Will a baitcaster have problems with 1.5 and 2.5 minnow lures or should I get a spinning reel?

[Fishthunder]

Right now I only have a baitcaster, It is a Lew's KDV 8.3:1. I was thinking about getting Rebel Value Series Minnow in 1 5/8" and 2 1/2". And the Rapala Original Floater 1.5" and 2". Will the baitcaster have a problem throwing them lures? I was thinking of a rooster tail too. 

[ElGuapo928]

You d**n near have to have a reel designed for, or super tuned for BFS fishing if you want to get that light, and then a rod to match. The Rebels *might* go fairly well, but the Rapalas would pretty much be an exercise in frustration. 

[islandbass]

Line choice, rod selection are other important things you will need to factor in.

 

Just as important, is knowing baitcasters are not equal when it comes to what is the lowest weight it can effectively cast. For example, my curado bsf can cast a 1/8oz rooster tail, and my trion doesn’t have a prayer of casting it. And then that same curado won’t fare too well tossing a size 5 floating Rapala minnow. And if you’re trying to cast these with a heavy jig rod, forget about it, lol. 
 

 As shown above, the lure’s weight is a factor, but its aerodynamic profile could also come into play. That size minnow and rooster tail probably weigh about the same but the casting result could vary.  

 

With that said, IMHO, I would hope any casting reel worth its salt should be able to cast a 1/4oz lure pretty well. It is when you go below that limitation of the reel, line choice (usually its diameter but not limited to that) and rod really come to the surface. 
 

im sure that old pixy would run circles around my curado. 
 

It won’t hurt you to find out how your bc reel will fare so try it and report back. 😎

[MIbassyaker]

It's less about the reel than the rod - a typical casting rod  of medium or medium-heavy power won't load up well enough on lures that light to cast very effectively even if the reel can handle it. 

 

Get a medium-light spinning rod and you can sling around rapala floaters and rooster-tails with decent distance easily.

[Fishthunder]

6 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

Get a medium-light spinning rod and you can sling around rapala floaters and rooster-tails with decent distance easily.

 

Any recommendations? I would like a budget combo say under $100.

[Captain Phil]

14 minutes ago, Fishthunder said:

 

Any recommendations? I would like a budget combo say under $100.

 

You don't need an expensive spinning outfit to fish those lures. Go to a Bass Pro Shop and look around.  For $100 or less, you should find what you want.  3"-4" Rapalas are killer lures if you want to catch tons of fish.  In clearer lakes, nothing out fishes them in shear numbers of fish caught. Worms catch bigger fish, but you can fish them on them same outfit.  My favorite spinning reels are Daiwas.  You can get decent models well under your budget.  The rod you use needs to have a decent backbone with a sensitive tip. Don't buy a wimpy rod.  I use 8 pound mono for this fishing and I have caught bass up to 6 pounds on it.   The biggest problem most anglers have with spinning outfits is not loading the line correctly.  There are many videos on that subject.  The second issue is not turning the bail over by hand. Learn to do it manually and you will never have coils of line jumping off the reel.  Spinning tackle fishing with small lures is hard to beat.  I have noticed many younger TV fishermen using it these days.  Back in the day, it was considered kid's tackle.  Not anymore. 

[thediscochef]

46 minutes ago, Fishthunder said:

 

Any recommendations? I would like a budget combo say under $100.

So if I were trying to put together an inexpensive spinning combo for light lures, I would probably be looking at a shimano FX series reel paired with one of Academy's H2OX rods. You could probably put a solid combo together with those two brands, line and all, for under $60. You could also just get an ugly stik combo and call it a day. I am partial to daiwa fuego reels but those blow the whole budget right away. The shimano FX reels are super duper basic and a little heavy but have never done me wrong. Lots and lots of great options under $100 in spinning gear. 
Some people look down on spinning tackle and lighter lures but every style of rod/reel has something it does well and can help you land bass. I have caught 6-13 and 7-1 LM on 2" crappie tubes, no chance of throwing that on a baitcaster. 

[greentrout]

I fish with BPS Tourney Special Spinning Rod 6'6" 2 pc. med. rated 1/8 - 1/2, 4-12 pound mono. line. Daiwa 2500 Crossfire LT 8 lb. test and braid ready. I'm in for less than a hundred dollars.

One of my set ups. Good Fishing. 

[MIbassyaker]

2 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

 

 I have noticed many younger TV fishermen using it these days.  Back in the day, it was considered kid's tackle.  Not anymore. 

 

1 hour ago, thediscochef said:

Some people look down on spinning tackle and lighter lures but every style of rod/reel has something it does well and can help you land bass.

 

I always find it funny how insecure so many Southerners seem to be about spinning tackle.  Spinning is pretty standard up here for most casual fishing regardless of species, from panfish and perch to bass or walleye, even catfish, pike or steelhead.  If anything, it is the baitcaster that is specialized and exotic.

[Fishthunder]

28 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

 

I always find it funny how insecure so many Southerners seem to be about spinning tackle.  Spinning is pretty standard up here for most casual fishing regardless of species, from panfish and perch to bass or walleye, even catfish, pike or steelhead.  If anything, it is the baitcaster that is specialized and exotic.

Anything besides a Zebco 33 is foreign to me. I used that for 20+ years. But now I got into baitcasters and I love my Lew’s KVD baitcaister but I am finding out that I need to downsize my lures for some lakes around here. I do not like fishing with spinning reels. It feels weird to me and I never thought that I  would need to downsize my lures. I have never used anything below 15lb line. That is another reason I want a budget combo in case I don’t like it. I reckon I need to make another post but what is your opinion on Ugly Stik GX2 Spinning combo or KastKing Centron Spinning Reel. Daiwa Crossfire LT Spinning Combo Is another I was looking at.

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

I always find it funny how insecure so many Southerners seem to be about spinning tackle.  Spinning is pretty standard up here for most casual fishing regardless of species, from panfish and perch to bass or walleye, even catfish, pike or steelhead.  If anything, it is the baitcaster that is specialized and exotic.

 

It's not insecurity that is behind this, it's tradition.  Bass fishing has been ingrained into the life of Southern fishermen for over a hundred years. We don't have fancy fish like trout.  A shore lunch of walleye was not something we knew anything about.  Our fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers fished with casting reels.  Our lakes are weedy, full of snags and our bass are big.  Today's young fishermen don't have that history.  Young people consider history  "old fashioned" and they want to make their own rules.  This is good as long as it doesn't get in the way of success. 

[Eric 26]

@FishthunderMy .02 is if you can go to a local tackle shop or if you have a bass pro shop head there and talk to them so you can feel before buying. Bass pro can put together a number of different rod/reel combos and they have a great warranty on both house branded and non house branded gear. If you can’t feel before buying I’d suggest staying away from the Kastking centron combo as the reel is their most entry point reel and probably won’t hold up well. Although I only own and use (1) 13 fishing rod and reel (purchased separately) but actually used as a combo I’m very happy with the combo and feel they deserve a look. This one fits right in your budget and if you go to their site they offer quite a few options on the rod lengths power/actions. Best of luck. Forgot to add this combo comes in at $79.99 pre tax and shipping.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Eric 26
Added content

[bulldog1935]

The Lew's B/C can't be set up to fish the light lures you're talking about - there are no aftermarket spool options for them that will get you there.  When I made that move, I went to Daiwa, because of the wide range of aftermarket spools made for them.  

A BFS reel can be set up to fish 1/16 oz or even as light as 1.5 g, but it's probably not an off-the-shelf reel - these reels have cutting-edge shallow spools, the lightest down to 4 g, and low-inertia spool bearings.  I'm pretty sure colloquial broad-brush fear mongering isn't involved, but education and an open pocketbook might be.  

 

It's pretty easy to argue those light rapalas and rooter tails were intended for light spinning tackle.  But the right BFS reel will fish them.  

 

The first off-the shelf BFS reel that listed 2-g capacity is the '20 Daiwa Alphas Air TW, most sell it around $300, and the best Amazon price from Japan is $214.  I picked the JapanTackle listing, because it has a good description of the reel.  

https://japantackle.com/casting-reels/reg0000282.html

(I personally went the other route, with aftermarket spools and bearings for Steez and Zillion)

 

There are different rod requirements for stream fishing vs bank or reservoir fishing, river kayak, salt finesse.  I go back farthest in salt finesse, and learned a lot from the Japanese, who have been doing this longer than the rest of us, light-lure fishing in all niches, and racing reels for BFS since the late 80s.  

I've personally found minnow lures fish better on BFS, never fouling the hooks on the line, while loose line in spinning will foul the line on the hooks more times than not. With XUL jigheads and complex rigs like tandem jigs, I much prefer spinning tackle.  Note the XUL ratings on this 14-y-o rockfish rod - even fishing this light, the rod has power, and this one has landed doubles of snook and seatrout.  (Of course doubles on tandem is kind of cheating, because the fish fight each other on the heavy leader.)  This was a $100 Rakuten buy,

and fished so well in the niche, went back for a second 7'9" rod with slightly higher lure rating, and still fishing the two rods.  

 

[FrnkNsteen]

In my opinion, it is hard to beat a Daiwa Crossfire ($30) or Revros ($50) spinning reel on a Berkley Lightning Rod ($35) or Daiwa AirdX spinning rod ($50) .

 

Not saying Daiwa is the only option, but I just happen to be impressed by the entey level Daiwa spinning reels. As for rods,... Both the Lightning rod and the AirdX are light and reasonably sensitive for their price.

 

The only problem is you will probably want a Medium Light rod for those lures and I don't know if the Lightning Rod offers a Medium Light option.

[WRB]

Yes if you use a clear casting bubble. The bubble/bobber* can be adjusted for length between lure and bubble and can be partially filled with water to increase the desired weight needed. 

Cost is about $3 to 2 adjustable bubbles.

Tom

* Adjust A Bubble

[Fishthunder]

22 hours ago, FrnkNsteen said:

In my opinion, it is hard to beat a Daiwa Crossfire ($30) or Revros ($50) spinning reel on a Berkley Lightning Rod ($35) or Daiwa AirdX spinning rod ($50) .

 

Not saying Daiwa is the only option, but I just happen to be impressed by the entey level Daiwa spinning reels. As for rods,... Both the Lightning rod and the AirdX are light and reasonably sensitive for their price.

 

The only problem is you will probably want a Medium Light rod for those lures and I don't know if the Lightning Rod offers a Medium Light option.

How small of weight the rod will do is not as important as the max weight right?

[galyonj]

23 minutes ago, Fishthunder said:

How small of weight the rod will do is not as important as the max weight right?

 

If you intend to fish lures at or below the minimum weight stated on the rod blank, I believe the minimum stated lure weight is absolutely more important than the max weight.

 

On your cast, the rod has to be able to use the weight of the lure to store energy in the blank, which translates into a smoother cast stroke, better accuracy, and more distance.

 

This is more important with baitcasting reels, as a lure too light for the rod will mean you have to muscle it out more aggressively to limit the possibility of a backlash.

[bulldog1935]

I've found that S-glass rods, because of moderate tip, will fish very well a bit below their rated bottom end.  

I normally fish these in close-kayak niches.  

e.g., this one fishes 1/8 oz, and skip-casts that light weight with aplomb.  

 

and this one fishes 3 g like a champ (rated 5 to 14 g).  

A longer graphite rod from this same maker (Smith) will not fish below its rated bottom end.  

[WRB]

Lure weight is one factor. And lure wind resistance is another.

Line diameter too large for the lure weight also factors into cast ability with bait casters. Think about a broom stick with zero flex and trying to cast a lure, it doesn’t. Work.

Tom 

[gim]

On 10/17/2023 at 8:25 AM, MIbassyaker said:

I always find it funny how insecure so many Southerners seem to be about spinning tackle.  Spinning is pretty standard up here for most casual fishing regardless of species, from panfish and perch to bass or walleye, even catfish, pike or steelhead.  If anything, it is the baitcaster that is specialized and exotic.

 

I don't know if "insecure" if the correct term.  But maybe the types of fish targeted in the north are more often done with spinning gear.  Panfish and walleye are very popular here, way more than bass, and the overwhelming majority use spinning gear because its often a vertical finesse presentation.

 

I think the point here is that they both serve a purpose.  They're just different tools for the job at hand.  One is going to work better than the other in specific situations and exclusively using just one of them is like limiting the number of tools in a tool box.  Ya, you could use a flathead screw driver to drill a philips screw, but a philips screwdriver will work a lot better.

[galyonj]

I agree with main thrust of your point, @gimruis. Different tools for different jobs. However...I can't think of a more fitting term than "insecure" for people that refer to spinning rods as fairy wands.

[TnRiver46]

I take it a step further and throw a 4’10” ultra light spinning and I love it 

[WRB]

If anyone is honest spinning tackle for bass fishing was nearly unheard of before the 1970’s. A few used spinning like Bill Murphy with his custom rod and size 5 Cardinal reel for 15 lb test line. Gary Yamamoto always used spinning tackle but it was the finesse light line light lures that popularized spinning for bass anglers. Today spinning is as common as bait casting and today’s BFS bait casting is crossing the line for light lure bait casting.

To directly answer the OP’s ? Medium Spinning with 2500 reel and 6 lb. mono is the proper tackle for small light weight

Rapalas.

Tom

 

[FrnkNsteen]

10 hours ago, Fishthunder said:

How small of weight the rod will do is not as important as the max weight right?

Well,... If you are wanting to throw those little Rapala Originals in 1.5 and 2", you need a light enough rod ro load up with those weights or you will struggle to get any distance.

 

Being able to load up a rod lets the rod help with the cast. See what those lures weigh and get a rod rated at or below that weight.