nick060200 Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 I bought a new lews baitcaster. and im learning it. never used a baitcaster before. its not coming as easy as i initially pictured in my head. at 1st i tried some 20lb braid and kept getting overruns. i now have some 50lb kastking braid and the over runs seemed to have disappeared for the most part. but my distance sucks and my accuracy is not great either. i seem to be better side arm than over head. i wanted to take this thing fishing this weekend but i dont think its gonna happen. i fish mostly at night and i dont trust myself yet. Â how long did it take you to master the baitcaster? Quote
icatchlittlebass Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 I'm with you pal, be going out this weekend to cast all day till I get it down pat Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 How long? Forever? Rare day when I don't get overruns. Had to cut one out for only the second time ever just a couple weeks ago.   Smooth is the operative word. Even if you've got it set up great, a hitch in your swing or a head wind you didn't anticipate may have you picking at your spool. Keep at it in the yard. Smooth swing.....don't swing for the fences 2 Quote
hoosierbass07 Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Â Â how long did it take you to master the baitcaster? Â Â Â Ever hear of the Beetles song the Long and Winding Road? Â With a baitcaster, you are on the long and winding road to learn how to use it. Â Plus, it's like a pet raccoon - no matter how tame you think it is, it will bite you because you can never tame it. Â So enjoy the frustration. Â My advice, pick a certain type of lure and buy a rod specifically for that lure and line size specifically for that lure. Â 2 Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 I'm assuming you've already watched a few video's that teach you how to "Set-up" a revolving spool reel for casting. Â If you haven't you really should. Â If you have, try tightening the cast control tension so the line will barely or not drop off the reel before the cast. Â Â Go easy & just get the feel & motion of the cast down. Â Â Practice accuracy next. Â Once you have the confidence that you can put a bait where you want to with little to no difficulty, then and only then should you start winding up and going for distance. Â Â Every one who is effective at learning anything new is willing to start out slow and enjoy's the learning process. Â Don't get frustrated ~ it's not a race. Â A-Jay Quote
John G Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 A long time. I started when I was a dumb kid back in the early eighties and there was no internet forums or YouTube or adults to give me guidance. I just went out their and flung it and picked out backlashes. The key to mastering a baitcaster IMHO is you have to know why it backlashes. It backlashes because the spool is spinning faster than your lure is taking out line and it doesn't get any simpler than that. Use your brakes and your cast control knob to your advantage and you will get it soon enough. 1 Quote
bootytrain Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 The overhead cast was the hardest part for me. I went months with only using sidearm in the beginning. Once I mastered the overhead cast my distance and accuracy went up dramatically. Quote
John G Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Â Â Don't get frustrated ~ it's not a race. Â A-Jay It is when you want to fish this weekend. LOL Quote
Super User A-Jay Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 It is when you want to fish this weekend. LOL  I want to fly a space ship too but I can't find my space suit . . .  A-Jay 1 Quote
Super User Raul Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 How Long Did It Take You To Master The Baitcaster? Â 4 spools of line 2 Quote
ThatZX14Fella Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 I've been at it three years and I still suck at using a baitcaster. 1 Quote
Super User K_Mac Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 Learning to cast a baitcaster while fishing at night is a line cutting blowup waiting to happen. Getting comfortable with a baitcaster takes time and practice. Make sure it is adjusted properly, use a little heavier weight until you get used to casting, and practice. With a little time and effort you will be night fishing with confidence. Good luck. 2 Quote
Super User new2BC4bass Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 Too long.  Best to learn with the side arm roll cast. Release point is totally different than a spinning reel. Release sooner. Takes practice. Accuracy and distance will both come. I feel the side arm roll cast is always best when first learning. It keeps the rod tip loaded, and helps tremendously to smooth out your casting stroke. Stay in the middle (or slightly over) the rod's lure weight range while learning.  EDIT: You made the right move going to heavier line. 1 Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 They are no more trouble than a spinning reel.  I started my son and my granddaughter with baitcasters when they were both about six years old, he's over 40 and she's 19 now. They are actually very easy to learn if you don't fall into the mindset they are all the same. The cheap one are a hellava lot harder to learn on than the good ones. I use Shimano Curado's and have about 15 of them.  I also feel that's  about the easiest reel there is to learn on. I'm sure there are others but since I've never used anything but Shimano and Garcia, I wouldn't know what they would be.  First off, if you are going to learn, start off learning the right way. If you are right handed, buy left handed reels and learn to cast and reel without switching hands  Second, learn how to adjust it, and run it a tad tighter than normal for the first couple of days.  Now, my little secret that makes life a whole lot simpler with them.  Pull off just a little more  line than you can cast. Then take electrical tape and tape the spool and then wind the line back on. This way it's very hard to get a backlash and if you do, it's usually very easy to get out. As you get better, move the tape a little deeper until you feel comfortable enough that you don't need the tape. My granddaughter is as good or better than most people I fish with and she still puts tape on hers on real windy days. Just the little assurance factor.  Stay away from light bait or bait's the slow down pretty fast in the air. Don't even try casting most of the long stick baits for a long while and use a minimum of 14# line and it's easier with 17 until you get used to one.  I had a guy a few weeks ago that swore he could not use one, had tried many times, I set it up and he fished it all weekend. Swore he never knew they were that easy.  One key point, learn as quick as you can to use your wrist to whip it, and don't use your arms to throw it. Too many times when you start trying to throw it with your arms, you induce a backlash at the end of the cast. 4 Quote
Super User buzzed bait Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 How Long Did It Take You To Master The Baitcaster?  4 spools of line   me too..... except the spools were 1500 yards.... i can't say i've mastered it....  i do well with it, but still have problems from time to time.  i do 10,000% better with a sidearm or roll type of cast anyways.  and from a kayak an overhead cast is not very easy and can often be counter-productive. 1 Quote
Super User Raul Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 me too..... except the spools were 1500 yards.... i can't say i've mastered it....  i do well with it, but still have problems from time to time.  i do 10,000% better with a sidearm or roll type of cast anyways.  and from a kayak an overhead cast is not very easy and can often be counter-productive.  I said 4 spools, but I didn´t say how big . 1 1 Quote
Turtle135 Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 It took me months. Cast, pickout birdsnest, retrieve, Cast, pickout birdsnest, retrieve, ...repeat  Your Lew's should help in the learning curve. I learned with an inexpensive ABU Garcia baitcaster back in 1980 that I much later discovered was just a finicky caster. As a lefty who uses a right hand baitcast reel (hand never leaves the rod) I now only rarely carry a spinning rod.  One thing that helped me was using monofilament and I would stick with the same spinnerbait for cast after cast while my thumb became educated.  p.s. - I do have a friend who seemed to master casting with a baitcaster in about 20 casts, he looked at me and asked what was the big deal with backlashes. I should have drowned him right then and there! Quote
Delaware Valley Tackle Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015  Here are a couple tips for learning to cast a baitcaster:  Practice with relatively heavy weights (3/4 oz is a good start)  Set the cast control and brakes and make nice easy sidearm and roll casts.  Keep a thumb on the spool at all times.  Don't go for distance. Don't cast overhead.  Pull off a long cast worth of line plus some (100 ft) and put a strip of electrical tape around the spool. This will keep baclashes from getting too deep.  Learn the "Thumb trick" for removing backlashes. Don't pull hard the line tightening the knots.  Think of casting throwing : Accuracy is about the release point. Watch the target not the spool and clamp your thumb down before the bait hits the water or ground.  Be patient but persistent and it will all come together. Enjoy the learning process, it's all part of the fun. 4 Quote
k3bass Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 i wanted to take this thing fishing this weekend but i dont think its gonna happen. i fish mostly at night and i dont trust myself yet. how long did it take you to master the baitcaster? That's the only way you will learn. If you leave it at home you'll never get the hang of it. Get a big spool of cheap berkley big game mono and practice, practice, practice. 1 Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 Don't be macho, use the tape on the spool and make life simple 1 Quote
Bruce424 Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Master? I would say it took about a couple of years to get pretty comfortable with. I could probably do everything but skip lures. I admit it been about a month since I went fishing and I'm always rusty after a hiatus. But then I get the groove back. Haha 1 Quote
chelboed Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 I started using baitcasters at around 14y.o. Never looked back. Prior to that, I casted spinning and spincast reels overhead, sidearm, backhand, etc... so an overhead cast with a baitcaster wasn't a problem and I'm more accurate with it overhead.  A couple things:  Setup - If you read on your Lew's manual...it essentially says to hold the rod out, release the spool, and drop your lure. When it hits the ground, the spool should only make one complete rotation after. If it spins out more than that, tighten your primary cast control. (spool tension) This is a helpful tool, but eventually you will run it looser than the factory recommendations. Don't get impatient though.  Another thing I've noticed especially on the LFS reels is that I don't gain much yardage when I throw my arm out versus just gently tossing the lure out there. I can get impressive distances, but if I back of the brakes and primary...just an easy flick of the wrist will get me darn near the same distance.  I somewhat disagree with whomever told you not to try casting stick worms. A weightless 5" Stick-O, Senko, Dinger...is a good, heavy, streamlined bait. It's not a Red Eye Shad, but it's a great thing to practice with. Set a 5 gallon bucket up in your yard / driveway. run a wire through the stick worm with a loop on the end. Tie/snap it on your line. Try to get it in the bucket at around 20yd. If you can't, move it in. When you start hitting 20 on a fairly reg. basis, move it out to 30. Try throwing it out there side arm so the bait flys level in the air...when the bait get's over the bucket...thumb it and stop it so it drops gently into the bucket. Good practice to gently drop a Senko into the water.  If it's windy...use more brakes. Nothing wrong with that. Quote
RAMBLER Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 You think you can master one of those beasts in one weekend? HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Â You are fooling only yourself. I started as a kid with a 5' steel rod in the 50's. Â Even now, I will get a backlash. Â Usually when changing one rigged rod for another one. Â I normally have 6 rods of varying lengths rigged up so I can change quickly. Â Going from a 5.5' rod with a top water to a 6.5' rod with a fluke and any other combination you can think of I will get in a hurry and end up with a backlash. Â I've caught a few nice fish with my lure laying on the bottom while picking out a "professional over run". Â I got the smallest crochet hook my wife had and keep it in a tackle box. Â It helps pick those messes out. Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 Being able to fish with one and learning to do that in a weekend, yes. To "Master" one, can take years, depending on just how much casting you do. I started using an Ambassador in the late 60's and do a whole lot of stuff most would not dream of trying but there are still some things I won't try with a bait caster.   The best pick I've ever come across was the needles out of a weaving machine. I had a customer that made wool fabric and the looms they use had long, small picks in them with a tiny hook on the end. Those things work great, but finding some today might be difficult since there are almost no textile mills left in this country. Quote
Super User Jrob78 Posted July 17, 2015 Super User Posted July 17, 2015 I don't remember there being any learning curve. Â I started at 10 or 12 and never put it down. Â I still get backlashes, it's going to happen. Â Use the brakes, that's what they're for. Â Don't make it out to be harder than it is. Â Quote
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