close with handle or hand?

[BassSteve]

Do you guys close your spinning reel bail by turning the handle or do it with your hand? I used to always close it by turning the handle but then I heard some years back it wears out faster. Whether it's true or not, I have no idea but it stuck with me so ever since I close it with my hand. 

[MN Fisher]

It's not going to wear it out - I have one spinning reel that I have no choice with...because of the bail-engagement system, it HAS to be reeled to close. Sucker is over 40 years old, still with all original parts, and still works almost like new...though I've retired it because I've moved to all right-hand retrieve and it's a left-hand only.

 

What closing the bail by hand DOES do is help mitigate line-twist.

[DitchPanda]

Close by hand to prevent line twist. Never heard or cared about wearing anything out the other way.

[BassSteve]

good point about line twist, I was not thinking about that detail ?

[Deleted account]

hand

 

[GTN-NY]

I’ve been using the handle for 50yrs but I’m trying to break that habit

[Jig Man]

Hand primarily.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

2 hours ago, BassSteve said:

Do you guys close your spinning reel bail by turning the handle or do it with your hand? I used to always close it by turning the handle but then I heard some years back it wears out faster. Whether it's true or not, I have no idea but it stuck with me so ever since I close it with my hand. 

Using the auto trip instead of manually closing the bail is definitely detrimental to a spinning reel.  I understand why budget and entry level reels have it, but I don't see why it exists in reels that more advanced anglers would be using,  it's like having training wheels on a Harley. 

    

[CrankFate]

The fact that this is even a thing is one of the many reasons I rarely use spinning gear anymore. If I am using a spinner I expect the handle to properly close the bail without extra effort or noise.

[walleyecrazy]

I always close by hand and make sure the line is in the line roller before I begin my retrieve. It only takes a split second, and after doing it for a while you don’t even think about it. 

[BrianMDTX]

1 minute ago, walleyecrazy said:

I always close by hand and make sure the line is in the line roller before I begin my retrieve. It only takes a split second, and after doing it for a while you don’t even think about it. 

I can’t add anything to this. Spot on. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

2 hours ago, GTN-NY said:

I’ve been using the handle for 50yrs but I’m trying to break that habit

Just take a pair of wire cutters and cut the bail off lol

[813basstard]

Not only for line twists but the other hand should be feathering the line to stop or slow down an errant cast..plus, it just looks dumb flipping it over with the reel

[Gnarwhal]

15 minutes ago, 813basstard said:

it just looks dumb flipping it over with the reel

More so when it's upside down and your reeling backwards.

[Hammer 4]

Always by hand. Especially if I want a soft entry, then I'll feather the line, can't do that if you close the bail by reeling it.

[Gorris317]

When I first started with a spinning reel I used the handle. I had a habit of fishing really fast and didn't let baits sink. So to combat that, I started using my hand to slow myself down. Been doing that for the last 15 years. 

 

Only time I use the handle now is if I make a bad cast and want to stop it from getting into trouble. 

[ike8120]

Always by hand except when I have a brain fart,

[bulldog1935]

Proper manual bail technique has been covered in pieces on this thread - you get most of it if you read the whole thing.  It can make your cast nearly as accurate and nearly as instant-retrieve as a baitcaster.  

Because your free hand is near the bail, you can feather the line using your fingertips, to final adjust cast elevation and line speed - just like thumbing your baitcaster spool.  

The one thing left out, after you close the bail, turn slightly with the rod to take up any line slack before you begin retrieve - this is what puts your line in the line roller.  Anyone to whom I hand a braid reel gets this tutorial - this is not an option if you're using my reel.  

But even fluorocarbon, they always seem to manage to get it behind the spool - that also gets the tutorial.  

 

Slamming the bail hammer under drive can't be good for the drive.  Any kind of impact load is a 4x to 10x force jump over normal load (the reason for a 4x factor in drag set).  It was never a good design.  

We're going to see auto-bail close disappear on spinning reels just as optional anti-reverse has disappeared.  Especially as part of the competition to bring reel weight down.  Most offshore reels have been there for a long time.  On surf reels, auto-bail-closure is considered a detriment because of the potential for it going off mid-cast.  

Line-feed reels aren't big here (yet), but the Japanese buy them to supplant the need for back-reeling.  

 

BTW, the old Mitchell 440 Ottomatic had manual bail close function.  The bail was designed for one-hand operation - when you push it with your thumb, it opens by itself - push it again, and it closes by itself.  

[Ski]

Always by hand.

[Ben77]

Always by hand.

[volzfan59]

I always close by hand.

[Bird]

Another......always by hand. 

[FishTank]

By hand.  It's the way I learned 40 years ago.  Pull the line and close the bail at the same time.

[DitchPanda]

Guys that close the bail with the reel handle are the same types that ask for the crust to be cut off a sandwich after they already ate it.

[Bankbeater]

Always by hand.