Is it possible to use nothing but baitcast gear for everything??

[The Rooster]

Would it be possible to use nothing but baitcast gear for every lure I use, even just a Zoom U-tale worm on a 3/0 EWG hook, or even on a Rapala 07 floating minnow?? I'm talking some super light weight lures here, even a 1/8 oz. Roostertail.

I use the BPS Extreme reel and they offer so many different versions of it, even a finesse model, plus the way it casts it makes me think that I could put any size lure on it and get away with it if the reel was set up properly and had small enough pound test line on it. Like 10# or even 8# (that's as low as I'd go). I'd love it if I could get one of those finesse reels and pair it with a 6' or 6'6" medium light rod and cast 1/8 oz. lures and weightless worms and the like. I'd for sure use it on the shakey head worm rigged on the 1/8 oz. Ikey Head Ike Spike.

[roadwarrior]

Well, sure it's "possible" and we have several members who do just that,

but it will be challenging and equipment comes into play, bigtime. I think

most people are much better suited using spinning tackle to fish light lures.

8-)

[Muddy]

Yes you can, I have dedicated the last 2 years to mostly getting my baitcasting skills to where I am confident with them. I keep a 2 piece spiining rod behind my truck seat, for fishing ponds that have to be walked too or are in a series of ponds and pits we fish along a couple of farm roads.

 This weekend I went to the river for smallies and from shore spinning definitely has it's advantages so I keep one good spinning outfit.

[adclem]

I tried this and it is very difficult as RW pointed out.  I throw everything with a BC except little light weight lures.  I have a spinning reel that I use for those light weight lures and it makes things a lot easier.

But that is just my preferences.

Later.

[fishfordollars]

I do 95% of my fishing with a baitcaster. When I dropshot I use a 7' Speck rod and fish it with 6-8lb line. Very seldom do I break off. The Speck rod is a med. wt. rod that allows me to fish this way without breaking off on the hookset. No problems casting the light stuff with my Curados or Revos. At this moment both spinning outfits are loaded with braid.

[The Rooster]

So I guess I really won't know if I can do this until I just try it.  I just wondered cause I'm going to more or less replace all my rods with Shimano Compres for casters and I was going to get at least one Clarus for a spinning rod and put a Pflueger President reel on it but I thought if I could get another casting reel and get a Compre in the medium light then I could skip the Clarus and just use that instead.

[fathom]

sold both spinners (sjr781 and sjr782) early last year and have yet to miss either one...at least, for bass.

wind will be your biggest challenge...on windy days, i just substitute the rc .5 or pointer 65 for the #7 rapala and add a sampo swivel to the 1/8 roostertail...cutting off the stock hook on the roostertail and adding a #6 or even a #4 works as well.

bumping the back hook up one size on the #7 rapala and #5 shadrap can also make a huge difference in casting without affecting retrieve.

a little bit of modification can make almost any 1/8 bait into a 3/16 bait without affecting performance and 3/16 is do-able with almost any good ml or l out there.

[The Rooster]

Cool, I hadn't thought of any of that.  The medium light rod I was considering for this says it will handle 1/8 ounce lures, I just didn't know if the reel would throw them.

In changing the hooks around like that, doesn't that change the action of the bait??  Like on the Rapala, wouldn't putting a larger hook on the back make it float nose up instead of horizontally??

[NBR]

Yes it is possible. You can drive a carpet tack with a sledge hammer but there are better ways. While I much prefer bait caster there are  some presentations better suited to spinning gear. First to my mind is a lure less than 1/8 ounce and the second is skipping.

[The Rooster]

Yeah I've already been thinking about how I'd skip under docks.  I don't have any docks on my lakes here but I do fish one with my brother in law that has docks all over the place.  It won't be an issue much but it would then.  I probably won't do this but it was just a thought.  

[Catt]

It absolutely can with ease  

I do not own a spinning reel & can cast any lure I want with my Shimano Calcutta 50 down to a wacky rigged trick worm, weightless baby/tiny flukes, tiny beetle spins.

[dodgeguy]

it is good to have at least 1 spinning rod.

[Jig Man]

I have never seen anyone fish FnF with a baitcaster.  I might even pay to see it. ;D

[SHIMANOFAN]

I won't say it's not possible but if you watch the pros almost all of them have at least one if not several light to medium spinning set-ups on their boat. They have one of the Elite series tournaments about a mile from my house and I check it out everyday. Last year KVD let me get in his boat and check it out and he had three spinning set-ups and that spoke volumes to me about their usefulness.Just as a side note he was demonstrating some casting techniques to a group of kids in the crowd and was casting a 1/8 oz. crank about 60 ft. or so on a casting set-up so if he keeps a spinner for finesse rigs in his boat that's good enough for me.

[fathom]

Cool, I hadn't thought of any of that. The medium light rod I was considering for this says it will handle 1/8 ounce lures, I just didn't know if the reel would throw them.

In changing the hooks around like that, doesn't that change the action of the bait?? Like on the Rapala, wouldn't putting a larger hook on the back make it float nose up instead of horizontally??

not saying it ain't gonna change but, will say it ain't gonna change as much as one would think...bumping the back hook up to a #6 on the rapala will make it rest almost horizontally instead of horizontally...it doesn't affect the retrieve, imo.

[The Rooster]

Well, since I have a fairly wild baitmonkey then if the money becomes available I'll probably grab one of the finesse model of reels and give it a go. If I end up not liking it, I can just send it back and exchange it for a regular sized one just like it and have one more reel for my arsenal.

If I try this, should I get a finesse sized baitcaster or could I just spool up some 8 lb. on a reel that is rated 12 lb./120 yd.?? I'm thinking the smaller spool would be better for smaller line.  They have one that holds 10 lb./100 yd. of line, the ETX05HB.

[HogHunter]

I have the bps pro lite finesse. I bought it with the intention of replacing one of my spinning setups. I've been better off keeping the spinning gear for light weight baits, skipping and casting into the wind. If you do go with a finesse reel i bet you will be surprised how well it will cast heavier lures as well.

[Raul]

Is it possible to use nothing but baitcast gear for everything??

Yes, if you have the right rod the right line and most importantly, the right reel for it.

I can cast ( and have no idea how much it weights ) a 4 inch grub n 'hook 40 ft away without much effort with a Chronarch Mg spooled with 10 lbs test on my CR722, now, if you want to "save" ( yeah right, "save" is a term the BaitMonkey uses to describe something you don 't have to pay full retail price, I "saved" 600 dollars when I purchased 4 TDZs, instead pf paying $1,400 I paid $800  : ) I know the Curado 100D can do the same ( which you can find at a very good price now they are discontinued ).

[SimonSays]

i toss most everything with BC gear minus the 1/2/3 in grubs for smallies and pan fish.  

The one thing I carry a spinning rod/reel is for skipping.  

[TournyFish001]

Last year a non-boater that drew me had baitcasting only with heavy weights and line, I had a few spots that the fish only wanted a super light shakey head worm- put it this way he was skrewed- after not getting bit half the day he put on the same bait as I did and could only cast 15ft if it was not a rat nest. Always have a spinning rod with you- I have many many set-ups baitcasting and spinning, if I were only allowed to bring one rod it would indeed be a spinning outfit. I realize not everyone fishes tournaments- the example covers bass fishing in general.

[Raul]

Last year a non-boater that drew me had baitcasting only with heavy weights and line, I had a few spots that the fish only wanted a super light shakey head worm- put it this way he was skrewed- after not getting bit half the day he put on the same bait as I did and could only cast 15ft if it was not a rat nest. Always have a spinning rod with you- I have many many set-ups baitcasting and spinning, if I were only allowed to bring one rod it would indeed be a spinning outfit. I realize not everyone fishes tournaments- the example covers bass fishing in general.

That 's the point, it can be done ........... with the proper equipment ( rod, line, reel ). I don 't fish tournaments, I 'm a weekend warrior, if the case calls for it I can fish all day long the better part of my baits with one rod, one reel and 10 lb test line. A case would be like me going on foot patrol every week ( even though I have a boat I can 't always fish from it ).

[Chris at Tech]

Can it be done?  Yes.

But I think you'd need to spend more $$$ to get a baitcasting rig that would toss the really light stuff well.  Something a spinning rig can do for much less money

The baitcasting reels known for their ability to perform well with light baits:

Chronarch Mg

Curado 100

Daiwa Alpha/Pixy

Calcutta

None of these are at the low end of the price spectrum.  Meanwhile, you can get any number of spinning reels to do this, and do it very well, for as little as $50.

[The Rooster]

I can cast ( and have no idea how much it weights ) a 4 inch grub n 'hook 40 ft away without much effort with a Chronarch Mg spooled with 10 lbs test on my CR722

This has got me thinking about what my reel is capable of doing. I'm going to do an experiment with the reel I already have here. It's the BPS Extreme ETX10HC (5 bearing model, technically inferior to the new 7 bearing version, of which incidentally I just ordered one of, the ETX10HD). I have it spooled up with a fresh roll of Berkley Vanish Transitions fluorocarbon in the 14 lb. test. I'll rig up several lures with it and cast them in my back yard and record what weight lures I'm able to throw and how far they go, windy or not windy, and all that and then post it here. I saw a list a few posts back of some high dollar reels that are supposed to be able to throw very light baits. I'm not expecting great results with heavy line like I have on there but we'll see if there's any chance that my $80 BPS reel can play ball with the big boys in a day or so. It'll take me that long to get time to do it........keep watching for my review!!

[Simp]

I bought a couple spools of vanish as well to try out. I've used it some and so far so good. One thing when using it I did decide to change is what knot I use from now on period. I was always a improved clinch knot and Trilene guy but I was getting tired of these knots after learning the Uni Knot when I went to braid. With the improved clinch knot and the Trilene knot, I just lost some baits and fish once in a while because of the knot. Now maybe that's my fault for not tieing the greatest knot with it, but I know when I went to braid for my frog set up the Uni KNot NEVER let me down. I'm talking hauling 5-7lb bass threw grass mats so thick I had to support my 7ft MH rod half way up when pulling. Then after having some more bad experiences with the improved clinch knot and the Trilene knot on mono and Fluro I've moved to the Uni Knot for everything. I can already tell the difference when I'm snagged in grass with a Rattle Trap. The downside for Fluro with this is you have to be careful and wet the knot, because you cinch the knot twice so you have twice the chance to generate heat so be careful. Even with that said I think it's the best knot for Vanish and any slippage problem for me is long gone. Just remember to spit on the line and not go crazy fast when you cinch the knot each time.

[bighed]

What Raul said.

I've come to hate spinners for the line twist and rarely use one for bass fishing. Not much that can't be cast on the TDZ's with the right line and rod. The Stella 8K and 20K with braid works great on the tuna though.