Need help With Baitcasting

[ohihunter2014]

Got a brand new 7bb reel with pp braid and all goes well but if I cast overhand I always get backlashes. Cast sideways and always goes about 30 ft left. do you run your thumb over the spool as it's casting? Seen someone do this and it made me backlash. is it really this hard or just me?

[Raul]

1 hour ago, ohihunter2014 said:

Got a brand new 7bb reel with pp braid and all goes well but if I cast overhand I always get backlashes. Cast sideways and always goes about 30 ft left. do you run your thumb over the spool as it's casting? Seen someone do this and it made me backlash. is it really this hard or just me?

 

Not just you, thousands have gone through the same issues, so unless you suffer from some sort of neuromuscular pathology you'll finally end up handling the reel properly.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Aiming a cast is like throwing, all about release point. Thumb pressure varies throughout the cast. You need to get a feel for it. It will come with practice. 

[frosty]

I had the same problem for awhile. It helps to just try and remember to release sooner than you normally would. Just keep practicing and you'll get it. 

[Angry John]

Its a skill and deals with muscle memory.  Your thumb will grow a mind of its own after you have used every curse word you know and learn a few new ones.

[Further North]

Old joke: "How to I get to Carnegie Hall?

 

Answer: "Practice!"
 

Same with baitcasters if you're not familiar with them.

 

Get out in your yard and throw stuff.  Shoot for specific targets, don't move until you've hit the targets.

 

Repeat tomorrow.

 

I do this more with fly rods than casting rigs, but I do it with both.  Pays off, big time.  You're trying to develop muscle memory, better to do it in the yard when there's no fish on the line (pun intended) then on the lake where there are...

[ohihunter2014]

So should I push the button and hold the line down and cast or just push the button and cast? I was told don't hold the line down by someone. What ticks me off the most is overhand casting always birds nest but a sidways sweep no issue.

[CTBassin860]

Click the thumb bar,keep pressure on the spool with your thumb.Make cast,Thumb goes back on the spool right before the lure hits the water.

[Fishin' Fool]

39 minutes ago, ohihunter2014 said:

So should I push the button and hold the line down and cast or just push the button and cast? I was told don't hold the line down by someone. What ticks me off the most is overhand casting always birds nest but a sidways sweep no issue.

 

You need to have a nice even cast too. You don't want to whip it like a spinning rod. As mentioned thumb over the spool while casting and again just as it hits the water. Dial your reel settings so that the resistance is high to start.

[CTBassin860]

1 hour ago, ohihunter2014 said:

So should I push the button and hold the line down and cast or just push the button and cast? I was told don't hold the line down by someone. What ticks me off the most is overhand casting always birds nest but a sidways sweep no issue.

Once you get it down,that sideways wrist flick will become your friend.I almost never cast overhand with a baitcaster.Use the correct weighted lures,let the rod do the work.If the rod loads properly and your keep ithe cast under control,you can bomb a lure with a simple wrist flick.If your trying to throw it across the pond you'll be picking your line out a lot.Like @Fishin' Fool said.Keep it controlled,take it easy and that lure will go plenty far.

[Damn Yankee]

If you practice with your upper arm held tight to your ribs this will give your wrist the proper motion.imho.

Stay with it I'm rootin' foy you!

 

T

[SecretAsianMan]

make a long cast if your able to with your sideway sweep. then let out about 10 more feet of line. put a small piece of tape on the reel. reel back in. practice away. if you get a birdsnest, it wont be a big problem. helped me a lot when i was learning.

[RoLo]

 

Brake Tension

Before you even tie on a lure, you need to adjust the Magnetic and/or Centrifugal brake.

If you're not sure how, publish a new thread stating the brand & model of the reel.

 

Spool Tension

> Tie on the desired lure

> Hold the rod horizontal and depress the thumb bar.

> Dial the spool tension knob until the tension setting allows the lure to descend at moderate speed

   so it hits the floor without over-running (Needs to be readjusted every time the lure weight is changed)

 

Once your 3 reel tensions are properly set, your thumb will suddenly become educated.

While the lure is in flight the thumb needs only feathered contact with the spool,

increasing slightly as the lure touches down.

 

Roger

 

[MickD]

If you're using a fast action rod, and have a moderate, change to the moderate until you get better.  Not a total fix, but they do cast a little easier than fast or extra fast.

 

Previous comments about properly adjusting the reel and casting smoothly and gently at first are also important.  

 

Try spoons and heavier jigs for a while, then move to the more challenging lures.  Stay away from spinnerbaits for a while.  The issue with lures is that you want to learn with lures that don't catch the wind much, don't slow down really fast, and that are a little on the heavy side.

[ohihunter2014]

3 hours ago, Fishin' Fool said:

 

You need to have a nice even cast too. You don't want to whip it like a spinning rod. As mentioned thumb over the spool while casting and again just as it hits the water. Dial your reel settings so that the resistance is high to start.

Ive got the left hand knob set on 9-10 and the knob under the drag set until the lure free falls.

42 minutes ago, RoLo said:

 

I didn't see the reel brand mentioned, so I can only speak in general terms.

 

Brake Tension

Before you even tie on a lure or make your first cast, you need to adjust the Magnetic and/or Centrifugal brake.

If you're not sure how, publish a new thread stating the brand & model of the reel  (6 ball bearings isn't enough)

 

Spool Tension

> Tie on the desired lure

> Hold the rod horizontal (parallel to the ground) and depress the thumb bar.

> Rotate the spool tension knob until the tension setting allows the lure to descend at moderate speed

            (Must be readjusted every time the lure weight is changed)

 

Once the reel tensions are properly set, they'll virtually take thumb timing out of the picture.

Little or no thumb pressure is needed to mid-cast and only light tension will be needed as the lure touches down.

 

Roger

 

Its a pinnacle. costs around $60 was gifted to me last week. cant afford anything high dollar. there is a large knob on left of reel with 1-10 and i set it on 10 and then click the button and let the lure fall slowly.

25 minutes ago, MickD said:

If you're using a fast action rod, and have a moderate, change to the moderate until you get better.  Not a total fix, but they do cast a little easier than fast or extra fast.

 

Previous comments about properly adjusting the reel and casting smoothly and gently at first are also important.  

 

Try spoons and heavier jigs for a while, then move to the more challenging lures.  Stay away from spinnerbaits for a while.  The issue with lures is that you want to learn with lures that don't catch the wind much, don't slow down really fast, and that are a little on the heavy side.

Its a Berkley lightning shock rod 6ft6 medium/heavy.

[BassThumb]

It's all going to come together, just like riding a bike.

 

A good tip I can share is to NEVER allow your thumb to completely lose contact with the spool, especially when you're starting out. Just lightly drag the thumb across the spool when you cast, and when you begin to feel a backlash developing, just give the spool a little tap to slow it down. This is how I cast 75% of the time still, especially in the wind.

 

It's important to understand that a backlash occurs when the spool is spinning at 75mph but the lure is only traveling at 65mph, for example. The technique described above will drop the spool speed back down to 65mph.

 

Good luck!

[ohihunter2014]

I think my issue was not keeping the thumb over the spool. i was pretty much treating it as a zebco 33 LOL.

 

It didn't do too bad yesterday. about 2 pulls of the line out would straiten things back up. just seemed like it was occurring more when trying to go overhand. throwing sideways would send the lure about 50ft left of where i wanted it.

[Raul]

33 minutes ago, ohihunter2014 said:

I think my issue was not keeping the thumb over the spool. i was pretty much treating it as a zebco 33 LOL.

 

It didn't do too bad yesterday. about 2 pulls of the line out would straiten things back up. just seemed like it was occurring more when trying to go overhand. throwing sideways would send the lure about 50ft left of where i wanted it.

 

Wel, nowhere is written you were going to do it right the first times.

[MickD]

2 hours ago, ohihunter2014 said:

Ive got the left hand knob set on 9-10 and the knob under the drag set until the lure free falls.

Its a pinnacle. costs around $60 was gifted to me last week. cant afford anything high dollar. there is a large knob on left of reel with 1-10 and i set it on 10 and then click the button and let the lure fall slowly.

Its a Berkley lightning shock rod 6ft6 medium/heavy.

Medium heavy means power, what is the action?  Probably fast,   so adjust the reel properly, try to cast smoothly (don't worry about the overhead yet) and use heavy lures that will load the rod properly.  If you have an old less powerful rod around, try that.  But don't give up.  Keep trying different things, spend a lot of time in the back yard practicing, and in time, you'll get it.

[frosty]

Actually the Berkley Lightning shock rods are more moderate to handle braided line , I don't think the rod has an action rating listed on the rod, but what I've read about them says they are more moderate than fast. 

[CTBassin860]

53 minutes ago, frosty said:

Actually the Berkley Lightning shock rods are more moderate to handle braided line , I don't think the rod has an action rating listed on the rod, but what I've read about them says they are more moderate than fast. 

X2

[Smokinal]

Everyone above has given great info so I won't repeat anything already said. What I will add is to be practicing with a 1/2 oz lipless crankbait. There's something about that bait that just makes them cast well on a baitcaster. Probably one of the easiest baits to throw.

Keep at it; you'll get it.

[new2BC4bass]

All good advice.  As someone who came from using spinning reels, my side arm casts were going way left...I cast right handed.  You definitely need to release sooner than you are use to with a spinning reel.  It helps to make a roll cast instead of a straight side cast....which I didn't try until I was already casting halfway decent.  That will help straighten out the cast some and help with backlashing as it smooths out the rod's reversal and keeps the rod tip under load.

 

I much prefer a 2-handed cast versus 1-hand.  I feel it gives me more control.  Plus it helps when I need extra distance.  But then I am seldom trying to hit close targets.

[XpressJeff]

Practice, Practice, Practice!

[Hulkster]

as you get better and better and get to know your reel, you may find you don't even thumb your reel as it casts. I've been using a baitcaster now since the late 90s and my thumb only makes contact to stop the spool as the lure hits the water. during the cast my thumb is off the spool.  I guess its how I learned. don't know if im in the minority on this??