learning basic baitcasting

[rodrick williams]

I'm a regular spinning reel guy, and I feel like I am missing out on being the best because I don't know how to work a baitcaster.  My buddies tell me that in order to learn the basics of baitcasting, you must first buy a great baitcasting reel.  It seems true, because the cheaper ones that I have bought did not work very well to my expectations, and I have never bought one higher than $30 dollars. the one that I wanted to use is a pflueger president, but it costs 139 bucks.  I will get this reel, but when I do, will I catch on quickly, or will it take some casts to do so?  I can pitch and flip with a spinning reel, but my baitcasting stinks because I can only cast 10 feet with the cheaper baitcasters. please help!   :-?

[fishbear]

Practice, Practice, practice, practice, and more practice, I used to make 30-40 casts a day in my backyard till I was comfortable enough to use it fishing....  However, backlashes are a way of life with b/c reels... I never have a trip out without at least one.

hmmmmmmmm maybe i need more practice/ :-/ :-/ :-/ :-/

[Catt]

Thumb control

Thumb control

Thumb control

Uh it called a professional over run  

[Sam]

Hey,

Welcome to the world of baitcasters and backlashes.

Here are a few tips to help you.

1.  Locate all you can on this site about baitcasters and how to use them. Then read, read and read.

2.  Set up the rod and reel with your bait at home and point the rod upward towards the ceiling at a 45 degree angle.  Then, reel up the bait to the end of the rod.  Let the bait fall from the tip of the rod in a slow fall.  Adjust your reel to have a slow fall.  Not fast; not too slow; but a nice slow fall so when the bait hits the floor (avoid carpet as the hooks get stuck in the fibers) the reel spool stops.  The reel is now balanced with that specific bait you are using.

3.  Go outside and then cast a few times to adjust your settings.

4.  Use a line spray before, during and after you do some casts during the day to help prevent backlashes.

5.  See some DVDs or videos by Denny Brauer on how to flip and pitch using a baitcaster.  Ike has some excellent tips on his DVDs, too.

6.  Ike suggests taking your reel and filling it about 25% full of line and then add the line you will be fishing that day.  This stops you from re-reeling 100% of the line you fish with each time you re-reel the line.

7.  Have two or three extra baitcasters on your boat or in your tackle box so when you get the "Backlash of the Century" while fishing you can just replace the reel with another baitcaster and continue to fish. This will save you time and aggravation while on the water.

There are so many other things the guys on this site can tell you.  My tips are just the tip of the iceberg.

Be sure to listen to "Reel Mech" on this site as he is outstanding when it comes to reels and their care.

Have fun with your baitcasters and practice, practice and practice!

[Lucky Craft Man]

I have the Pflueger President Baitcasting Reel, which is a great reel, but if you are just starting out, I wouldn't get this reel.  The Pflueger President has a centrifugal braking system, which maybe tough to get used to and use if you never had a baitcaster before.  I would look for a reel that has an adjustable magnetic casting control.  This way you can adjust the braking on the spool quickly while you get a feel for things.  I think a good reel to start out with would be the Quantum Accurist PT.  It's a nice reel with a magnetic control brake along with a flipping switch and it's not obscenely expensive.  Once you get used to that, then you can add the Pflueger President to the line-up (because once the bait monkey gets a hold of you, you won't stop at just owning one reel).  That is just my humble opinion on things.  

[dodgeguy]

i have to dissagree.i would buy the president because i feel centrifugal brakes are better.just start with all 6 in the on position.either that or get a supreme which has both.then start with 4 centrifugal on and add a little bit of magnets with the dial as needed.

[CSB]

Use larger line, find a spot with no trees, work on technique before working on distance. When the backlashes do occur, be patient when picking the line and dont get frustrated. 30 seconds of slow, controlled picking beats 10 seconds of frantic yanking followed by 10 minutes of repacking.

[Lightninrod]

Hope this offers some help.

Don't give up on baitcasters.  Once you've gotten the hang of using them, you will be enamored with them .

Dan

[CyBasser]

Hope this offers some help.

Don't give up on baitcasters. Once you've gotten the hang of using them, you will be enamored with them .

Dan

Absolutely!

After considering baitcasting for three years I finally gave it a try three months ago. I now own three baitcasting set ups. And, for sure, as Fishbear and Catt have mentioned, it takes lots of practice and lots of "educating" your thumb control. Follow the basic instructions you will find on this forum, and it will soon feel natural. Also: it will be of immense help if you have a baitcasting buddy show you some of the basics "live".

[cabela10]

Before I started using Baitcasters, I was turned off by them because the one I was using was a cheap pile of ____ and it just wasn't working out, so I scraped that plan of using them for around 5 years.  Then once I got into tournament fishing, I realized that I needed a good quality baitcaster, so I went out and bought my first expensive baitcaster, a Shimano Castaic.  It was night and day on how easy it was to use compared to the junk $40 and under reels.

I think the quality of baitcaster you purchase to practice with is very important.  I say spend around $140 for a good caster and put some cheap line on the reel, put about an ounce weight on the end of the line, turn 75% of the brakes on and throw it around the front of your yard.  Then go to a football or baseball field and whip it out as far as you can, drop down in weight, drop the breaking system down.  Do everything with the wind in your face to practice that.  Practice makes perfect.

Thats how I taught myself how to use a baitcaster.  I think a quality baitcaster from a quality company is the ticket when learning how to use them, then if you wanna pull that cheapo out and use that, I think you should have no problems with it.

[Vyron]

I dont think baitcasting is difficult. Reelmech has a nice article for beginers on how 2 adjust the reel .

Went fishing with a baitcasting last week for the 1st time and i didnt get any backlashes.Actually I landed some trouts on it  ;D .Only problem for me was accuracy. Practice makes perfect.

[Guest DavidGreen]

Happy New Year!

I personally learned baitcasting on a $60.00 Garcia® round reel.

IMPO it is the best way to learn, no problems with mag dials or brake block settings. You had to learn how to educate your thumb, and to setup the cast control properly. Once you got that down then hours and hours of actual casting practice.

I see to many new comers to baitcasting think that they have to have a $200 reel to learn how to use a baitcaster. Not So. Many anglers set out to learn baitcasting by trying to cast the lightest weights they can, at distances that they can't make in reality.

Then because they have set a goal to high to achieve as a beginner, they get a negative attitude toward baitcasters put them away, and stick to trying to do the same things with spinning rigs.

Just my .02¢

Tight Lines All!!

[Guest the_muddy_man]

Hey Get the article from Rell Mech it helped me the most I made the switch this year I can offer one good suggestion DO NOT BRING YOUR SPINNING GEAR the only way to learn how to bait cast is TO DO IT OVER AND OVER.You have to put up with birds nests but then you start to get the feel for it

One note, I started to be able to cast short but accurate casts after relatively few hours then got the bright idea to back all the way off the brake RESULT 70 YARDS of 15# test totally unsuable and Knotted PATIENCE and PRACTICE I still am gonna need a lot of hours and at least a whole season to get my THUMB EDUCATED 8-)

[RottManK9]

I'm also new to baitcasting this year.  One thing I found is that if you force your cast, you will get a backlash.  If the cast doesn't feel natural to you then it's wrong.

I'm no expert, still learning but that's one thing I have found to help me avoid a backlash.

[BassPonder72]

Hey,

2. Set up the rod and reel with your bait at home and point the rod upward towards the ceiling at a 45 degree angle. Then, reel up the bait to the end of the rod. Let the bait fall from the tip of the rod in a slow fall. Adjust your reel to have a slow fall. Not fast; not too slow; but a nice slow fall so when the bait hits the floor (avoid carpet as the hooks get stuck in the fibers) the reel spool stops. The reel is now balanced with that specific bait you are using.

I am also fairly new to baitcasters. I already have 2 and throw them about 50% of the time. The tip I quoted from Sam was by far the most important thing for me to learn when I began. Making sure your lure falls at a controlled rate before casting will eliminate 90% of your backlashes. Practice will stave off the remaining 10%. I'm glad I finally picked one up and learned how.

[rodrick williams]

what kind of rod should I put with a shimano castaic or a pflueger president? have anymore good suggestions on baitcasters $150 and up? I usually use a 7 foot rod or 6'6" rod.  what king of good quality rods should I buy? I have a abu garcia spinning reel at home on a slow rod, and I lose too many fish.  I'm a good hook setter, that's why I wonder why I lose so many fish.  I'm thinking it's probably because I need a moderately fast action rod.  is this true?????  

[BassPonder72]

Berkley Lightning Rods are great for the money.  Less than $50.

[CSB]

I recently joined the Shimano bandwagon after dropping $200 on a Curado 100D, and I must say its the best of my baitcast reels. I was a big Daiwa fan and while they make excellent products that I will always use, the Curado is the best reel out there under $250. For rods I like St. Croix and G-Loomis. Ive tried to stay in the $150-$200 range for rods but I am considering spending more for even better quality.