Bait Casters?

[fish devil]

Stick with 10-12lb mono in the beginning.  A squirt of KVD line conditioner or Reel Magic should make casting smoother.

STAY AWAY from braid.  Any major birdnest will have to be cut out.  GOOD LUCK!!!!

[DogBone_384]

Thank you everyone for your advice and I will definitely will have fun lol I have 200 saved up just to drop at bps so thinking the new baitcaster and a bunch of new bait lol think I'm going to need a bigger box lol after I get my new rod I'll keep everyone I formed on my bloopers Lola's im shure there will be some

Sounds like you've got the Bait Monkey by the tail! Best of luck, and be careful .... That Monkey can be tough to get rid of.

Have a great time learning your bait cast setup!

[NJSalt]

I think the best bang for your buck right now is on the Shimano Curados. Most retailers just knocked them down to ~$130. 

 

 

That reel is normally around $180 and fishes like more than that. That would be my pick if buying tomorrow.

[Zach Nute]

Abu Garcia Orra SX.!!!

[Ratherbefishing75]

Lol yes the bait monkey and I are very close buds lol I picked up a bass pro quantum for 70$ it works just fine for me for now I didn't want to blow 150 to 200 on something that I might not like but I love it and next year I'll probly go for the more expensive module I've been practicing and the. Went to try my luck I the nip in bridgewater well the dam boat had a hole in it lol so it was all off shore I was doing good till I went into the wind and guess what happened yep birds nest lol but I got it straightened out and carried on no fish but I fixed the he and will go back out this week

[WPCfishing]

My nephew started with an Abu Black Max. He still uses it 2 years later. Nice little reel for $40.00.

I'm a Lews fan.

[hatrix]

Stick with 10-12lb mono in the beginning. A squirt of KVD line conditioner or Reel Magic should make casting smoother.

STAY AWAY from braid. Any major birdnest will have to be cut out. GOOD LUCK!!!!

That is not true at all about braid. You can mangle braid as much as you like and it will be fine. There is no such thing as a backlash that can't be pulled out and if you are really having problems cut the lure off and pull it out from underneath.

[fish devil]

That is not true at all about braid. You can mangle braid as much as you like and it will be fine. There is no such thing as a backlash that can't be pulled out and if you are really having problems cut the lure off and pull it out from underneath.

 

This is advice for a "newbie" using a baitcaster. You will get into way more trouble with braid when starting out.

[hatrix]

I don't understand why people say that it's more difficult. It doesn't have a memory and it's rough texture by nature makes it easier to sense with your thumb. Not to mention backlash after backlash will only make line harder and harder to cast. Also putting line on your reel wrong can cause huge problems even for people with a good thumb. I would much rather blow up a reel spooled with braid then any other line.

[WPCfishing]

You guys remember the Shimano Bantams? I thought they were the cats meow back then. How far they've come!

[IndyGlockMan]

I just started using a bait caster a couple months ago.  

I chose a Lews Laser MG speed spool

About $80 and very good for the money.

Easy to use and adjust.   I've had a few back lashes but nothing I couldn't undo and continue on.

Can't say for sure I wouldn't have done as well with another brand, but the Lews Laser MG is a good one.

[Ratherbefishing75]

I've been using my new baitcaster and the more I do the better I get went out wensday after work and landed a nice little pickeral with it hoping to get back out Sunday morning and find the big bass with it I've got a lot of new tricks up my sleeve thanks to reading the forums

Her fishy fishy

[ClassMasterBassic]

I suggest braid, with at least 10 lb test. I use an Abu Garcia black max 2 on a 6'5" Abu Garcia vendetta medium-heavy rod. Love it, would recommend it to anyone.

[ClassMasterBassic]

I suggest braid, with at least 10 lb test. I use an Abu Garcia black max 2 on a 6'5" Abu Garcia vendetta medium-heavy rod. Love it, would recommend it to anyone.

[ClassMasterBassic]

I suggest braid, with at least 10 lb test. I use an Abu Garcia black max 2 on a 6'5" Abu Garcia vendetta medium-heavy rod. Love it, would recommend it to anyone.

[Danturner]

I'm a huge fan of the lews bait casters imo paired with a st croix is the perfect setup

[thomas15]

You guys remember the Shimano Bantams? I thought they were the cats meow back then. How far they've come!

 

About 15 years ago I decided that I wanted to try a bait caster so I bought a Shimano Curado Bantam and a 5.5' St. Croix pistol grip pole. I bank fished at the time and wanted a short pole that I could keep in the car all the time. I think I paid about $130-140 not sure. It's one of the green reels with 6 pins for brakes. I used it a few times then due to life situations had to put fishing on the back burner.

 

Last year I restarted the fishing pastime and of course still have my fishing poles. I also have a Quantum bait caster and several Lews and of the 3 brands, the Lews is the easiest to cast. The Bantam is hands down the best form fit and finish but the Lews is just a pleasure to use.

 

I spent quite a bit of time practicing in the yard this spring and this help my casting but seems like when out fishing one day a few weeks ago, it all came together and I can more or less cast without thinking about it. Still, it's easy as falling off a chair for me to get a birds nest.

[Turkey sandwich]

My .02...

I think of baitcasters like I think of fly rods - learning on something cheap is difficult and can ruin your experience. Buy the best option you can afford. It will be worth it. A cheap real that's hard to control/has a cheap brake will leave you spending a lot of time picking backlashes.

Which brings me to line...

Backlashes are much worse with high memory line. Also, the backlashes themselves along with the process of removing them will beat up your line. The lowest memory, most resilient lines are going to be braids. They cost a bit more, but they'll make your life easier. Thick diameter mono lines will have much, much more memory, and the mono will take a lot more damage from the friction. If I could go back in time 15 years, I would have bought a better reel and run braid.

Also, much like casting flies, casting a baitcasters takes some practice to get the basic casts down. Find an empty field/park and spend a few hours working on your basic casts, learning how to use the brakes, and and learning how to use your thumb. After this stuff becomes second nature, you can learn how to adjust brakes for wind, and ultimately learn how to cast with little/no brake. And you know what? Even if you become a pro, you'll still have the occasional backlash.

[NEBasser101]

I'm getting big into them this year. I've got two right now... I've got the Diawa tatula type r and a bass pro quantum. Love them both. Use them all the time.

[xDirty]

I was in this predicament recently and i decided to buy a 7ft berkley lighting shock medium heavy casting rod with a left handed abu garcia black max reel. you can pick both of those up at walmart for 40 bucks each, $80 total. Both items have such high reviews you cant go wrong with them, though it is by no means top of the line but more like bang for your buck as both perform like a much more expensive rod and reel. The only negative ive heard about the black max reels is they wear out after a few years of use, but at 40 bucks you can just buy new one or by then if you have stuck with using a baitcaster you probably will have moved on to something more high end.

 

I dont know how much you know about baitcasters  but if you're a righty you throw the rod with your right then switch hands to reel in with your right. I would never used a baitcaster if i could not buy a left handed version, so no switching hands for me. i throw the rod with my right hand and reel in with my left hand just like i would with a spinning reel.

 

I started with regular cheap 3 dollar Zebco Omniflex Mono 15lb in the beginning and it was super easy to cast. Ive since moved on to yo zuri 12lb hybrid, which is another bang for your buck fishing line. i kinda miss the 15lb mono sometimes and it felt easier to deal with but the yo zuri hybrid line is touch as nails.

[thomas15]

I was in this predicament recently and i decided to buy a 7ft berkley lighting shock medium heavy casting rod with a left handed abu garcia black max reel. you can pick both of those up at walmart for 40 bucks each, $80 total. Both items have such high reviews you cant go wrong with them, though it is by no means top of the line but more like bang for your buck as both perform like a much more expensive rod and reel. The only negative ive heard about the black max reels is they wear out after a few years of use, but at 40 bucks you can just buy new one or by then if you have stuck with using a baitcaster you probably will have moved on to something more high end.

 

I dont know how much you know about baitcasters  but if you're a righty you throw the rod with your right then switch hands to reel in with your right. I would never used a baitcaster if i could not buy a left handed version, so no switching hands for me. i throw the rod with my right hand and reel in with my left hand just like i would with a spinning reel.

 

I started with regular cheap 3 dollar Zebco Omniflex Mono 15lb in the beginning and it was super easy to cast. Ive since moved on to yo zuri 12lb hybrid, which is another bang for your buck fishing line. i kinda miss the 15lb mono sometimes and it felt easier to deal with but the yo zuri hybrid line is touch as nails.

 

There seems to be some debate on this topic, should a right handed person cast with the right hand and then switch  hands and crank with the right? When I purchased my first bait caster I thought about this and finally decided to go with a right hand cast, switch hands, so I got a right hand crank. I made the decision based on the fact that at the time I had a few Zebco spin cast rods for the kids and that was the set up.

 

After I brought it home I began to question the decision so I watched a lot of bass on TV and some of the pros switch hands, some don't. So now I have 4 bait casters and find that it is no problem switching hands.

 

I bought a bait caster for my brother to give as a gift. He is a lefty and hasn't tried a baitcaster yet. I got him a right hand crank because  has always fished with the same  gear I have and even shoots a rifle right handed. So we shall see

[xDirty]

There seems to be some debate on this topic, should a right handed person cast with the right hand and then switch  hands and crank with the right? When I purchased my first bait caster I thought about this and finally decided to go with a right hand cast, switch hands, so I got a right hand crank. I made the decision based on the fact that at the time I had a few Zebco spin cast rods for the kids and that was the set up.

 

After I brought it home I began to question the decision so I watched a lot of bass on TV and some of the pros switch hands, some don't. So now I have 4 bait casters and find that it is no problem switching hands.

 

I bought a bait caster for my brother to give as a gift. He is a lefty and hasn't tried a baitcaster yet. I got him a right hand crank because  has always fished with the same  gear I have and even shoots a rifle right handed. So we shall see

 

very interesting,

 

I just could not get using to cranking with my right hand, it feels completely unnatural. it also just doesn't make sense to have to switch hands, its almost like going out of my way to make things more complicated lol 

 

But i understand not everyone feels the same and to each their own.

[Darren.]

Heh, there is a LOT of advice in this thread.

 

Tough part will be finding what works for YOU.

 

I started with cheaper baitcasters. Man was that

a tough start. Seriously. The first bc I could cast

easily with minimal backlash was my Daiwa Lexa

100 (7:1 ratio).

 

I'm passing that on to one of my sons now since

I live on my two Chronarch 50e reels now. 

 

If you can afford it, pay for quality. Many of us are

Shimano guys, or Daiwa guys, or Lews guys. You

can take from that that we each have found reels

that work for US.

 

You may find a $50 reel that works great! I couldn't.

That's my story. Write your own by getting your

hands on as many reels in-store as you can.

[thomas15]

very interesting,

 

I just could not get using to cranking with my right hand, it feels completely unnatural. it also just doesn't make sense to have to switch hands, its almost like going out of my way to make things more complicated lol 

 

But i understand not everyone feels the same and to each their own.

 

Something to consider. When I got my first bait caster I wasn't thinking about flipping or pitching. But now I do both. Holding the rod in my left hand, the bait in my right, I flip. Then I can reel in with my now free right hand without changing hands.

[thomas15]

very interesting,

 

I just could not get using to cranking with my right hand, it feels completely unnatural. it also just doesn't make sense to have to switch hands, its almost like going out of my way to make things more complicated lol 

 

But i understand not everyone feels the same and to each their own.

 

As I said I second guessed myself for a while. But in the end, I noticed that some of the pros (KVD for example) cast with their right hand then switch to the left. I also concluded that since most people in the general population are right handed and most reels have the crank on the right side, then probably most right handers cast with their right hand and switch for the crank.