Baitcasters Brake...what is is for?

[forrest]

This part can be skipped:This part is my question:

After the walleye bite died off on Scugog me and a buddy decided to troll over to a point to kill sometime. I was not setup for Muskie since I was using my rods for smaller fish. Needless to say that, of course, my buddy hooks into a nice little Muskie. It has given me motivation to set up some light braid (14lb its only Scucog Muskie) on my new bait. caster.

 

This part is my question:

On the bait caster I have the drag set, then the spool tension is set......what the heck are the brakes supposed to be for and when do they kick in?

My research has only revealed heavier lures need less brake but that is all.

 

Also, I filled up the spool like I would a spincast, almost to the top. How much improvement is filling up the spool all the way?

 

forrest

 

PS...I don't know what the other boats were fishing for, but, we fished different spots than just about everyone and picked up a couple of bass + 6 Walleye including a 3+pounder. How did others do yesterday morning?

Edited July 20, 2008 by forrest

[Alumacraft]

Don't target Musky unless you have all the proper gear (heavy rods,heavy line,heavy leaders,proper net,proper release tools). Muskies will become too stressed out when fought on tackle that is too light and will most likely die even if it is only a Scugog Muskie.

[forrest]

Don't target Musky unless you have all the proper gear (heavy rods,heavy line,heavy leaders,proper net,proper release tools). Muskies will become too stressed out when fought on tackle that is too light and will most likely die even if it is only a Scugog Muskie.

 

 

Thanks for the advice (eyes rolling). Are you the same guy who keeps advising people not to take any wooden nickels? I would suspect that since you target Musky you might have known the answer to my baitcaster question. 14lbs is fine for this very occasional purpose.

 

Can anyone help me with the baitcaster question?

 

Forrest

Edited July 20, 2008 by forrest

[wallyboss]

Forrest if you are going to target musky go at least 65lbs braid if not more!!! Cause a fair size musky can easily break off 14lbs test and then will be stuck with a bait in the face.

The brakes on a baitcasting reel is to stop from having birdsnest when you cast out. You should fill your reel to about 1/8th of an inch from the top. Too much line or too little will rob you of casting distance with a baitcaster.

[forrest]

thanks Walleye boss....so the spool tension and the brake essentially does the same job?

 

 

The muskie thing....with the exception of Carp and Bass all the fish I have seen come out of Scugog have been small; I will be certain to be using steel leaders too and I know how to set my drag. When I get enough cash for a reel I will be picking up something for the bigguns elsewhere and actually target the Muskie.

 

forrest

[GoneFishin]

The brakes are to slow down your spool as your bait gradually slows down mid air. Can realy help A LOT when casting into the wind. Lighter baits you might need to engage more brakes but it depends on how they cast. Heavier baits tend to cast easier and keep there energy well going through the air so the dont need to be slown down as much.

[Garry2Rs]

There are two controls on the bait-cast reel.

One is to control the spool at the beginning of the cast so that the spool doesn't out accelerate the pace at which the line is actually going out.

This control is also useful when casting into the wind...

The other is beside the drag and is to slow the spool at the end of the cast, so that it doesn't keep turning after the lure has hit the water.

With experience you will back that one off to zero and use your thumb to slow and stop the spool.

Garry2R's

[forrest]

There are two controls on the bait-cast reel.

One is to control the spool at the beginning of the cast so that the spool doesn't out accelerate the pace at which the line is actually going out.

This control is also useful when casting into the wind...

The other is beside the drag and is to slow the spool at the end of the cast, so that it doesn't keep turning after the lure has hit the water.

With experience you will back that one off to zero and use your thumb to slow and stop the spool.

Garry2R's

 

 

Awesome explanation! After the rain stops I am going to head out and make some bird nests!

thanks!

[HTHM]

Awesome explanation! After the rain stops I am going to head out and make some bird nests!

thanks!

I think you are going to make some eagles very happy...... But that is the only way to learn, unless of course you g out for a day with Garry. It is well worth the money.

[figureight]

14llb braid would be a joke for muskie fishing. Do yourself and the fish a favour and use 65lb at least.

Besides, one birdsnest with the 14lb and say goodbye to your expensive muskie lures.

[jace]

This part is my question:

On the bait caster I have the drag set, then the spool tension is set......what the heck are the brakes supposed to be for and when do they kick in?

My research has only revealed heavier lures need less brake but that is all.

 

Also, I filled up the spool like I would a spincast, almost to the top. How much improvement is filling up the spool all the way?

 

 

I will try to keep it short as i know i can wordy on this subject.

 

When do they kick in? That all depends on which type of casting controls your reel has. There are 2 main types regardless of the wording used to market it; there is the centrifugal system and the magnetic braking system The better magnetic brakes are considered better than the best centrifugal brakes. All large reels come with centrifugal brakes stock but many distance casters and reel tuners will install magnets.

Centrifugal brakes are mechanical and work by physical rubbing like drum brakes on older cars, magnetic brakes work by a magnetic field and Lenz's law. I've read threads here where people talked about adjusting brake blocks under the cover..those are all mechanical centrifugal systems. The down side is when they get wet inside or dirty, the braking changes. Centrifugal systems include Shimano's VBS, almost all ABU Garcia round reels, Quantum's ACS braking, and most brands of casting reels in size 300 and bigger. The other downside of centrifugal controls is they can only be adjusted by opening the side cover, Quantum's ACS reels are the only exceptions i know of. There are some reel tuners who can add custom machines external controls to ABU's but that's another topic. Shimano's DC reels like my calcutta TE DC below are adjustable from the outside but these are magnetic, not standard shimano VBS.

 

 

Oh yeah, when do they kick in. ahaha. Centrifugal's brake hard at the highest spool speed because that's when those blocks will rub hardest on the spool and do nothing at lower spool speeds . Magnetic systems kick in at lower and mid range spool speeds, and do less at the top end. A few reels combined both systems to try to get the best of both, for example, Pflueger tried to do it in their low profile reels. Do i get more line overruns with one or the other? I like to be fair so I get tangles with both systems equally, including the DC's. There isn't a single baitcast user who never gets them.

 

The spool tensioner is the amount of constant spool resistance you want. it's always there at high and low spool speeds. the casting controls attempt to limit your maximum spool speed during your cast and give you a longer time with a more constant top speed.

 

Heavier lures need less braking. Yes. Most overruns are caused by a sudden change in lure speed. This could be from a jerky cast, a wind catching the lure, the lure landing, the lure hitting the water, the line twists around a guide for just a moment. A heavy lure's speed is less affected by some of these factors so you can get away with a lower brake setting if that's what would have caused the overrun. The other scenarios will cause overruns with light and heavy lures.

 

Spooling more or less line is a question of finding that balance that works for you. Less line can cause knots since it generates higher spool speed because the spool is lighter and smaller diameter. More line is the opposite, the spool speed goes down so less tangles, right? Maybe not because more line also means the spool is heavier which is harder to stop and spins longer.

 

In the end, you need to learn how to thumb the spool regardless of what you have. Some reels are easier to use than others but you still need to thumb it. Set everything high at first and gradually back off as you get better. Your casting distance will suck but that's better than untangling knots every 10 casts. Eventually, on an ideal day with no headwinds, you can turn both to the lowest setting and have nearly no overruns. I even thumb my spinning reels to control some casts..actually i finger or palm the spool lip, but it's the same idea.

 

 

 

Jedi Tips.

 

Accelerate your lure gradually but keep the whole swing very smooth. Many knots start in the first 10 feet of a cast because of a jerky casting motion.

 

Keep your eye the lure to look for signs that you need to thumb in mid flight.

 

Don't watch the reel, it won't do you any good; instead LISTEN to it. When your spool starts to go faster than the speed of the lure, the slacking line will start making noise. Trust me, this becomes natural after a while, and you'll listen for the rattling of loose line without even thinking about it. This is where mono might be better for the beginner than softer gel spun lines.

 

Close your eyes and use the force.

[BillM]

As it was mentioned, big muskie lures will snap off 14lb test like it was string.... I've had a TopRaider snap off 50lb PPro a few times, luckily I got the lure back

[GBW]

Great post, thanks.

 

Jedi Tips.

Close your eyes and use the force.

Oh how I wish I was good at photoshop. I can see it now, Darth V on the front casting deck with a 7' rod and a baitcaster dueling it out with Mercer in BASS WARS....