Baitcaster Question

[Ron G]

Re: Baitcaster Question

Im going all shimano,i use mono and power pro line it all depeands were im fishing and what kind of structure,water clarity and so on,the only way your going to learn is in the backyard,after hrs or practice,then go to the lake,if go to the lake without practiceing youll speand all your time picking backlashes or respooling line.one more thing when you cast turn your reel at a 90* or were the handles are facing the ground it'll elimate alot of the backlash.happy casting.

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Baitcaster Question

I was just fishing with my son. He uses all spinning stuff and I use baitcasters. With left hand crank. <br /><br />My son tried mine and siad he could never get used to reeling with his left hand. I just looked at him and asked -- what hand do you reel with on your spinner? His reply -- my right! My reply -- no you dont, you reel with your left hand. He actually had to look down at his stuff and then he couldnt believe what he was looking at.<br /><br />It just makes sence to me. A right handed person is (generally) stronger in the right arm. The stronger arm should be the one you fight the fish with, not work the reel with. Plus the whole cast / switching thing is a pain.<br /><br />The exact same thing happened to me when I bought my Shimano 201DC. The shop had a 200Dc in stock. The guy tried his best to convince me I was making a mistake by ordering the 201 (left hand version). We had the same conversation about which hand does a right handed person reel with on a spinning outfit -- and he said their right hand. I told him to turn around and show me a spinning reel that didnt wind with the left hand.<br /><br />Amazing!

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Baitcaster Question

Oh -- and as far as the backlash thing goes, we spent 3 days fishing and I never backlashed either my 201DC or the 151. However, my son knotted up his line on his spinner (all brand new -- Christmas gift) and our buddy Smitty knotted up lines on 2 different spinners.<br /><br />Go figure........

 

[jtexas]

Re: Baitcaster Question

Originally posted by koolerb:<br /> I've got a Daiwa Advantage reel, and a Medium action, 6ft Ugly Stick on the way. If I'm lucky they'll show up Thursday. If I'm not, UPS will break the pole, loose the reel, and I won't see anything until mid January. Thanks for all the advice.

I'm a big fan of Daiwa reels, koolerb, I think that Advantage is going to work well for you. <br /><br />Two adjustments on that reel, the spool tension knob on the right (same side as the crank handle), and the magnetic backlash control on the left. <br /><br />Start out with the spool tension adjusted to where your lure will drop s-l-o-w-l-y when you push the thumb bar, and the mag control set to 10 (highest setting). As you get accustomed to it, ease out on the spool tension knob until the spool spins freely.<br /><br />Eventually you'll have the mag backlash control set pretty light unless your casting into the wind or with a very light lure.<br /><br />Don't get too discouraged if you get birdsnests...once you get the hang of it I bet you'll love it.<br /><br />and don't forget to post pics of your fish!

 

[LubeDude]

Re: Baitcaster Question

Originally posted by LubeDude:<br /> You will find that you should Palm your real so you will have to move your hand after casting no matter what. You dont hold the rod the same while retreiving with a baitcaster. They are actually designed to be held in the palm of your hand with your thumb on top.

So, no matter which hand you retreive with or hold the pole rod combination you are going to have to reposition your hands.

 

[wannagofishin]

Re: Baitcaster Question

I have to agree with the guys who are telling you to use mono first. When, not if, you get a bird's nest, it'll be easier to get it out. Don't use cheap line though, you want something without much memory and limber enough to cast lighter tackle. Braided line is a bite in the a** to try to get fixed sometimes and if it digs in too deep, you'll cut it out before you can straighten it out. Pretty expensive lessons. <br /><br />Everyone gets backlashes. The people who fish for money call them "professional overruns." It mostly happens when your lure stops before you stop the spool from spinning. Inertia keeps the spool spinning, but the lure stops carrying the line. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE LURE! Just as it's about to hit the water (or the tree branch that jumped out in front of it) stop the spool with your thumb.<br /><br />The other stuff these guys have said about the spool tensioner and magnets are correct. You won't be able to cast as far at first but GRADUALLY loosening the tensioner as you get better will allow for longer casts.

 

[phantoms]

Re: Baitcaster Question

I've got tons of birdnest under me learning to use a baitcaster, but I stuck with it and would rather use it than anything else. My current favorite is a Quantum Cabo30 PTs, made for inshore/nearshore saltwater fishing. It's loaded with PP50 and the only advise I can give you if you do decided to start off with braid, is load it very tight. This means keep a lot of tension on it when you first spool it. If you don't, then backlashes will dig in deep and you'll spend more time untangling/cutting/cussing than fishing. Eventually you'll get the hang of it and backlashes will become fewer and further between. Good luck with the new setup.

 

[koolerb]

Re: Baitcaster Question

Everything showed up today. The documentation from Daiwa is sparse. Not too much info in there so I appreciate all you guys throwing in your two cents. It will definitely shorten the learning curve.

 

[phantoms]

Re: Baitcaster Question

koolerb, try going to The FUNdamentals of fishing baitcaster page. It gives some good info on learning to use a baitcaster. The rest of the site also gives some good basic info on fishing.

 

[koolerb]

Re: Baitcaster Question

Finally got out today for about an hour to try out the new combo. The Daiwa reel is really nice, I'm happy with it. The Ugly Stick is so so. For line I ended up going with 20 lb braided (Power Pro) with a mono leader. I re-read all the posts and the baitcasting link before I went out. Practiced for about an hour at the lake. (it’s not frozen any more) Side arm came easier than overhead for some reason. I only got one really nasty birds nest; very last cast when I backed the anti backlash knob down to two and flung the thing as hard as I could. I think the spool got going faster than lure and that was that. About every fifth cast or so I had to stop after the cast and pull about ten extra feet of line off the spool and re-wind it because the line would start to loosen on the spool. All in all it went pretty smooth. A few hundred more casts between now and spring and I may even be able to fish with the thing. Thanks again for all the helpful advice and information.

 

[phantoms]

Re: Baitcaster Question

Don't let those birdsnest discourage you. You'll get some nasty ones before it's over with, but in the end you'll be happy you stuck with it. I use to cast much better side arm than overhead when I first started with a biatcaster, but now it's no difference. Depends on where I'm casting to as to how I cast.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Baitcaster Question

I almost never use overhand casts anymore (except for sheer distance when accuracy don't matter)...sidearm, and even underhanded for short casts (if you're standing & have enough freeboard to flip it out there), especially with a freespooling reel like that TDA.<br /><br />But here's some good advice...if you're going to be casting into a stiff wind, put down the baitcaster & pick up a spinning rod.<br /><br />Oh, you should put a mono backing under the braid or else it might start slipping around the spool. Just a few turns to make a couple layers.<br /><br />The power pro braid will not wear out but it will lose it's color. When that happens, you can re-color it with a magic marker, just cut a slit in the tip & run the last 10 or 15 feet of line through it. Or, spool it onto another reel, so that the inside end of the line is now on the outside, then replace it with new.<br /><br />I don't use a leader with mine, but I'm reconsidering. When the bite is on it doesn't make a difference, but I'm starting to think that when they're finicky it might. Of course I've got 30lb on one and 50 on another...the 20lb is pretty dam small.<br /><br />You can definately break a rod with that line (maybe not an ugly stick); if you get snagged you want to pull directly on the line but wrap it around a screwdriver handle or something first - it will cut ya.