Casting Baitcaster reels

[Guest LivingLegend]

Wow, I sure hope Im not getting into something i cant handle! As some of you now Im about to jump into the world of baitcasters and looks a foreign language. I have been checking utube and seen some good tips from spooling to pitching but when it comes to casting Ive yet to see a long cast with these reels. Can you cast them like a spinning set up? Hope to see some OFC master tips thanx guys.

 

Still deciding on a curado or citica reel, gona set it up on a shimano cumulus rod 6'10.

 

thanx

[bigfish1965]

There are three things that dictate casting distance outside of your strength. The magnetic brake set up, the spool tension screw and your thumb.

Once you get the hang of it all, you will turn off more brakes, use a standard tension adjustment and just do the rest with your thumb.

Casting into the wind means more tension adjustment added. That is the hardest part. Some days the fish are on during a big blow up and casting is very hard.

Get out on the piers with the spoon chuckers and get some time in. It is the only way...it is a 'feel' you develop with experience because each rod/reel set up works differently.

[wallyboss]

Google "Baitcasting 101"

[MCTFisher9120]

Get that Curado. I can go from flipping a 1/2oz jig to casting a weightless worm without even adjusting the tension and I can still make it fly lol. It's a awesome reel buddy and would look and feel awesome on that rod.

[lew]

Don't be intimidated by a baitcaster, their just another tool in the box and are very easy to use once you've had a bit of practice. Once you get the hang of it you'll be casting effortlessly and not even thinking about what your doing.

[EC1]

I say with the Cumulus rod, don't EVER go anything less than a Curado....You've already shelled out for the top of the line rod, and you might as well do the same with the reel.

 

It's going to be a journey to learn, and I still backlash(3-5 times per outing at least). You can cast far, but start with something like a frog and learn the casting..Casting in the backyard with a 1/2oz weight is good practice too.

[Guest LivingLegend]

Great tips guys, thanx big time! Just got my cumulus rod in today and man she feels faaaaannntastic, Curado reel will most likely be my choice just have to go and check it out in stores to see how she feels and if i will be using a right or left return. Im dominate in my right hand in everything but i return with my left on a spinning reel........ .... time shall tell my Angler friends.............Thanx again, I might ask more questions in the near future, hope I dont annoy yawl.......

 

[Terry]

everyone should own at least one shimano calais dc

[NBR]

everyone should own at least one shimano calais dc

Plug Reel Mechanic into your search engine. He had a great tutorial on bait casting. With a reasonably correct set up the answer is practise.

[fish_fishburn]

Thanks Terry but I am gonna stick with the Cronarch. It just feels better to me.

[kickingfrog]

Birdsnests happen. Learn from them, and practice. You will get better.

 

The other tidbit of advice I'll offer is to use a moderately heavy floating lure the first few times you make some casts. Just keep your eye on any gulls in the area if you get a birdsnests.

Edited September 1, 2010 by kickingfrog

[Oktravis]

i use the citica e and i can cast just as far or farther than with a spinning setup. i'll never go back to a spinning reel.

 

there is nothing to be scared of when it comes to a baitcaster it just takes some practice.like others have said put on 1/2 oz weight

 

and start casting.you will be casting with the best of them in no time.

 

if you have the extra money go with the curado but you cant go wrong with ether of those reels.

 

happy casting

 

travis

[Guest LivingLegend]

Sounds good! Gonna watch some more utube tips and the tips from everyone here and give it a try b4 I go fishing this weekend.

[salmon]

On the Cumulus rod I would even try the newer Chronarchs either the D5 or a D7.

 

The Curados are nice but the Chronarch are way smoother.

Also the Core 100 was a huge disappointment when I got it.

The Calais DC I got was also all hype I was happier when I sold it.

 

I have two reels now a Scorpion XT1000 and a Calcutta DC. On the lookout for more of these reels

 

J

Edited September 2, 2010 by jchau53

[aplumma]

While this is a different type of fishing Surfcasting competitions are won with baitcasters going over 100 yards or the length of a football field. I use only baitcasters on 9ft rods with 8 oz of lead and 6 oz of bait a 75 yard cast is average on a hard cast.

 

 

Art

[OhioFisherman]

It`s really just another learning process, once you get comfortable with a bait caster there really aren`t any earth shattering differences. A decent reel and a decent rod matched to the lure used and casting 50 yards isn`t much of a problem. LOL if you need to cast farther? trolling is an option!

 

Sort of rare for me to cast anything over 5/8 an ounce, for the most part I prefer to use a bait caster over a spinning reel.

[Guest LivingLegend]

everyone should own at least one shimano calais dc

 

Ya but i dont have 649.99 to spend on this....well i do but thats CRAAAAAAZZZY!!

[kickingfrog]

While this is a different type of fishing Surfcasting competitions are won with baitcasters going over 100 yards or the length of a football field. I use only baitcasters on 9ft rods with 8 oz of lead and 6 oz of bait a 75 yard cast is average on a hard cast.

 

 

Art

 

Up here our football fields are 150 yards long, and 110 yards from goal post to goal post.

[Terry]

Ya but i dont have 649.99 to spend on this....well i do but thats CRAAAAAAZZZY!!

 

ebay

 

400 bucks, I got mine for

 

I find mine the finest reel I have ever used

but not worth the $1000 CND they were worth when I got mine on ebay

 

I just got a great deal on a

10' New Shimano Stradic CI4 1000 1000F Spinning Reel

on ebay, but that a spinning reel, so not important at this time

[wallyboss]

everyone should own at least one shimano calais dc

 

I fished with one of those this weekend on a new G-Loomis NRX rod.

 

What a friggin nice combo and it's a charm to fish with. My buddy will put a Core on it and it will be even lighter.

[aplumma]

Up here our football fields are 150 yards long, and 110 yards from goal post to goal post.

 

 

Thats one of the reasons we did not go metric...our athletes complained about how much harder it was running that extra distance.

 

 

Art

[Guest LivingLegend]

Google "Baitcasting 101"

 

 

Printed this out, good to know tips thanx Wallyboss! I have assumed that I will be using a left hand return so that my right hand can do all this pushing and thumbing tactics but time will tell when i go to Grimsby Tackle and actually hold one

 

I wish the Curado201E7 came in a different colour then green......or does it??

[Cypher]

I wish the Curado201E7 came in a different colour then green......or does it??

 

Shimano Japan offers the Scorpion (Curado equivalent) in purple if that helps? haha.

 

I honestly like the color of the Curado. Its green indoors but once you go outside on a bright day it has a golden/orange tone.

[Guest LivingLegend]

Shimano Japan offers the Scorpion (Curado equivalent) in purple if that helps? haha.

 

I honestly like the color of the Curado. Its green indoors but once you go outside on a bright day it has a golden/orange tone.

 

 

ya I guess Ive never seen it outside, off to the shop i go to check it out! Hope I dont come out with some $700 reel YIKES!

[PainInTheBass]

I had posted this on another forum to help other users with learning to use baitcasters (names have been blanked). I apologize in advance for the length. I hope it helps.

 

They are somewhat difficult to learn to use. However, the benefits of learning to use a baitcaster well include:

 

-significantly improved cast control. As ------------ said, being able to control the speed of the spool allows you control your casts more precisely. This means that you can produce softer entries, spooking less fish.

-baitcasting gear is more well suited to handling larger lures and presentations

-generally higher ratio gearing means you can more efficiently present high speed lures, or horse fish out of cover when flipping

-and, as my friend (who I taught to use a baitcaster) put it, Using a baitcaster is like driving stick...

 

I got my buddy using a baitcaster this past weekend.

 

What I told him to do was tighten all of the brakes first as well as the cast control knob (the knob right under the handle).

 

Second, I told him to press the release button, and the line should not move (assuming a lure is tied on).

 

Slowly, loosen the cast control knob until the line starts to come out and the lure drops slowly to the floor. The knob should be loose enough that when the lure hits the floor, the spool does not do a full turn. Once you get the knob tightened to this point, it is set for the weight of lure you are using. You can loosen it further once you are more comfortable with casting and want the spool to spin more freely/quickly.

 

Now try some casts with all of the brakes on. When casting, your thumb must serve to slow the spool down and to stop the spool from spinning as the lure stop moving (i.e. - it hits the water/ground). Keep practicing until you are comfortable then reduce the brakes.

 

Repeat the previous step until you are comfortable with the timing of thumbing the spool and the distance you get.

 

The trick is to understand that the lure can only pull line out so fast. If the spool is spinning too quickly, and the line is not being pulled fast enough, then the line will tangle, resulting in the birdsnest. The brakes, your thumb, the spool tension knob all serve to control the rotation of the spool. You must learn to use all of these tools to control the rotation. Once you do, you will have accuracy and distance in your casts.

 

I have mine set so that I can launch the lure with only having to thumb the spool at the end of the cast and not during. Your comfort level may vary.

 

If you manually set the brakes, make sure that they are set up so the brakes apply pressure in a balanced fashion around the spool.

 

Typically there are 6 pins in a centrifugal braking system. With all 6 pins on, they apply braking pressure evenly. The rudimentary diagram below depicts 6 pins engaged.

 

\ /

- o -

/ \

With 2 pins on, the pressure will depend on which 2 you engage. In this situation you would engage 2 pins opposite to each other such as below.

 

\

o

\

 

With 3 pins on, you would engage the following pins (This is the configuration that ----- described).

 

\

o -

/

 

And so forth. This is to make sure that the balance is even on the spool as it spins. If the balance is off, this could affect the rotation of the spool, negatively affecting spool speed and casting distance.

 

If your brake controls are external (dials) then you don't have to worry about this.

 

Do what ----- said and cast in a park for some time to practice. Instead of a weight (because if that thing comes off it is like a bullet, lol), what I did was remove the hooks on a relatively heavier lure that I did not use as much and therefore did not care about the finish on it, and casted with that thing. You get a feel also for how the air resitance of a lure can affect the cast and how you may have to compensate with a baitcaster.

 

The cast with a baitcaster is a whole different thing than on a spinning reel. With a spinning reel, you can simply noodle back, let the rod load up (bend) and then sling shot it forward. This is not so with a baitcaster. If you do this with a baitcaster, what happens is that the rod loads, but as the lure slingshots forward, all tension on the line is lost. As the lure moves forward through the air, the line becomes taut again and the lure suddenly jerks the spool into motion. When this happens, the energy of the slingshot is lost in overcoming the inertia required to start the spool spinning. The lure then slows down almost immediately after the spool starts going at top speed, resulting in a backlash. This is true when pitching (underhand casting) as well, and probably more easily observed. If you pitch your lure on slack line, it will go as far as it can before the spool starts spinning then the lure will fall flat right there. If you keep taut line, the lure will fly further.

 

The trick I found to casting relatively consistently is to let around 6" of line plus the lure dangle from the tip of the rod. If you point the tip of the rod directly away from you, you should be holding the rod and reel so that the open face of the reel (spool side) is sideways, your hand should be palm down with your thumb directly out to the side. More than anything, this allows your wrist a greater range of motion as you bring the rod back and then follow through.

 

There is not as much of a snap in the wrist as much as a smooth follow through as you bring the casting hand back, bend the wrist (like a free throw in basketball), then initiate the cast by rotating your forearm forward at the elbow, then following through forward with your wrist (again, just as you would a free throw in basketball). What this motion does is make sure that the lure travels like a pendulum, using centrifugal motion to keep the lure pulling consistently on the line, and the line taut. You then release your thumb (you should have pressed the butten and been thumbing the spool during all of this) just before the end of your casting motion. This initiates the rotation of the spool to accelerate in sync with the acceleration of the lure, and avoids the loss of energy caused by the slack line using the slingshot effect.

 

The trick to remember is to try and keep the line taut at all times during the cast. At least that is what has worked for me.

 

I hope that helped.