Adjusting baitcaster

[Ben77]

Used my lew's tp for the first time today after only fishing spinning gear ever. It felt different but not in a bad way. My question is I wasn't getting much distance on my casts. I had the brake's set at max at first and no backlashes but when I took the brakes off I got a backlash not to bad though. Should I ease off the brakes maybe setting them half way? I was using 14 pd trilene xl and was thinking of dropping to 12 pd. Tension knob was loose enough where the bait was falling slow and drag was just right. What do you guys think thanks.

[jimmyjoe]

   I would put the brakes back where they were, and then start backing off ONLY ONE SETTING AT A TIME.

   The reason I say this is that as a human being, you need to acclimate yourself to changes gradually to give your sense of "feel" time to adapt. Your mind's reflexes needs to be "indexed", so to speak, and then it will know what to do and how to do it in different situations. This is why people beginning on baitcasters are told that it will "take some time" to be proficient with a baitcaster.

   It looks like you're doing everything correctly. So take it slow, and the distance will slowly increase and your proficiency will slowly increase, and your enjoyment of using a baitcaster will slowly increase. Everything will kinda fall into place.

 

   Have fun fishing!       jj

[rtwvumtneer6]

I don't have that particular reel, but think it's built similarly to the BPS reels.  Out of the box a good starting point is half internal pins on, half off.  

 

The external setting that adjusts your magnets is a fine tune for conditions such as wind.  

 

If you're just begining, set the spool tension so your bait will fall, but not overrun when it hits the ground.  

 

As you progress you can back off the tension, and eventually dial back your internal pins, but that will come after your thumb is well trained.  Braking systems are a good aid, but the almighty thumb is still king.  

 

Also, take into consideration if the lure you are throwing is allowing the rod to load properly during the cast.  

 

Practice, train your thumb, and have fun! 

[new2BC4bass]

Realize that you can't whip a baitcaster like you can a spinning reel.  Smooth is what you are looking for.  Jerky movements with a baitcast reel almost always result in a backlash unless you are very fast with the thumb.  I use 12#, but 14# is fine.  Use a weight in the middle or slightly above the middle of the rod's rating.

 

As jj said, take it slow.  Distance will come in time.  All you need is practice.  I would suggest learning with a roll cast as it will help keep the rod loaded better and make for a smoother cast.  Also...if you are anything like I was when I learned....casting accuracy will also be better with a roll cast.  Release point timing between a spinning reel and baitcast reel are totally different.  Casting right handed had my lure going way left at first with the side arm cast.  Unfortunately I didn't try a roll cast until later.

[Hammer 4]

3 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

Realize that you can't whip a baitcaster like you can a spinning reel.  Smooth is what you are looking for.  Jerky movements with a baitcast reel almost always result in a backlash unless you are very fast with the thumb.  I use 12#, but 14# is fine.  Use a weight in the middle or slightly above the rod's rating.

 

As jj said, take it slow.  Distance will come in time.  All you need is practice.  I would suggest learning with a roll cast as it will help keep the rod loaded better and make for a smoother cast.  Also...if you are anything like I was when I learned....casting accuracy will also be better with a roll cast.  Release point timing between a spinning reel and baitcast reel are totally different.  Casting right handed had my lure going way left at first with the side arm cast.  Unfortunately I didn't try a roll cast until later.

 

This is good advice, and I totally agree with it. Accurate casting for distance is an art, take it slow, things will come together soon. 

[bulldog1935]

I have the Lew's Tourney Pro, and it has a very nice and lightweight centrifugal brake.  

This is a really nice centrifugal brake, and the light weight it adds to the spool is its best quality.  (Same set-up in the Team Pro SP, and Custom Lite)

Borrowed this graph again from Jun at Japan Tackle - It shows brake force versus spool velocity

Spool tension is always a constant load on the spool - this is the brake that is costing you distance.  

Your best cast distance will be with spool tension set as low as you can get away with.  As you get good, you will be dialing this lower and lower, and eventually may only be using it to dial-out spool end-play.  

The centrifugal brake does its best work preventing initial spool overshoot, and little-to-no effect on a slow-moving spool.  You can get away with a higher setting on the centrifugal brake with some, but less effect on cast distance.  

 

So my recommendation is start your centrifugal brake set - not to max - but to 80 or 90%, and work first on dialing down your end tension.  You use more on the centrifugal brake setting with lighter lures.  

After that you can work on dialing down your centrifugal brake, as your cast gets smoother.  

Remember that any jerk you put into a cast is only backlash.  

Also that the end of your cast is all thumb.  

 

Since I'm here, mag brakes have their best effect preventing mid-cast wind backlash, and my longest-casting baitcaster in coast wind is Super Duty G (not counting my Abu CT surf reels with both centrifugal and mag).  

[Biglittle8]

9 hours ago, rtwvumtneer6 said:

I don't have that particular reel, but think it's built similarly to the BPS reels.  Out of the box a good starting point is half internal pins on, half off.  

 

The external setting that adjusts your magnets is a fine tune for conditions such as wind.  

 

If you're just begining, set the spool tension so your bait will fall, but not overrun when it hits the ground.  

 

As you progress you can back off the tension, and eventually dial back your internal pins, but that will come after your thumb is well trained.  Braking systems are a good aid, but the almighty thumb is still king.  

 

Also, take into consideration if the lure you are throwing is allowing the rod to load properly during the cast.  

 

Practice, train your thumb, and have fun! 

This☝️

[bulldog1935]

Not to offend, TP (SP, CL) doesn't have a mag brake.  

you're adjusting the stand-off of this centrifugal brake race, which adjusts both the starting point and the force applied to the bellcrank brake pads.  

There are no magnets in the palm cap or spool end.  

 

I vote for engaging all the centrifugal pads (leave them in from factory)

 

and using the dial to adjust-out initial spool overshoot, as designed.  

Set it high to anticipate a little jerk in your cast.  You'll be dialing it down as your cast gets smoother, and dialing it back up again with lighter lures.  

[jimmyjoe]

   I'll be darned. I thought Tournament Pro models had been made two different ways; with the mag system augmenting the centrifugal, and with the centrifugal alone.

   Maybe my memory is just getting bad.    ?       jj

[bulldog1935]

Jim, the Lew's that has mag + centrifugal is the Inshore and Custom Inshore, with a horrendously heavy spool add-on.  (maybe I'll take a photo later with the palm cap removed)

 

[Ben77]

Thanks for all the advice I will try some methods you guys have mentioned. I know it will take some time but I will get it right. Oh and one more other thing when you make a cast when do you apply your thumb to the spool when your bait hits the water or before your bait hits the water thanks.

[galyonj]

14 hours ago, jimmyjoe said:

I would put the brakes back where they were, and then start backing off ONLY ONE SETTING AT A TIME.

 

Absolutely this. Small adjustments can make a big difference. Go back to when you weren't getting the distance you want, but weren't getting backlashes. Then ease the magnets off one or two clicks at a time. 

 

1 hour ago, Ben77 said:

Oh and one more other thing when you make a cast when do you apply your thumb to the spool when your bait hits the water or before your bait hits the water thanks.

 

Before, because my thumb's either in contact with the spool or right there at it ready to be. Learning how to feather the spool with your thumb is gonna pay huge dividends. Better accuracy, quieter entrances in the water, less time picking out backlashes, fewer lures flying into orbit when you break off because your backlash locked the spool up after a hail mary cast, all that good stuff.

 

Lay a trash can lid down -- you can go smaller as your confidence grows -- in your back yard, then tie a jig on, and just pitch to that target. Great way to practice developing a feel for your magnet and spool tension settings and building muscle memory for feathering the spool. The goal is to have that jig land very softly on the target.

 

Maybe some of the OGs here will have other, better practice suggestions for developing that feel and muscle memory.

Edited March 22, 2021 by galyonj
i kan't speel gud

[bulldog1935]

2 hours ago, Ben77 said:

Thanks for all the advice I will try some methods you guys have mentioned. I know it will take some time but I will get it right. Oh and one more other thing when you make a cast when do you apply your thumb to the spool when your bait hits the water or before your bait hits the water thanks.

your thumb should never quite leave the spool - you should be "reading" the spool with your thumb, but if you're set up right and casting longer than you need, your thumb will be applying brakes while your cast is dropping to help put it in the right place.  

 

You can do something similar on spinning tackle with good manual bail technique - you feather the line at the end with your finger tips.  

[CrankFate]

To add to the good advice already given. Start with lots of brakes and the heaviest weight the rod can throw comfortably. Use a small heavier bait or just a weight. Then throw it. A lot. Then go lower and back the brakes off until you hit the lightest thing you can throw.

[PhishLI]

On 3/21/2021 at 8:23 PM, Ben77 said:

Used my lew's tp for the first time today after only fishing spinning gear ever. It felt different but not in a bad way. My question is I wasn't getting much distance on my casts. I had the brake's set at max at first and no backlashes but when I took the brakes off I got a backlash not to bad though. Should I ease off the brakes maybe setting them half way? I was using 14 pd trilene xl and was thinking of dropping to 12 pd. Tension knob was loose enough where the bait was falling slow and drag was just right. What do you guys think thanks.

In order to have your question answered in a meaningful way you should include your rods specs. They're printed on there.  Also include the bait(s) you're throwing, and their weight.  For instance, if you're rod is listed as a Heavy Fast(HF) and you're trying to throw a 3" unweighted Senko with 14lb mono you'll have an issue. Using baits within the rod's listed lure range will result in proper loading which will help with achieving reasonable distance on your cast. Choosing a bait with a weight of about 3/4 of the rod's rating is a good place to start if you're new to baitcasters. Trying to learn with baits at the lowest end of the rod's lure rating will frustrate your efforts.

[Ben77]

10 hours ago, PhishLI said:

In order to have your question answered in a meaningful way you should include your rods specs. They're printed on there.  Also include the bait(s) you're throwing, and their weight.  For instance, if you're rod is listed as a Heavy Fast(HF) and you're trying to throw a 3" unweighted Senko with 14lb mono you'll have an issue. Using baits within the rod's listed lure range will result in proper loading which will help with achieving reasonable distance on your cast. Choosing a bait with a weight of about 3/4 of the rod's rating is a good place to start if you're new to baitcasters. Trying to learn with baits at the lowest end of the rod's lure rating will frustrate your efforts.

I'm using a m\f action 7'0 rod and most of my lures are from 1\4 to 3\8 oz. I have 14 pd trilene xl on it now but to me it felt heavy so I'm respooling with 12 lb should increase my cast distance we'll see.