass]

Fluorocarbon is probably the best to use on that rod..................once you have learned how to cast.  It is the worst line to learn on.  I'd learn on 12# mono.  Sufix Elite or Trilene XL are 2 good ones.  Sunline Super Natural and Silver Thread AN40 are 2 more good lines.

[PaBass74]

Thank you brother. I see you are in Bethlehem. Where do you like to fish?

[rippin-lips]

Spool it with mono first. It's inevitable that you're going to backlash. Some of them may be so bad you have to cut off your line and re spool. A trick that might help is once you spool it up to walk off about 40 yards and put a piece of tape on the spool. That way when you do backlash it will only go down to that point on the spool.

[J Francho]

12-14 lb. Big game. Fill it up, take out 50 yards and tape the spool, then reel it up. Back lashes won't go deep while your learning and the line is so inexpensive you won't worry about ruining $40 of line on your first cast.

[gulfcaptain]

12-14 lb. Big game. Fill it up, take out 50 yards and tape the spool, then reel it up. Back lashes won't go deep while your learning and the line is so inexpensive you won't worry about ruining $40 of line on your first cast.

yep.

[new2BC4bass]

Thank you brother. I see you are in Bethlehem. Where do you like to fish?

 

Occasionally Lake Nockamixon, Minsi Lake, Kaercher Creek Park.  Tried the upper section of Blue Marsh...once.  It stunk.  I've been told the lower part of the lake isn't too bad.  Fish density is lower than normal because they draw the water down every so often, buit fish size is decent.  I don't fish the Delaware River, although it is probably the best fishery close to me.  Lack of public access is one reason and not having a boat capable of running that river is another reason.  Mostly I go to the boat ramp off Rt 33 on the Lehigh River.  Obviously the fishing at the ramp also sucks, but I go there a lot to practice my casting and try different combos, and because it is close by.

 

Although I had driven by Lake Towhee Park many times, I thought it was just a campground.  I will be fishing it a few times this coming season.

 

Most of my fishing occurs during a 2 week period.  We visit relation in Florida every year.  My brother-in-law is an avid bass fisherman.  I plan on doing a lot more fishing and less practicing this year.  Any baitcast reels you would like to try out?  I've got a few Daiwas, fewer Abus, fewer Shimanos, fewer Pfluegers and one Lews TP.  None are new models with exception of Tatula, PXL and Primmus.  I would be willing to meet you somewhere to try out any of them.  Just don't backlash the pee out of them. 

 

EDIT:  Just got a 3000 yard spool of 12# AN40 if you would be interested in filling up your spool with it.  I don't charge much.  One kidney is enough. 

 

.

[massrob]

I just tried my baitcaster for the first time and it did not go well. I back lashed pretty badly and it was 12lb invizx so there goes some good line. I think I need to try a heavier bait to start. Try something 3/8 or more would be my suggestion. I hope u have better luck than me.

[rippin-lips]

Fluoro is not a good choice to learn on. The line can damage easily and be useless after a few bad backlashes. Not cost effective.

[Jrob78]

Keep your brakes turned up high until you get the hang of it.  You won't get much distance at first but you can back it off as you go.  

[Angry John]

Jrob nailed it. Start with all your settings maxed and slowly ease up. Winter is a great time to practice pitching. Do be careful of glass.

[F14A-B]

I just tried my baitcaster for the first time and it did not go well. I back lashed pretty badly and it was 12lb invizx so there goes some good line. I think I need to try a heavier bait to start. Try something 3/8 or more would be my suggestion. I hope u have better luck than me.

FC is not the line to learn on. Use a 12 to 15 mono... Use a 3/4 bank, bell, or some other type of weight.. Start conservative, as you gain confidence you can tweak your reel and reduce your weight, with practice you will be able to toss 3/16 easily..

[massrob]

Thanks for the tips. I knew I shouldn't have tried to learn with fc I really didn't think about what I was doing cuz I found a little pond that was the only open water around here and got excited. I was using a senko another mistake cuz the pond is filled with crap so that was all I could get in there. Would braid be okay to learn with? And would a 1/2 jig be okay to learn with? I don't have any of those weights that were suggested. I would pay someone to teach me how to cast right I've got a bunch of rod and reels I don't know how to use yet and it's driving me nuts. Sorry for jacking the thread.

[massrob]

One more question I have a curado a lexa and a few tatulas am I right to think the Tatula is the best to learn on or should I try the other ones? Thanks again

[new2BC4bass]

1/2 oz. jig should be fine to learn on as long as the rod is a Medium or MH power.  Less power rod and it might be too heavy depending on the rod's rating,  Heavy power rod and it would be too light.  Best to keep in the mid-range or higher (lure weight) to learn on.

 

Although I have several Daiwa models, none are a Lexa so I don't know which braking system it uses.  If it is the one with 10 as the maximum on the dial, it would be the last of those 3 reels I would learn on.  Most would suggest a centrifugal or dual brake reel to learn on.  The Tatula can be set to 20.  I've never been over 8 on mine so I don't know how much braking force it has, but it should have enough at 20 to learn on.  I learned on a Magforce Z with 10 max.

 

Set spool tension high enough that you have to shake the rod a bit to get the lure to fall.  Tension can be backed off as you learn.  As many have mentioned, peel off about 40 yards, and wrap some tape around the spool to keep the backlash from going too deep.  Believe me, without the tape you can backlash the whole spool of line.

 

I would learn using a roll cast.  This cast keeps the rod tip loaded throughout the cast and is an easier cast to keep smooth.  A baitcast reel hates jerky casting motions.  Don't worry about distance....or accuracy.  Both come with practice.  Think smooth. Think moderate power casting strokes.

 

Good luck to both of you.  I grew up with spinning gear, but hardly ever use it now because I like using a baitcast reel so much.

[cottny27]

Try not filling up your spool all the way either.  A BPS stik-o casts like a bullet fyi.  It doesn't take long to get the hang of it.

[5fishlimit]

Thanks for the tips. I knew I shouldn't have tried to learn with fc I really didn't think about what I was doing cuz I found a little pond that was the only open water around here and got excited. I was using a senko another mistake cuz the pond is filled with crap so that was all I could get in there. Would braid be okay to learn with? And would a 1/2 jig be okay to learn with? I don't have any of those weights that were suggested. I would pay someone to teach me how to cast right I've got a bunch of rod and reels I don't know how to use yet and it's driving me nuts. Sorry for jacking the thread.

That's a sizeable investment for something you might not like doing/using.

[5fishlimit]

To the OP the suggestion of mono to start with is a sound one for all the reasons stated by others.

[22hertz]

I was going to try casting mine to the moon when I buy my first baitcaster in a couple weeks.

[new2BC4bass]

I was going to try casting mine to the moon when I buy my first baitcaster in a couple weeks.

 

Might take 2 or 3 casts before you can reach that far. 

[22hertz]

If at first you dont suceed... cut out birdsnest, respool and try again.

[PaBass74]

Another awesome thread. Thanks to all that have contributed. I really love this site. Ordered some line, hope to be practicing soon!

[MickD]

there are some strings here on setting up a baitcaster and some on "how to."  I haven't read them but bet they will help.  Also google for on line videos with term something like "how to cast a baitcasting reel".

 

I fully agree with the others that flouro is not the line for you. I've casted with baitcasters for 50 years and have trouble with some reels and some flouro.  I just went through the flouro vs mono on an outfit and found Trilene XL 14 to be an order of magnitude easier to cast than the flouro I had been trying to use.  Don't get discouraged.  If millions of others can master it, so can you.  Just learn as much as you can, use the right setup and line, and leave spinnerbaits and the lighter stuff until you become confident.  Lipless cranks in 1/2-5/8 oz are good for learning, hard jerkbaits with the weight transfer systems are good.  Sinkers, as mentioned are good.  What you want is a dense lure that doesn't have a lot of wind resistance.

 

Someone asked about braid.  The better grades of braid, the ones that say they are round, are fine.  If they are not round they have a tendency to bury themselves into the line on the spool, and cutting braid off the spool of the reel is not fun.  I've used them a lot, usually in about 30-35 pound test.  Don't set your drag to anything near that test or you may overload your rod and you likely will rip hooks out of fish.  Braids are the toughest relative to getting damaged by picking out backlashes.  Flouro damages very easily, as others have mentioned.