casting a baitcaster

[pike slayer]

So all my life i've used spinning rod and i can cast very accurate with it and get lots of distance. i got a 6'6" shimano medium fast action rod with a shimano reel with the quick fire trigger system and i usually put on 8-12lb test lines. with this rod i can cast a mile with it. this year i decided to buy a baitcaster to see what the hype is all about. i bought a cabelas fish eagle 7' medium heavy rod with the diawa megaforce, it seemed like a decent mid price range setup. i spooled it up with a 20lb spiderwire ultra cast. i've been playing around with it getting the feel for it. i find its alot more comfortable in my hands and its alot nicer for working baits. i've played with the settings on it and i found a #10xrap casts the best on the #5 setting. but the problem is can cant seem to get like half the distance as my spinning rod with the same lure. its almost a joke the distance i get with it. how can i get a good casting distance with my baitcaster?

[lookinforwalleye]

I am not familar with that particular reel but you probably have the brakes set wrong.

 

Try this...Put your lure of choice on and press the button, the lure should move fast enough so that when it hits the ground the spool should stop spinning. Adjust the button on the side plate accordingly.

Then set the braking feature to help prevent backlashes.

I think you will find if you back off on your settings you`ll get some distance.

Practice casting using your thumb as a brake most people who are experienced using baitcasters use their thumb as a brake.

As well baitcasters may require fine tuning when you change lures or the conditions change.

[pike slayer]

i looked at the diagram they send of the reel and i cant seem to open up and find the brake system on the reel to adjust it, i fear braking it taking it apart or not being able to get it back together.

[lookinforwalleye]

You do not have to take the reel apart, there should be a knob on the sideplate this will control the spool and there should be a dial on the other side plate this would be the brake.

[anders]

Loosen the knob just above the drag. Should help what lookifforwalleye said.

 

Shouldnt have to take it apart

 

Edited June 8, 2009 by anders

[pike slayer]

kk thanks! i watched a video on youtube about adjusting your baitcaster and the guy was talking about taking off the side plate and adjusting some kinda brake in there as well??

[Beats]

Lighter baits work better with spin casting reels, IMO. I'd suggest starting by just tying on baits that are on the heavier side and then try working down to lighter baits. It takes a little bit to get used to baitcasters, but I think starting with heavy baits is best.

[mepps]

I've got the same reel, the adjustments are made on the outside. Reels like the Shimano Calcuatta must be opened to make adjustments.

 

The nob by the drag star should do the trick - its a solid reel for the price, but dont expect to cast a mile. I started using a high end baitcast reel this season that is the same size/line/rod/lure and it cast substantially further.

 

The megaforce is great with heavier lures, but casting light lures can be tough.

Edited June 8, 2009 by mepps

[HTHM]

Release when your rod tip is pointed at the sky ~ 85 degrees That will help. For the best tutorial book a day with Garry2r's, he can teach ya good.

[singingdog]

Your never going to get the distanc with a baitcaster that you do with a spincaster: different tool for different purpose.

[Rizzo]

troll, you'll get all the distance you want

[Garry2Rs]

Thanks for the plug Albert...

Yes, my school is always open...and we get to go fishing too.

PM me.

[charlesn]

The brakes adjusted on the outside are usually magnetic brakes, the brakes adjusted by opening the side plate (they attach them to the reel now - they didn't used to - and believe me - it sucks to not have it attached) are centrifugal brakes and are adjusted using an on/off system with different sized weights. The knob is the spool tension. Most recommend setting it at a point where the lure you are using will free fall but not cause an overrun when the lure hits the ground. Sounds like your reel has the magnet system. For max distance, you are going to have to train your thumb to the point where the magnets are 100% off. I recommend taking an 1/8th ounce plug and casting as hard as you can in to strong headwind. After spending the next 2 days trying to pick out the backlash, set the reel up to a more reasonable level and work on casting accurately as opposed to "as far as I can".

 

Trying to cast far is what all of us do when first starting. After all, it's the measure of your manlihood right? After a while you start to realize that casting with a purpose (an intended target or swim path so to speak) gets you a lot more bites. Most people cannot see objects or targets under the water as far as they can cast so they are casting blind. In productivity terms, do you want to have a 100 foot cast in unproductive water or a 10 foot cast where the bait is in a strike zone for 5 of those feet.

 

I think the "I gotta cast it a mile" syndrome starts for most of us because we start off fishing the bank and of course if you're on the bank you gotta cast as far away from the bank as possible. Funny thing is, you go buy a boat and next thing you know, you're complaining that you need a push pole to get shallow enough to pitch to the bank. Maybe it's a grass is greener thing.

 

Keep playing with it and I'll bet you'll get the hang of it and better and better at it.

[holdfast]

Read your instructions on how to adjust the Brakes. And yes, in this case as many. Practice will make it Perfect.

 

Tidbit- Don't worry about backlash with Baitcasters as it is normal. I see the TV Pros with the Bill Board hats/Jackets/Pants/Boats all the time pulling line from the reel after a cast. Those are the shots that arent edited out.

[Fishnwire]

Unless you buy a high end bait reel (around $200+) you probably won't get the distance you can out of a spinning reel. Even with the expensive reel, it'll take a lot of practice. The other posters were right about baitcasters being somewhat poorly suited for light baits...practice with something a little on the heavy side until you get the hang of it.

 

I gave up ever on learning to be proficient with a bait rod years ago...I'm practically terrible. I use mine almost exclusively for trolling now. With the kind of fishing I do, there's not a lot you can do with bait rod which you can't do with a spinning rod.

[Jonny]

Don't feel like you're stuck. You can always sell that baitcaster to garry2rs for $5.50.

 

http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.p...40&start=40

 

Seriously, though, now that you've got it, I'll bet you will make it work for certain kinds of fishing. Don't expect it to do everything a spinning reel does, but it will do certain things very well... and a few better than a spinning reel.

 

Failing all else, it should make an excellent trolling reel.

[BillM]

Set the brakes to default to start. Depending on what you are throwing (light lures are harder) the weight of the lure when the spool is released should be enough to pull line off the spool. This will get you started.. You'll get less distance, but the odds of you having a massive birdsnest are far less likely. When you get comfortable, loosen up the tension a bit more so the lure falls to the ground faster under it's own weight when the spool is released. When you come to the end of the small adjustment, it's time to change the weights.

 

It takes a lot of practice, but like people have said if you are tossing small 1/4ounce tubes or similar a spinning setup is alot easier to use. You can toss 1/4 ounce tubes with a bait caster (I do without issue with 20lb braid) but it takes a lot of practice.

 

If you are new to it, stick to topwater, cranks etc.. baits with some decent weight.

[pike slayer]

ya i've been casting #10-14 x-raps which believe the #10 is 5/8 of an oz. i hope thats a large enough weight to start playing with. im not all about casting as far as i can but i wanna be far enough away from structure that i dont spook the fish. like with my spinning setup i see that log in the water 40feet away and bam im not it. with the baitcaster i cast as hard as i can without throwing my shoulder out and im 10 feet before the log. i got it down pretty good 20feet around the boat haha! i see in the other thread about the baitcaster being more accurate and i cant make it to the target!! you think switching to a lighter mono line will help with my casting? and i get a bad birds nest and i toss the caster in the boat and pick up my spinning rod and keep on fishing and deal with it later haha!! im just gonna keep tinkering with settings and try to play with that magentic brake system see if that helps or see how much worse it gets haha!

[BillM]

Practice, practice, practice. One thing that really got me was that I was releasing the lure way to late (like you would with a spinning rod). Don't muscle the cast, just try and release the lure a bit earlier, thumb the spool to avoid practice and have fun.

 

Don't snap the cast like you do a spinning rod when you really wanna launch one out there, a nice smooth motion is all you'll need.

[JohnF]

Thanks for the plug Albert...

Yes, my school is always open...and we get to go fishing too.

PM me.

 

And if yer lucky, Buck will come along as the entertainment.

 

JF

[JohnF]

And if yer lucky, Buck will come along as the entertainment.

 

JF

 

But if you'll forgive me a serious moment here, I gotta say that despite my early trepidation and confusion with the new reel. it only took a few minutes for Garry to get me comfortable with it, and before long I was actually getting kinda cocky about it. And this is from a guy who after dicking around on my own for a bit was pretty much frustrated by the prospect of ever using the durned thang.

 

Garry explained a few basics in such an easy way that I just did it and felt really good about it. Reminded me of the first time I had .... well, never mind that. We're talking fishing here. But it really was that easy to pick up with a good teacher.

 

And Buck is fun on the boat. A major pain in the keester when he tries to eat yer catch, or sluices off the water from the latest water excursion, but fun. Big ole hairy dogs hold a lot of water. All us fat old hairy guys can be fun though.

 

JF