Baitcaster for finesse rigs??

[mheichelbech]

Everything I read about finesse fishing involves using spinning reels.  Is this primarily for the casting ability for light weights and small plastics or is there another reason?  I have primarily used a Shimano Scorpion on a 6 foot medium fast rod.  I can easily cast 1/8 and up baits which is usually about as light as I go anyways.  I’ve typically only used a spinning reel for drop shotting.

Am I missing anything on this?  

[DaubsNU1]

If you can make a bait caster work with light tackle, by all means, keep doing it!

 

All my bait casters are rigged with 30 lb braid and bigger. I switched to braid back in the early 1990's...hated the birds-nests with mono, and braid had so much more sensitivity.  

 

Most of my spinning rods are rigged with 6-8 lb mono...I can throw some pretty light lures a long, long way.  Works for me. 

[Teal]

Typically it's a casting issue.   But with new technology casting weightless plastics, 1/8 oz shakey heads, and even small JERKBAITS on casting gear is possible.   

[Bluebasser86]

I've tried the BFS casting stuff, and it just doesn't feel right for me. Maybe it's because I use my left hand for holding casting rods and it's not my dominate hand so doing really small movements and manipulating the bait isn't as easy as a spinning rod that I hold with my right hand.

[Emiliano]

BFS casting is the new "frontier" born in Japan mainly for fishing trout in small creeks and than applied to bass fishing. I think BFS is like a style of fishing and no real advantage vs spinning but some reports more casting accuracy vs spinning.

The main advantage I can see using BFS reels it's that under pressure, I mean during the fight, the line will be realised  from the spool with less friction and smoother than the 90° angle of spinning ones.

 

[Jig Man]

I use a Curado X70 with a Gloomis Bronzeback ml with 6# fluorocarbon line for Ned rigs.  It works with TRDs and 3/16 oz heads.

[ATA]

10 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

Everything I read about finesse fishing involves using spinning reels.  Is this primarily for the casting ability for light weights and small plastics or is there another reason?  I have primarily used a Shimano Scorpion on a 6 foot medium fast rod.  I can easily cast 1/8 and up baits which is usually about as light as I go anyways.  I’ve typically only used a spinning reel for drop shotting.

Am I missing anything on this?  

You need to watch YouTube and surf the net for BFS fishing. After then if interested, give me a message I have few extra set ups ready to go.

[Dens228]

I've used a baitcaster for weightless plastics may times.  IMHO it's more about the rod than the reel for finesse.  
That being said I do now own one spinning reel for weightless plastics and dropshotting.

Now the question is will I ever dropshot for more than five minutes.  LOL

[fishwizzard]

I do a lot of my finesse fishing with casting tackle, for me the main advantages are:

 

1) Casting accuracy, the line release movement for a casting reel is a lot easier to make repeatable then for a spinning reel.  In addition it is a lot easier to slow/stop a lure with a casting reel. 
 

2) Increased line options.  I can use 10lb fluoro on a small casting reel where I would have to move up to a larger spinning reel to get the same performance with line that thick.  Line twist is also far less annoying on a casting reel. 
 

 

[TOXIC]

Totally depends on what you are throwing.  Small cranks and other moving baits can be thrown on baitcasters but for finesse plastics where the action is in the fall rate (like a Senko), you want your bait to free fall.  In order to accomplish this with a baitcaster, you would have to manually pull line off the reel.  A spinning rod allows the line to free flow with no or very little resistance.  Considering you get 90% of your bites on the fall then hand lining off a baitcaster will cause you to miss bites.  Normally Senko style finesse baits thrown on a baitcaster will pendulum back towards you rather than free fall because the reel settings you need to keep from backlashing will keep the bait from free falling.  

[mheichelbech]

32 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Totally depends on what you are throwing.  Small cranks and other moving baits can be thrown on baitcasters but for finesse plastics where the action is in the fall rate (like a Senko), you want your bait to free fall.  In order to accomplish this with a baitcaster, you would have to manually pull line off the reel.  A spinning rod allows the line to free flow with no or very little resistance.  Considering you get 90% of your bites on the fall then hand lining off a baitcaster will cause you to miss bites.  Normally Senko style finesse baits thrown on a baitcaster will pendulum back towards you rather than free fall because the reel settings you need to keep from backlashing will keep the bait from free falling.  

Yea this is what I had thought to be the only disadvantage with baitcasters....however I’m pretty well used to stripping line from doing it when pitching jigs to vertical cover.

10 hours ago, Emiliano said:

BFS casting is the new "frontier" born in Japan mainly for fishing trout in small creeks and than applied to bass fishing. I think BFS is like a style of fishing and no real advantage vs spinning but some reports more casting accuracy vs spinning.

The main advantage I can see using BFS reels it's that under pressure, I mean during the fight, the line will be realised  from the spool with less friction and smoother than the 90° angle of spinning ones.

 

I just googled and read a quick article (I much prefer to read than watch videos) about this BFS thing.  It’s the first I’ve heard of it.  I guess I have been doing something similar to this for years and didn’t know it...albeit a little bit on the heavier side of things with 1/8 oz rooster tails, rapalas, and small worms or craws.  I didn’t even know this was a thing!

[Team9nine]

Outside of small jigs like Bitsy Bugs, along with a few small cranks, I’ve never cared for throwing anything “finesse” with baitcasters. Everything just feels more comfortable and natural on spinning gear to me, and I can’t even imagine trying to toss Midwest Finesse stuff with them. I’ll take a pass on this one ?

[mheichelbech]

4 hours ago, ATA said:

You need to watch YouTube and surf the net for BFS fishing. After then if interested, give me a message I have few extra set ups ready to go.

I was just checking out the Shimano Calcutta Conquest reel...out of my price range but what a beautiful reel!  That thing is a work of art.

[jrfuda]

4 hours ago, Dens228 said:

...IMHO it's more about the rod than the reel for finesse...

I agree 100%. I struggle casting anything less than 3/8 oz (less than 3/8, 3/8 is OK) on my baitcasters and it's all due to the rod. With my so-so casting skill, I cannot properly load any of my baitcasters with less than 3/8 oz, even the rods rated for 1/4 oz. I can cast the heck out of 'em with my med-light spinning gear. I've got an ultralight panfish rod that can really send light stuff!

 

That said, I've toyed with the idea of buying a light-to-medium-light baitcasting rod and trying it with one of my existing reels, but can't really justify it since the spinning rigs I have work so well.

[Emiliano]

both rod and reel have to play together and have to be fine tuned, another thing to consider it's that you have to spend more money for a fine BFS casting combo than a spinning one to throw the same lures.

@mheichelbech you don't like video as much as articles, that's fine but few days ago Hook Up Tackle YouTube channel released a video about BFS gear that I suggest to watch since it's a good introduction to the BFS world.

 

[mheichelbech]

12 minutes ago, Emiliano said:

both rod and reel have to play together and have to be fine tuned, another thing to consider it's that you have to spend more money for a fine BFS casting combo than a spinning one to throw the same lures.

@mheichelbech you don't like video as much as articles, that's fine but few days ago Hook Up Tackle YouTube channel released a video about BFS gear that I suggest to watch since it's a good introduction to the BFS world.

 

I will check it out....it’s not that I never watch videos...I just prefer articles.  One of the thing I like about this site is how they put out a written version and f videos (forget the name for that).

[Dens228]

1 hour ago, jrfuda said:

I agree 100%. I struggle casting anything less than 3/8 oz (less than 3/8, 3/8 is OK) on my baitcasters and it's all due to the rod. With my so-so casting skill, I cannot properly load any of my baitcasters with less than 3/8 oz, even the rods rated for 1/4 oz. I can cast the heck out of 'em with my med-light spinning gear. I've got an ultralight panfish rod that can really send light stuff!

 

That said, I've toyed with the idea of buying a light-to-medium-light baitcasting rod and trying it with one of my existing reels, but can't really justify it since the spinning rigs I have work so well.

I'm the same as you only opposite!  LOL

Last year I used a spinning combo for the first time in years.....where the cast was going was anyone's guess.....luckily I don't need to cast far when using it. 

[fishwizzard]

6 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Totally depends on what you are throwing.  Small cranks and other moving baits can be thrown on baitcasters but for finesse plastics where the action is in the fall rate (like a Senko), you want your bait to free fall.  In order to accomplish this with a baitcaster, you would have to manually pull line off the reel.  A spinning rod allows the line to free flow with no or very little resistance.  Considering you get 90% of your bites on the fall then hand lining off a baitcaster will cause you to miss bites.  Normally Senko style finesse baits thrown on a baitcaster will pendulum back towards you rather than free fall because the reel settings you need to keep from backlashing will keep the bait from free falling.  

I will respectfully disagree with this, or at least it's universal applicability. 

 

In shallower water, there will be enough slack in the line from the cast to allow the lure to fall without having to pull line, esp if you raise the rod tip just before you stop the lure.  When making longer casts, the line will be laying on the water for most of the sink time, which will provide resistance to a free fall, degating some of the advantage of a spinning reel with the bail open.

 

I think things will also depend on how an individual keeps their tension knobs set and what kind of line they are using. In regards to tension, I keep mine backed off to the point of being able to "click" it with side-to-side force, so it's not offering any real resistance to even a light lure pulling line.  I also use straight fluoro for anything where I am expecting slack-line bites, so it's generally not effortlessly falling off of a spinning reel. 

[Catt]

I've said it many times & will continue to say it.

 

I throw a Zoom Trick Worm unweighted with only a 3/0 straight shank hook. My reel is a Shimano Calcutta 100A & Medium Heavy X-Fast rod.

 

I have zero issues with accuracy or distance or letting it free fall. As @fishwizzard mentioned i will have to occasionally strip line depending on water depth. Something I usually do even with weighted lures.

[ATA]

10 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

I was just checking out the Shimano Calcutta Conquest reel...out of my price range but what a beautiful reel!  That thing is a work of art.

yes thats my best setup

 

how much you want to spend on combo? I can help you to choose, I was digging that for months to finally get the combos, right now I have 4 combos. two want to keep and two want to sell.

 

[optimator]

I looked into BFS just because I'm a gear junky. For me though, I'll just stick to spinning for anything I can't cast on my baitcasting gear. I have enough money pit hobbies as it is. 

[NOC 1]

On 3/5/2021 at 9:39 AM, TOXIC said:

Totally depends on what you are throwing.  Small cranks and other moving baits can be thrown on baitcasters but for finesse plastics where the action is in the fall rate (like a Senko), you want your bait to free fall.  In order to accomplish this with a baitcaster, you would have to manually pull line off the reel.  A spinning rod allows the line to free flow with no or very little resistance.  Considering you get 90% of your bites on the fall then hand lining off a baitcaster will cause you to miss bites.  Normally Senko style finesse baits thrown on a baitcaster will pendulum back towards you rather than free fall because the reel settings you need to keep from backlashing will keep the bait from free falling.  

Hmmm...How do you know you're missing bites? And even if you could count the bites that you never got, how can you know why they did not happen? Fishing isn't engineering but even so you can't count things that do not exist. If you can't count them then you cannot compare them. Nor can you say that one way of fishing results in more or in less things not happening than another way would have.

 

All you can tell us really is what you believe and what seems to work best for you, because as far as you know on all of the days that you aren't fishing that spot the fish bite a bait dropping at an angle better.

 

That said, you have an interesting theory.

[TOXIC]

On 3/6/2021 at 11:50 AM, NOC 1 said:

Hmmm...How do you know you're missing bites? And even if you could count the bites that you never got, how can you know why they did not happen? Fishing isn't engineering but even so you can't count things that do not exist. If you can't count them then you cannot compare them. Nor can you say that one way of fishing results in more or in less things not happening than another way would have.

 

All you can tell us really is what you believe and what seems to work best for you, because as far as you know on all of the days that you aren't fishing that spot the fish bite a bait dropping at an angle better.

 

That said, you have an interesting theory.

I can see my line react to a bite as it free falls from a spinning spool.  If you are pulling it off by hand with a baitcaster you are putting action on the slack line and will miss bites.  And if you don’t peel it off by hand the bait is going to pendulum back to you.   I’m not going to split hairs on trying to change anyone’s mind but I have shown both of these examples on the tank a Bass Pro doing seminars.  No creative engineering or theory involved.  Its never been disputed that the majority of bites on a weightless Senko come on the fall.   That’s where the action on the bait comes from.  And as was said earlier, if you are fishing in less than 4 feet of water, it is less noticeable.  If you want to throw a Senko on a baitcaster go right ahead because I have always said there is no wrong way to fish a Senko.  I just know what the bait was designed to do and how it works for me.

[mheichelbech]

20 hours ago, TOXIC said:

I can see my line react to a bite as it free falls from a spinning spool.  If you are pulling it off by hand with a baitcaster you are putting action on the slack line and will miss bites.  And if you don’t peel it off by hand the bait is going to pendulum back to you.   I’m not going to split hairs on trying to change anyone’s mind but I have shown both of these examples on the tank a Bass Pro doing seminars.  No creative engineering or theory involved.  Its never been disputed that the majority of bites on a weightless Senko come on the fall.   That’s where the action on the bait comes from.  And as was said earlier, if you are fishing in less than 4 feet of water, it is less noticeable.  If you want to throw a Senko on a baitcaster go right ahead because I have always said there is no wrong way to fish a Senko.  I just know what the bait was designed to do and how it works for me.

My jig fishing buddy uses a 14 foot "cane" pole for flipping jigs for the same reason...to avoid or minimize the pendulum effect when flipping brush piles, beaver piles and the like.  I don't like them but hard to deny their effectiveness.

[NOC 1]

On 3/7/2021 at 1:43 PM, TOXIC said:

I can see my line react to a bite as it free falls from a spinning spool.  If you are pulling it off by hand with a baitcaster you are putting action on the slack line and will miss bites.  And if you don’t peel it off by hand the bait is going to pendulum back to you.   I’m not going to split hairs on trying to change anyone’s mind but I have shown both of these examples on the tank a Bass Pro doing seminars.  No creative engineering or theory involved.  Its never been disputed that the majority of bites on a weightless Senko come on the fall.   That’s where the action on the bait comes from.  And as was said earlier, if you are fishing in less than 4 feet of water, it is less noticeable.  If you want to throw a Senko on a baitcaster go right ahead because I have always said there is no wrong way to fish a Senko.  I just know what the bait was designed to do and how it works for me.

You are missing the point.

You cannot count bites you never got. And you certainly can't compare the bites that you might have gotten or not have gotten while doing it way did not do. And you can't say why you didn't get them. There is nothing objective here.

It's not about your fishing skill. It's about your reasoning skill.