Baitcaster NooB! HELP!

[JustinFromPA]

Ok guys, be gentle. LOL. Anyways, I picked up the Abu Revo SC from Cabelas. Couldnt resist the price along with the great reviews.

It was at my door when I got home so I had to try it out. I put it on my uglystick and spooled with 14lb Stren Duratuf. Reel looked real nice, until I started making casts. ;D Before I started I tied on a practice plug and went at it in the front yard. WOW! talk about a mess at my thumb :-/ So I reeled in and tried again. Same thing. As I cast, Im lightly applying pressure with my thumb to control the barrel. Did that about 20 times and called it a day. The line is reeled in, but is a tangled bad under what I reeled in last. Is there anything I can do with what I have now?

I need some help learning to use this thing. :)

TIA

[jeremyt]

look under fishing rods reels and lines, there are some other posts there similar to yours and good luck with it.

[LakeAnnaBasser]

once you get it down you will love baitcasters

[JustinFromPA]

Once I read that and adjusted the reel some I noticed a 100% improvement. Still got the occasional rats nest, but it seems to have helped drastically. My next question is accuracy of the cast. It seems like the majority of my casts are going way left. Seems like I have to release the spool very early compared to the spinning reel.

[.dsaavedra.]

once you get it down you will love baitcasters

x2!!! its tough at first but once you get it down its so much better than spinning gear.

and you are absolutely correct, you do have to release the spool much earlier than on spinning gear!

[shortbasser]

That rats nest you have under the good portion of line is going to cause you problems. Also make sure the spool is full. I know there was a pamphlet/booklet in that box with the reel. It has good info on how it functions and how to set it up also.

Learn to cast with your wrist and forearm. There is no reason to be extending your arm from the shoulder to cast. That just causes you to lose accuracy and of course here comes another backlash. Hold your elbow against your ribs.

Practice and patience are keys to learning to use a baitcaster and you won't be needing all that spinning gear once you get it down.

I happen to have 3 of the Revo STX's and I love them. You might also look into some line conditioner. I use KVD's brand and it will help with the backlash problem. Hang in there and remember to adjust your settings when you change lures. You will get it just like the rest of us. We were all rookies once ourselves.

Shortbasser

[armesjr]

You have to pick out the birdnests before you start to reel in.   It just takes a lot of practice to get good, and even then your still going to have an ocassional bird nest.  

[pathfndr2]

Having just started using a baitcaster  last year I can understand where you are coming from.    Yep, first thing I did was cast low and to the left.  Had to release waaaaaaaaay before I thought I should.   Basically I just started making easy shorter range casts and increased it a little as it felt comfortable to.  

  Ratsnests make kinks in mono then the kink can make subsequent casts more apt to backlash.   My solution when I started was to use Stren Superbraid.  No kinks to complicate things.  

  Reading how to set up the reel was a lot of help but basically is a starting point.  Lots of practice is about the only way I could improve my casting ability.

  I started practicing with just a bank sinker tied on the end of the line.  Quick found out that when I went to something that was less aerodynamic and/or lighter that things changed.   I went to using just a 4" senko on a hook.   That seemed to be the best practice set up for me.   Then there is wind, don't want to talk about that  .

  Hang in there.   It can only get better.

 

[JaseOne]

Practice man.  I got a baitcaster a little while ago and it frustrated the crap out of me.  I had to "warm up" with a kastmaster (with a removed hook) before I started fishing. You could cast out a good distance with some weight and put a piece of tape on the spool before reeling in.  that way if you birdsnest, you only mess up the length that you casted out. I have to admit that I haven't been practicing with my bc as much as I should but its because I usually throw weightless plastics with my spinning outfit.  The smallest I go with the bc is a 5-inch senko But I don't have a low profile bc like the revo.  I have a 5501c3.  I am going to get a stronger rod and use it for catfish.  They are fun though.

[islandbass]

Once I read that and adjusted the reel some I noticed a 100% improvement. Still got the occasional rats nest, but it seems to have helped drastically. My next question is accuracy of the cast. It seems like the majority of my casts are going way left. Seems like I have to release the spool very early compared to the spinning reel.

Fortunately, that is a very simple problem to solve. Your description tells me you are practicing wtih a side arm cast. The reason that your lure or weight is flying to the left is because your thumb is letting go of the spool too late. Unlike the release of the forefinger on a spinning rod on the cast, the release time of the thumb on the spool of a baitcast reel is earlier.

At least you didn't make an overhand cast. That same release time would make the lure smack into the ground right in front of you and you'd be staring at your spool like a deer in the headlights.  ;D

You will need to reprogram your mind and hand to let your thumb go much earlier than is comfortable for you at this point, but rest assured you will adjust.

I will also recommend that you work on the overhand cast.  Imagining a clock with 12 o'clock directly overhead and 3 o'clock behind you, try to have your thumb let go at 1 o'clock. Trust me. It might seem too late, but it is not.  Casting side arm makes it a bit more odd to imagine the clock.

One last thing with the overhand cast. You will find it much easier to position your rod and reel in a position in which the crank on a lh reel points toward the ground and points skyward on a rh reel before the cast.

The bottom line with a baitcast reel is this: BEFORE the lure hits anything, be it the water's surface, the ground, a shrub or tree, your thumb MUST STOP the spool from spinning either by feathering it to a stop or stopping it DEAD COLD. Given a properly set reel for the given weight and non windy conditions, you should not even manage a loop of overrun.

Take it from me. I took my nephew and brother in law salmon fishing for the first time ever yesterday and the rig they shared had a baitcaster (301A Cardiff) mated to an 8'6" salmon/steelhead rod. It didn't dawn on me untili we arrived on site that neither has ever even used let alone held a bc reel. Yet, all I told them was what I wrote here and they managed only one bird's nest each in 2.5 hours of real fishing and not practice casting. Talk about trial by fire.  

Good luck! I sure wouldn't mind adding one of those reels to my arsenal. Congrats!

-ib

[ra24515]

same boat as you, i was at BPS yesturday at MD and i got the BPS special tourny baitcasting outfit (i missed the 30 dollar special btw )

im doing pretty good infact by reading articles mentioned above.  One thing to keep in mind, please adjust your reel each time you change your lure!

I funnily (funny + ly = funnily LOL) hooked a frog yesturday and then i decided to cast it out without re-adjusting, ended up with the biggest backlash of the day!  Wanted to use the frog >_<  i let it go to fix it and some huge brown fish jumped up and ate it i think!

anyway good luck, i'll be needing my luck too

[ILfisherman]

Remember to have a light touch and train your thumbs guys. Also, keep the reel sideways at all time when casting...it doesnt matter if its a straight up overhand cast, sidearm cast, backhand, or even 45 degree angle cast. Just keep the reel sideways and add a little snap to your cast, guaranteed fun and backlash free once you learn to use your thumb properly. AND ALSO DONT FORGET TO ADJUST YOUR SPOOL TENSION KNOB FOR EACH LURE!!!!

[ra24515]

yes sir!

i am doing pretty good now.  Before i got my baitcaster, my spinning rod sucked.  My lil bro always casted further than me with his spinning outfit.  But rite now i can cast with 10 feet from his cast!  I cant' wait till i reduce the amount of brakes on the reel.

Btw, are there other casting methods used with the baitcaster?  I noticed the guide linked talked about the overhead casting.  How about side casting?  let's get specific LOL what angle?  ;D

[ILfisherman]

Any angle...lol, just make sure the reel is sideways and you give your cast a bit of a snap for accuracy and to prevent backlash.