baitcasting rant..

[I.rar]

i dont know what my problem was today , but every other cast was a birdsnest. it was a bit windy which didnt exactly help but it was super frustrating. also , the fact that we didnt even get a single bite didnt help either. i kept telling myself that my citica/compre combo will be up for sale and ill just go strictly spinning. shoot , they are cheaper and nests are not a problem with them , but i do like the control of the BC.  :-/

has anyone else felt this way?

[firefightn15]

Happened to my nephew earlier in the year.  He got so mad in the end that there wasn't anything left to do but laugh.  And laugh we did.

[5bass]

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] five.bass.limit.

[I.rar]

Happened to my nephew earlier in the year. He got so mad in the end that there wasn't anything left to do but laugh. And laugh we did.

i laughed about it too , but it was very frustrating at the same time.

my combo may be up for trades in the flea market soon..

[Big Tom]

How long have you been baitcasting?

What were you throwing?

[fishfordollars]

NO.

[kms399]

do not sell the combo! my first baitcaster aggrivated the crap out of me i finally put it away for a couple weeks and then gave it a go and some how it clicked and i figured out how it works. i now prefer them to spinning reels. how do you have the brakes in the citica set up, if you are getting backlashes then add more brakes if that doesn't work tighten the tension knob a bit. and also dont try to cast really hard. my brother always does that. he swings for the fences and backlashes. hope that helps.

[I.rar]

i have two of the brakes on, the way they have always been. tension knob was tighter than i usually have it too. i was throwing flukes and 5" trick sticks.

i find that i kinda force the cast but i never had this many in one outing before. usually its only one mild birds nest per outing since ive only had it since feb.

meh.

[Hammer 4]

When in the cast waas the birdsnest happening..?

If it was during the first part of the cast, add 2 more brakes/pins.

If it was at the end of the cast, your thumb needs more work..lol

Also, if you try and be real , what I call Wristy, i.e. snap your wrist hard, a overrun is more likely to occur. Just my 3 cents, but I'd add the 2 brakes, and practice throwing a 1/2 or 3/8 oz plug in your yard for awhile, as the plug begins to decend, strat feathering the spool with your thumb, same as you would with a lure on the end, feather/stop the line before the lure hits the water. Once you can do this with regularity, it's time to go back to fishing.

I recomend that you not try to cast a country mile at first, but try to be accurate, then as you gain confidence, try castin a tad further, you may need to loosen the spool friction knob or tighten, experiment to see what works best. also as you become more better, take the 2 brakes back off..It'll take time, but it's worth the practice.

[RippinLips86]

Ive been throwing a BC since i was 11yo now 23 and The only thing I've gotten better at is getting out birds nests. I was surf fishing the other day i must have spent 20min getting a birds nest out. Its all about how much you really want to throw them and the level of patients you have  

[grimlin]

I notice when I break in a new reel,the spool starts spinning faster than usual.If you were't having problems before and now you are might be a good idea to put on 3 on and 3 off for the brakes.All my centrifugal brake system reels are set like that.I rarely touch them.

Another thing that comes to mind is line.The limper that line is the better it'll cast.If that line gained some kind of memory from not using it much,it can make a big,big difference.This is why i can't cast fluorocarbon for nothing,it's stiffer and i backlash just about every time on it. You need a limp line to learn with before you start getting into any other hardcore lines.Using KVD line and lure conditioner or Reel magic may help you.

I still can't cast anything under 1/4oz of weight pending on what I'm trying to cast as well. Weightless plastics? I can't cast them with BC either...All of that goes on my spinning rigs.

[mrlitetackle]

stick with spinners, and be happy

most will disagree,

but i cant stand BC's myself...

[whittler]

Another backlash post, I'm probably going to step on a few toes but here goes.

Like Chris my father started me on a bc at age 11, but unlike Chris I'm 69 now. Pflueger Nobby reel and a True Temper tapered square steel rod. A Pflueger Nobby has no free spool(direct drive), no drag, no ball bearings and no magnets. Complaints to me about backlashes usually just draws a grin, make that big grin. Practice is the key and when you practice  casting you will indeed get plenty of practice picking backlashes.

I really beleive that if most would simply learn to rely on their thumbs instead of adjusting gadgets, buttons and dials a lot of problems with baitcasters would go away. The worst of the modern baitcasters are head and shoulders better than anything out there 50 years ago.

Did I mention Practice?

[grimlin]

Another backlash post, I'm probably going to step on a few toes but here goes.

Like Chris my father started me on a bc at age 11, but unlike Chris I'm 69 now. Pflueger Nobby reel and a True Temper tapered square steel rod. A Pflueger Nobby has no free spool(direct drive), no drag, no ball bearings and no magnets. Complaints to me about backlashes usually just draws a grin, make that big grin. Practice is the key and when you practice casting you will indeed get plenty of practice picking backlashes.

I really beleive that if most would simply learn to rely on their thumbs instead of adjusting gadgets, buttons and dials a lot of problems with baitcasters would go away. The worst of the modern baitcasters are head and shoulders better than anything out there 50 years ago.

Did I mention Practice?

That post almost completely made me want to toss my baitcasters and say the heck with it. I feel entirely retarded now......It also made me realize how much i love my spinning reels... ;D

[islandbass]

The short answer is no.  

Man that has got to be terrible, but in the end all birdsnests are angler induced, so the reel can't be blamed... And that can be irksome.  

[I.rar]

what i just realized , is that i did oil it for the first time since i bought it used. boy , was that spool spinning. it was mid flight when the nest would occur. the first nest took me about 5 minutes. the last one took me about 30 seconds to get out.

i have tried with 3 and 4 brakes and i could not get the distance i wanted. i mean , i have had it since feb , so im familiar with it but today was just one of those days i guess.

i did find a frog colored rapala skitter pop that someone had got snagged.  

[rubba bubba]

Sell it and get a Revo.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. You are throwing fairly light baits which aren't the easiest to learn on, however it now makes you much better at throwing heavier weights which are easier. It's like any sport - sometimes you can't hit the broad side of a barn - but it really is just a matter of practice. I wouldn't give up on them but if it's making fishing miserable, eventually if you don't improve you'll need to make a decision.

If it's performing differently after you made a change (oil), then you'll need to re-educate your thumb to that change.  You'll need to thumb more during the middle of the cast now.  It'll be less needed when you throw a heavier bait.

[I.rar]

both baits i was throwing with a 1/8 oz bullet weight.

i have thrown 1/4oz wild eye somethings without any problems before. i may have lost my touch. i love the rod and the reel , but it seems im focusing more on my technique than i am fishing. i will give it more time before i decide on what i want to do (unless someone has a cardinal 800 series and a rod to match lol). just frustrated is all...

[Red]

both baits i was throwing with a 1/8 oz bullet weight.

i have thrown 1/4oz wild eye somethings without any problems before. i may have lost my touch. i love the rod and the reel , but it seems im focusing more on my technique than i am fishing. i will give it more time before i decide on what i want to do (unless someone has a cardinal 800 series and a rod to match lol). just frustrated is all...

I have an 802...... ;D

[I.rar]

I have an 802...... ;D

lol...

how much you want for it?

[Red]

PM sent   ;D

[I.rar]

replied.  ;D

man , im tired of it. they will be up for sale / trade tomorrow.

ill give casting another shot at a later time. i need to concentrate on my presentations more rather than my casting techniques , lol.

[NewAngler]

Funny you mention the cardinal. I just found one in my garage. Paired with a berkely lightning rod.5'6" light.

I think its a crappy cardinal 130MX or something, but I didn't know I had it. I'm gonna test it out in the morning.

[sweet daddy]

Before you sell your combo take it out in your yard, or some other open space and try this little trick. On a six pin/ vbs reel push in two weights toward the spool and adjust the tension to where the lure barley falls when you push the thumb bar down. Your first cast should be an overhead cast using just your elbows, don't put your back, or shoulders into it just use your elbows. Try a sidearm using just your wrist's. I know a nest will kill your attitude, I nest one up at least once a week, most of the time I can pick it out but I still have catastrophic ones that need the scissors. Don't give up now, just slow down.

[I.rar]

Before you sell your combo take it out in your yard, or some other open space and try this little trick. On a six pin/ vbs reel push in two weights toward the spool and adjust the tension to where the lure barley falls when you push the thumb bar down. Your first cast should be an overhead cast using just your elbows, don't put your back, or shoulders into it just use your elbows. Try a sidearm using just your wrist's. I know a nest will kill your attitude, I nest one up at least once a week, most of the time I can pick it out but I still have catastrophic ones that need the scissors. Don't give up now, just slow down.

ive spend many hours in the backyard with buckets and such placed all around. i was pretty accurate , but i really dont use any techniques that i couldnt used with a spinning reel. i find it just as easy to stop the lure in midair than i do with casting. feathering is a different story.

well baitcasters are not going anywhere , so ill probably pick up a caster at a later time and give it another go.