Spinning reels just aren’t fun anymore

[billmac]

I think for me it's the cast.  Hooking the line with your finger, it just seems to unbalance it.

 

[Hammer 4]

IMHO, I think using both spinning and baitcasters makes for a well rounded angler. Some will disagree, and that's fine, use what your comfy with.

[king fisher]

If your only goal is to catch fish, than use which ever tool is best for the job.  If you prefer one type of gear over another, than have at it.   Fishing is supposed to be fun.  With the quality of gear available now, most of the time advantages of one over another, can be over come by experience.  I know people that will only fly fish, regardless how much they are handicapping themselves.  I am more practical and will usually use what ever tool I think will help me catch the most or biggest fish.  Bait casters, spinning , or fly all have advantages at times.

[Boomstick]

I do agree that once I learned to use the baitcaster confidentially, throwing the same lures on a spinning reel just didn't cut it anymore, but throwing light finesse baits on a spinning reel works just as well.

[brophog]

4 hours ago, Hammer 4 said:

IMHO, I think using both spinning and baitcasters makes for a well rounded angler. 

 

I thought eating too many hushpuppies made for a well rounded angler.

[NOC 1]

12 hours ago, king fisher said:

If your only goal is to catch fish, than use which ever tool is best for the job.  If you prefer one type of gear over another, than have at it.   Fishing is supposed to be fun.  With the quality of gear available now, most of the time advantages of one over another, can be over come by experience.  I know people that will only fly fish, regardless how much they are handicapping themselves.  I am more practical and will usually use what ever tool I think will help me catch the most or biggest fish.  Bait casters, spinning , or fly all have advantages at times.

I agree with much of what you say here and would only point out that what you (or me) might consider "handicapping themselves" only applies to us and not the other guy who is choosing what they like to do.

 

In other words the guy who only fly fishes isn't handicapping himself unless he, like you say, has set his priority to catch more and bigger fish. The guy who only fly fishes hasn't the same priorities as you have. If he enjoys fly fishing more than anything else, he would likely think that it is you who handicapped yourself by wasting time with your choice of gear.

 

I know guys who really only fish for giant catfish. I wouldn't limit myself to that, but they do and wouldn't have it any other way. They catch 30-50lb fish every year. I also know guys who go down to Mississippi and fish for Crappie using 8-pole spider rigs. These guys will might catch 100 or more Crappie a day. I know a few guys who mainly troll for white bass who catch well over 100 a day. Are these big enough fish or enough fish? They might say you are limiting yourself by not throwing a half pound of liver doused in stink juice, or not having 50 hooks in the water at once.

 

In fact, you do not fish by your own rules. You handicap yourself by not trolling multiple Umbrella rigs or using nets to fish with, both of which are better tools if catching more fish is the only aim. I'm with you 100% until the part where you, (in a very nice way) claim that YOUR way of doing it is superior to those that have chosen another way to get their enjoyment because you are more practical.

 

Myself, I like seeing what I can do with lighter gear, I really don't care to cast frogs and big spin-baits for the most part even though I know that doing so is a better way to catch the bigger fish often times. I just don't care about that. Does that make me wrong? Am I impractical? No, I am just doing what I like doing the same as you are.

 

 

[Guitarfish]

Great discussion.  I use both spinning and baitcasters.  I have used my baitcasting stuff forever for some pretty light lures.  I have always used 6lb Maxima on them.  If I need to go to smaller lures because of a slow bite,  I pick up my spinning rods with 4lb test.  I'm boat fishing so if I hook a bass I have to immediately nudge his head in the right direction, toward deeper water to play him in.  I am on the edge of my seat saying ' Come on baby' but I'm having big fun.  But most of the time I just set the hook and reel the fish in when using the six.  Maybe I'm just happily ignorant.

6lb Maxima might test out higher but I never seem to break it off in the areas I fish.  I do remember having my rod almost jerked out of my hand night fishing once.  I still don't know why but my line snapped instantly. Maybe I bumped the drag playing a smaller fish previously and didn't return it to my regular setting.

 

If you give me one of those reels with the super light spools I'll take it, but they are too expensive to try now.  But I did recently use my limited funds to buy another big spool of Maxima.

 

My whole rambling post here is just my way of saying both styles are just tools, I don't care what anybody else uses, and it's supposed to be fun for us non-tourney guys and gals.  I take two BC reels and two spinning reels when I go.