help me choose a reel

I am having trouble deciding my reel choices.
I have used spincasting most my life, with a few spinning reels thrown in.
I am looking at getting a little heavier setup when trolling out on the lake. I have a berkley medium heavy 10-15lb rod, and I am torn between a baitcast reel and another spincast reel. I worry about the backlash spoke of with baitcast reels, I admit I really do not understand what it is but dont want trouble on the lake (reason I use spincast). I am looking at the zebco omega, a little pricey but seems to be a good reel, and the zebco delta seems also to be a good reel. as well as the zebco platinum 33, or shakespeare titanium ti14.. I know the omega is the best of those mentioned but how much is it worth the extra bucks ? and what about baitcasting ????

Re: help me choose a reel

i like bait casters for catfishing. most of them have a free spool switch with clickers. lets me hear a big cat taking the bait when using cut bait. bait casters are slightly faster on the repeat cast than spinning reels. thats why they dominate in fishing tournaments. more casts equal more chances to catch a fish and more water covered in a shorter period of time. if speed of follow up casting is not an issue stick with spinning reels or closed face reels.

a lot of bait casters you cannot switch sides on the crank. some do some dont. they are difficult to learn to use. when people speak of backlash that is when the line stops going out but hte reel spindle keeps spinning rolling line in the reel casing without going anywhere. usually it leads to taking out a pair of scisors and cutting the line out of the reel and then restinging it. the result is what looks like a bird's nest of line all tangled around itself. with bait casters when you change baits you have to readjust the reel to the new bait weight.

once you learn to use one they are efficient and easy to use. just use cheap line and keep plenty on hand until you learn to use it.

personally i think zebco are junk nowadays. used to be decent but they have gone way downhill in the last decade or two.

Re: help me choose a reel

I would use a baitcaster. Since you're trolling, you can avoid backlash by just letting your line out instead of casting. If you don't want to do that, I would go with a spinning setup. Spincasts are great for certain things, but I don't like them if I'm catching larger fish because they put more friction on the line and they typically don't have very good drags. Plus I think the other reels are easier to use once you get used to them and you can cast further with them.

If you've never used a baitcaster before, you should practice before going to the lake. You can eliminate most backlashes by tightening the tension on the spool, but the more you tighten it, the shorter your casts will be (assuming no backlash). The trick I've always used to set the spool tension is to hold the rod level with the setup you're going to cast (including any bait) and press the release. The line should pull out until it hits the ground, and then the spool should stop turning. Since you're new, you should probably tighten it just a little bit tighter. The better you get, the looser you can set the tension. Unless you do something totally wrong (like have the tension too loose or you hit something with your cast or catch something over your shoulder before the cast) most backlashes will just pull out by pulling several feet of line off the reel.

It took me several years to get to where I could cast a baitcaster well, and I'm still probably not as good as most. I slowly replaced my spinning setups with baitcasters while I was learning, but I still use spinning some as well. Even the most experienced baitcaster users get a backlash every once in a while.

Re: help me choose a reel

I have 12 spinning setups, one baitcaster, and one trolling. I don't function well with the reel on the right- my baitcaster is a "lefty"

My trolling reel is a big and bulky and is loaded with leadcore. I seem to be able to handle the reel on the right for some reason on that rod. Maybe the weight cues up my mind? Dunno.

I said all that to say that a smaller trolling reel with a clicker is probably what you need. That is a casting style reel and you just pay out the line instead of casting anyway. But the clicker makes salmon and trout fishing easier- you don't have to hold on to it constantly or look at it like a spinning reel. That is what I have found to be good. Get a small trolling reel with a line counter and clicker and your life will change.