What's your DC method of casting?

[Outdoors]

I've managed to engage in some more testing with a 3/8 oz Hula Popper. No complains about the reel at all, but I'm curious on your guys method of casting any DC reel. Do you thumb the spool through the cast, or just let it fly? I haven't been brave enough to let it fly; but man, many people in the videos I've seen doesn't thumb the spool at all.

[J Francho]

Adjust for the bait, and let it fly.  I can't help but to stop the spool as the bait touches down.

[Joshua Vandamm]

Just curious if anyone’s has compared these to the daiwa SV?

I’ve got 3. I can’t cast those without thumbing hardly at all. 

[Outdoors]

Just now, J Francho said:

Adjust for the bait, and let it fly.  I can't help but to stop the spool as the bait touches down.

If you don't mind my asking, what's your preferred dial setting for 3/8 oz, 1/2 oz, and 5/8 oz lures on non-windy days?

 

I just went outside after posting this topic for some testing; managed to get all way down to the very min setting with a 1/4 oz lure without having to thumb it.

 

[Fishingmickey]

Outdoor's & Josh,

     I've got both the Daiwa JDM 103SV and a Shimano Scorpion DC. I've had both less then a year. Six months on the Daiwa and three months on the Scorpion.   I've been very impressed by the Scorpion. Love that sound it makes when casting.  I've been mainly using it to throw 5" Texas rigged finesse worms on 12# flouro w/1/8 oz weight. I've played with the thumbs free casting and if I tighten up the controls a little, I can do it. I haven't chunked any of the heavier weight lures with it yet. 

     The Diawa does very well too. I have been using it to long cast crankbaits in the DD22, 6XD size range.  I'm using 30# PP SS braid. It does well but does require some thumb usage when banging out long casts.

All in all very pleased with the Scorpion. The Daiwa compares well as it should I think with my other mid to high end Shimano's like the Curado 70, Curado K, Chronarch and Metanium's.  Educated thumb is required.

Hope that helps,

Fishingmickey

 

 

[J Francho]

25 minutes ago, Outdoors said:

If you don't mind my asking, what's your preferred dial setting for 3/8 oz, 1/2 oz, and 5/8 oz lures on non-windy days?

I used my buddy, @Maico1's reel.  I'll defer to him, as he has a ton of experience with them.

 

It was basically, here try and backlash this, as he let me use it. 

[new2BC4bass]

I have one DC reel and it is a recent purchase (used).  I have a hard time casting without thumbing.  However, on my first time out with it I was able to make a few casts without using my thumb.  As long as I had it on Max or any of the other settings...SP, BB, F...I could cast without needing a thumb.  Backlashed below Max.

3 hours ago, Joshua Vandamm said:

Just curious if anyone’s has compared these to the daiwa SV?

I’ve got 3. I can’t cast those without thumbing hardly at all. 

Do you mean you need to thumb or don't need to thumb?  If I understand you correctly, you need to thumb.  My first SV reel was an Alphas SV105.  Backlashed more than any other reel I owned.  Ian tuned it and it is a different reel now.  Got an SV103 on closeout.  Was out a couple days ago with it casting a 1/4 oz. crankbait on a crankbait rod rated down to 1/4 oz.  Was able to back off the brakes quite a bit, but didn't have the nerve to try thumb free.  I don't think thumb free is possible....at least for me.  The idea with an SV spool is to run it with just enough spool tension to remove side-by-side play, or to where it just starts to get side play.  This kind of spool tension can't stop the spool.  SV spools are over-braked, but I think you still need to thumb...at least I do.

[Joshua Vandamm]

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

I have one DC reel and it is a recent purchase (used).  I have a hard time casting without thumbing.  However, on my first time out with it I was able to make a few casts without using my thumb.  As long as I had it on Max or any of the other settings...SP, BB, F...I could cast without needing a thumb.  Backlashed below Max.

Do you mean you need to thumb or don't need to thumb?  If I understand you correctly, you need to thumb.  My first SV reel was an Alphas SV105.  Backlashed more than any other reel I owned.  Ian tuned it and it is a different reel now.  Got an SV103 on closeout.  Was out a couple days ago with it casting a 1/4 oz. crankbait on a crankbait rod rated down to 1/4 oz.  Was able to back off the brakes quite a bit, but didn't have the nerve to try thumb free.  I don't think thumb free is possible....at least for me.  The idea with an SV spool is to run it with just enough spool tension to remove side-by-side play, or to where it just starts to get side play.  This kind of spool tension can't stop the spool.  SV spools are over-braked, but I think you still need to thumb...at least I do.

My bad. I meant to say I CAN cast without thumbing it much, if at all. Lol

 

I love them...the SV103. I have it in 2 different speeds. Anything over 1/4oz is very easy. And down to 1/16 works well enough also. 

I still thumb but I don’t need to hardly touch it. And only backlashes when I forget to set the drag..lol

[Tywithay]

I don't believe I have any modern reel that I thumb the spool throughout the cast. They're all pretty much thumb as it splashes. This is especially true for my DC reels. I do run spool tension a smidge tighter on my Shimano reels. Daiwa I like a little side to side in the spool, but Shimano's I usually take just a hair tighter to remove any side to side movement.

[Outdoors]

10 hours ago, J Francho said:

I used my buddy, @Maico1's reel.  I'll defer to him, as he has a ton of experience with them.

 

It was basically, here try and backlash this, as he let me use it. 

I believe he actually was in one of my earlier topics. Great guy. I gotta hit him up.

[J Francho]

1 hour ago, Outdoors said:

I believe he actually was in one of my earlier topics. Great guy. I gotta hit him up.

He is a great guy.  Been friends for years now.  Met him at a couple local get togethers.

[Maico1]

OD which DC reel did you finally get.......

[Outdoors]

Just now, Maico1 said:

OD which DC reel did you finally get.......

Antares DC.

 

I was able to get all way down to min with a 1/4 oz crank bait without needing to thumb during the cast.

 

I just wondering, do you have a preferred setting on the dial for 3/8 oz, 1/2 oz, and 5/8 oz lures? By that I mean without having to thumb the spool through the cast.

[Further North]

I own one DC - a Calais DC...I've found that it doesn't like a soft lob (or I've not figured out how to set it for that).

 

Other than that, if you wind up and fling it, I don't need my thumb...I still use it, because it's habit from all my other reels.

[Yudo1]

I have the older exsence dc and I don't have to feather the spool at all. Just thumb it on the landing.

[Outdoors]

 

On 3/21/2018 at 7:50 PM, Yudo1 said:

I have the older exsence dc and I don't have to feather the spool at all. Just thumb it on the landing.

How do you like it overall?

[Yudo1]

6 hours ago, Outdoors said:

 

How do you like it overall?

I like it a lot. It's on my orochi perfect pitch which I use for frogging primarily and occasional punching. It's built like a tank and bombs a frog.

[Outdoors]

Guys, I've rambled around and discovered this gem on the 4x8 system; I'm a little confused by it, though. It says settings below X-4 cannot be used under 'normal conditions', but then says these settings are for expert casters and 'strong tail' wind conditions, and then goes to say X-2 and X-3 are only for 'perfect conditions'.

 

 

 

X Mode: Extreme Distance

The X mode is designed for casting extreme distances in perfect environmental situations. This profile uses a braking curve designed for casting low-profile metal lures like jigs and spoons. It's ideal for surf casting or competition distance casting, but typically not used for normal fishing situations.

The brake setting raises the spool's RPMs by making use of casting energy immediately as the lure is released and adding almost dzero brake force during the middle stage of the cast. It manages an extremely high "muzzle velocity" that's difficult for a fisherman to control. The X Mode is designed to be used with an 8- to 9-foot rod and an aggressive two-handed casting motion.

Settings X-8 and X-7 are ideal for casting heavy vibration plugs or spoons with a two-handed cast and a tail wind or for casting metal plugs with two-hand cast in a side wind. An 8- to 9-foot rod should be used. Brake settings lower than X-4 cannot be used under normal conditions. These settings are for expert casters and strong tail wind conditions. The X-2 and X-1 settings utilize extremely low brake forces and work only in absolutely perfect conditions.

[Looking for the big one]

Lots of great info, I’ve had a Metamium Mg DC for a little while now and just spent some quality time on the water the other day with it. It took a little time for me to adjust it correctly, but eventually I was casting a weightless fluke about 25-35 yards without thumbing on a 6’10” MH fast rod. I was setting the spool tension where the fluke fell slowly and had the DC system on long distance mode. One quirk I noticed was that the farther/harder I casted the better the DC worked with that setting.