Ok, let’s see where did I leave off?? Oh, that’s right, I talked about the spin cast and spinning reels now I’ll talk about the bait casting variety of fishing reels.
Bait casting reels. There are a few different type’s of reels that fall into the realm of bait casting reels. There are the ones with level winds, which I feel are much better than the ones without a level wind, I’ll explain more later. You also have the 2 speed type, which are primarily in salt water applications, I wont go into too much detail but the 2 speed reels have a high speed setting for a fast retrieve and a lower gear ratio for hauling in that big ole fish.
To spool up a bait casting reel is very simple. You don’t need any specialized equipment, as a matter of fact a regular ball point pen works fine. Take your pen, poke it through the middle of the spool, attach the line to your reel, place the pen between your toes with the spool in the middle and reel the line onto the reel with the line exiting off the top of the spool, so the spool is actually rolling towards you. When the line is within about ½ to ¼ of an inch from the top its full. Another tip, follow the manufactures suggestions.
One tip with spooling up any reel was handed down to me by my father. While he loved to fish we were by no means rich and even though dad didn’t have the luxury of having a sponsor he would only purchase quality brand line. To save money we would leave some backing on the spool when we replaced line. All this means is when replacing line just remove about half the old line and fill it up with new line. Think about it for a second, no matter how long of a cast you make, the line half way down the spool will not ever see the water so its basically wasted.
When your spooling up is one of the times when having the level wind makes it really nice but in my opinion when your fighting a fish is the time your most thankful for that level wind because you don’t have to concentrate on moving the line back and forth with your finger so it lays on the spool evenly instead of bunching up on one side or the other. As far as I know all of today’s bait casting reels designed for bass fishing do have the built in level wind.
Bait casting reels have come along ways, even since I started using them. The basic ideal of them is a spool that spins on an axis with sealed ball bearings located at least on both sides of the axis. Back in the old days they had bushings instead of bearings, heavier parts and older technology so the reels were not nearly as light and smooth as today’s high tech reels.
One thing I always tell people who want to get one of these reels is to be sure to get a quality one because the cheaper ones are allot more difficult to learn with because they just are not as well built as the cheaper ones. I have more than once had people tell me that bait casters suck and then I’ll let them try one of mine and then they are amazed at the difference between the 2. Its then that they realize quality does make a difference.
Some people think that a spinning reel can out cast a bait casting reel. Maybe this was true back in the older days but it is no longer the case. Today’s reels are capable of casting very light lures along distance. Bait casting reels are however a little more difficult to master but with the advancement of technology of today’s reels it’s a whole lot easier than it used to be however, even with all the updates the term backlash is still a common term with bait casting reels, especially when you try casting into the wind. You must train your thumb to know when to apply pressure onto the spool to slow it down or even stop it when need be.
The technique to cast a bait casting reel is basically the same way as with any other rig. You push and hold the button, bring the rod back over your shoulder and swing forward. Just like other rigs you swing your arm forward and release the line at about the 2:00 position. Now comes the tricky part.
You attempt to make a 50 yard cast however something happens that makes the cast fall considerably short of your intended distance, wind, you released the line to late, whatever. The spool is spinning like mad and you must stop it from continuing to spin or you get what’s called a back lash, or in fishermen’s terms, a professional over run. This is when the spool keeps spinning but the line is no longer going out the end of your rod tip. Trust me, this is not a good thing. You look down at your reel and it’s a mess. This mess is often referred to as a birds nest. Yes, it tends to resemble a birds nest.
When you get one of these you basically have just a few options. If its not all that bad you might be able to pick it out. This can be quite a pain and depending on if the line came to an abrupt halt you might have damaged the line and even though it might appear the line is Ok, by the way, what I’m about to say is from personal experience, you can make a cast, hook a nice fish and the line breaks. Of course this seems to happen most when your in a tournament and that fish that just broke your line with your favorite Lucky Craft crank bait in his lip would have won you the tournament. That is when you wished you had taken the other option to dealing with the bird nest.
The other option I’m talking about is if you have a few rods available to place it into the rod locker, wait until you get home and replace the line then or if you don’t have an arsenal of rigs at your disposal then replace the line right away. Yes, it is can get a little expensive but trust me when I say that the price is more than worth the frustration of breaking a fish off, especially if it’s the fish of a lifetime.
There are a few other ways of using bait casting reels, these are a little more specialized ways of utilizing your reels. Flipping, pitching are 2 techniques that come to mind. Both of these techniques are similar yet different. In flipping you using a set amount of line and fishing pretty close to your targeted spot. Basically you peel off all the line you need, click your reel to engage the spool, and flip your offering into the spot underhanded with a low trajectory so it enters the water quietly.
Pitching on the other hand you do with the line free spooling so you can toss it a little further than flipping but not a real far distance like a normal cast. This is still considered a stealthy technique because it is executed underhanded with a low trajectory just like flipping. In order to utilize this style of fishing you need to have a decent quality reel or you will be picking out back lash’s all day long. Another trick to pitching is to peel off about 20-30 feet of line, maybe a little more depending on the distance you will be pitching, and place a piece of tape on your line. This will only allow so much line to come off the spool therefore if you do get a backlash you will only have to cut off the pre-determined amount of line.
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
