Bail closing during cast...

[Marty]

...on a Daiwa Regal-Z 2500C.

Is this fixable?

By a severely mechanically challenged person?

[Jig Man]

When that happens to me it is because I haven't opened it all the way to the lock position.  If that is not your problem, then you better talk to the reel mechanic.

[Sam]

May I suggest that in the future you always open and close the bail with your hand?

Do not use the reel's handle to close the bail.

And pull the line tight off the spinning reel after every cast.

By using your hand you will not put a lot of pressure on the reel when closing the bail.

This is an "Ike Tip" that has worked for me.

Now, for repairing the bail...may I suggest you have it done professionally?

You can try but with reels costing a lot of money why take the chance of damaging the reel with an incorrect repair.

[George Welcome]

Most often a closing bail is a function of the way you open it. Make sure when you open the reel the the line roller is next to the pole and you push the bail away or back. This way when you cast the snap of the cast does not close the  bail. If this isn't your problem then the bail is broken. Take it to a shop as it can easily  be fixed.

[Guest avid]

As usual, GW hits the nail on the head.

Reel springs are an easy and inexpensive repair, but unless it is broken positioning the reel so that the bail is on top next to the rod, and by opening it, you are moving stright down will usually solve the problem.

You may want to practice a fluid cast.  It's fun to whip that rod, and snap that sucker out there, but it increases the likelihood that your bail will snap closed.

watch a video or u tube on flyfishing.  

A guy like Lefty Kreh is poetry in motion.

[Marty]

Thanks for the replies. The bail spring has been broken for about two years, but it makes no sense to replace it because the Daiwa springs last about 20 minutes. I'll try to put less snap into the cast, but sometimes I'm fishing from shore and trying to hit a very far target.

[.RM.]

Marty,

Bail closing during cast...

...on a Daiwa Regal-Z 2500C.  

Is this fixable? By a severely mechanically challenged person?

This quote alone tells me that you don't know what or where the bail spring is.

The bail spring has been broken for about two years, but it makes no sense to replace it because the Daiwa springs last about 20 minutes.

Only if the spring was installed incorrectly (and on this kind of bail spring that is hard to do).

Following this thread and looking at the schematic for the RZ-2500C. If the bail spring has been broken for about 2 years then how have you been using the reel. The bail is only sitting on 2 pivot points and should be flopping back and forth loosely on it's own (that is if the bail spring is actually broken). The bail spring helps hold the bail wire in the closed and open positions. One way to know for sure if the bail spring in a spinning reel is actually broken, open the bail and tap the bail wire and try to get the bail to close. If the bail snaps shut then your bail spring is working. Another way is to lift the bail wire about a quarter of an inche and let it go, if the wire snaps back to closed the bail spring is working...

Like GW and Avid mentioned, not opening the bail properly and snap casting the rod will cause the bail to snap shut prematurely. But this only happens when the bail spring is actually working.

Just my .02¢

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!

[sal669]

My friend, You are doing somethig wrong !!!

I own 3 Regal-Zs(2500 and 2000) and I never had any problem with them. I even use them for carp fishing, now and then.Heck, I bought 2 Capricorns expecting to need to replace the Regals( I have them since the models debut), but I don't think it's gonna happen' soon.They just don't wear out if you use them properly and take care of them

There's some good advice here allready. I'd just like to add this: do not reel the fish in (like with a winch), "pump" him with the rod and then reel in the slack. Trying to reel in the fish without using the rod puts tremendous stress on the reel, causing failure in the bail mecanism and/or gearing.

Allways close the bail with your hand, not by turning the handle !!!

Hope it helps...

[Marty]

Perhaps it's something other than the bail spring. But weeks after I got the reel the bail would no longer close via cranking. The spring was replaced and again failed within weeks. That's why I haven't bothered to do anything since.

I have seven or eight Regal-Zs and broken bail springs never prevent me from fishing or having the drag operate properly, they just won't close the bail with the crank. I've fished a lot with broken bail springs, but this reel is the only one that closes the bail on the cast and that just started a week ago; there was no problem during the last couple of years.

Thanks again for all the replies.

[.RM.]

Marty,

weeks after I got the reel the bail would no longer close via cranking. The spring was replaced and again failed within weeks. That's why I haven't bothered to do anything since.

Not being able to close the bail via cranking, is not just a result of a broken bail spring. It can also be a result of a few different things.

1. To much tension on the bail arm pivot points (bent bail wire, causing the bail arms to be out of square on the pivot points and binding)..

This is what I think was originally wrong with your reel. Especially when you made mention of bank fishing. Many times a bank angler will set the combo down in a manner which will cause the bail wire to get bent sightly out of tune, and cause the binding of the pivot points...

2. The return kicker (located on the back side of the rotor) this piece can get gummed up easily and doesn't work freely enough to help kick the bail arm over a certain degree mark, just before the main bail spring take over with the final push to close.

FYI: On the front of the main body just under the rotor, there is a ramp. This ramp helps kick the return lever which in-turn pushes the bail spring forward, which pushes the main bail arm over.

3. The ramp under the rotor on the body has a grove in it and the ramp isn't assisting the return kick lever in it's job or the return lever has been worn down enough as to not get enough help from the ramp. The ramp is basically the start of the auto closer for the bail.

Just my .02¢

But the main answer for the bail closing on cast is as stated before.. Like GW and Avid mentioned, not opening the bail properly and snap casting the rod will cause the bail to snap shut prematurely.

Good Luck & Tight Lines!!!!

[Marty]

RM,

I'm not very good mechanically and I don't know many of the reel parts you mentioned. I can't change bail springs on the reel in question, but there are a couple of models that I can change them, thanks to the kindness of a Daiwa service tech in California who was kind enough to draw a sketch, write instructions and mail it to me.

On these reels (the old "BL" and "T" series), when the spring breaks the bail opens without proper tension and it won't close with the crank, but both are corrected when I replace the spring.

On the reel which generated this thread, it has been doing better since I started to avoid snap casts.

Thanks again.

[Tony Illiano]

after i open the bail on my spinning reel, it won't stay in the open or up position, it won't lock for you to cast your line. this just happened

[Tony Illiano]

okay

[WRB]

No problem just start up a new thread and add the reel model to get some help.

Tom