# baitcasting frustration



## tincansailor (Feb 1, 2009)

I have recently purchased a baitcasting reel thinking that is the way to go if I am to be serious about bass fishing. I have set it up like everything I can find about doing that and have practiced in my backyard. Went to the lake yesterday all hyped up about catching a big bass on my new reel. I spent most of the time picking out the birdsnest I got time and time again until I just threw it in the bottom of the boat and picked up my spinning rod and reel. The reel is not an expensive one, Shakespeare, since I've had very limited experience with baitcasting reels (all with the same results, birdsnests). I will keep trying to get to where I can cast with it but in the meantime I will stay with the spinner. By the way, I did catch about a 2 lb.er on the spincast set up.


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## shootisttx (Feb 1, 2009)

I know exactly how you feel. I picked up a baitcast reel again about 5 years ago after 30 years of using spinning gear only. The words that came out of my mouth are unprintable in a family forum, I have to tell you. And it still happens from time to time, but I have learned patience and always carry a backup reel in case the birdsnest is unfixable on the water. (By the way, a tiny crochet hook really helps pick those out) Plan on giving up some distance by tightening the spool tension knob (on the handle side of the reel) so that the lure will just barely pull line. Engage all of the brakes, then practice flinging it out there. Then gradually start disengaging the brakes as your thumb gets "educated" as to when to stop the spool. That's how I got past the "fling it-birdsnest-cuss-spend 15 minutes trying to clear the tangle-giveup-and-get-the-spinning reel" blues.

Oh, and light lures do not work well with baitcasters unless they are top-quality and tuned perfectly. Throwing against the wind can be really difficult, too, for the inexperienced. Just hang in the and keep trying. And by the way, cheaper reels are more difficult to tune and throw than better-quality reels that have rigid frames and smoother bearings...but that's a whole 'nother topic.

I am sure more experienced casters will correct me...this is just the way I overcame the problem.


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## Nickk (Feb 1, 2009)

I'd say don't give up. Use 12-14 mono and try throwing 1/2 oz lipless cranks and keep the spool fairly tight, so it just creeps down on a free fall. Use 75% of you brakes and don't try to throw into the wind. Once you get the timing you can loosen the spool and disengage some brakes.


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## Mattman (Feb 1, 2009)

Lots of practice is usually required.

Baitcasters are a place where buying a nicer reel can pay off right away in performance. Low end baitcasters can be much more difficult to use.

shootisttx gave you the right advice...hang your lure from the rod tip and loosen the tension until the bait slowly drops...start out short and slow...quick hard snap casts are bad...gradually build up in distance and power as you get more comfortable...avoid casting directly into the wind...start out with heavier baits...


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## ilinimud (Feb 1, 2009)

I agree with Matt. My opinion is to buy a higher quality reel. May sound stupid since you dont know if you like them or not, but i bought a Daiwa Megaforce as my first baitcaster. I had A LOT of birdsnest and the internal workings of the thumb bar started to depress on the cast and it would grind bad. I brought it back, found out Wal-Mart had the Abu Garcia Revo S on sale for 99 bucks, but none of them in my area had them in stock. So i went to Gander Mtn and they matched me the price on it. My luck has been much better on it. The only time i have had a nest is when i switched it to Fireline, but once i got use to it, it was ok.

So my long winded answer is to buy a better reel. LOL. I also have a Pinnacle Vision XL that i got off Ebay for 79.99 and i love it! Maybe better than the Abu.


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## shizzy77 (Feb 1, 2009)

I would agree with the quality reel comments. I dont own a bait caster, but usually grab a spare when I am in my friends boat. It was a good Abu reel and they gave me a few hints and told me to just start tossing. I picked it up right away with only a few minor back lashes. the one thing they told me for when I decide to get my own is to not bother with a cheap reel.


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## bcritch (Feb 1, 2009)

I have a few different baitcasters. All of mine have 2 adjustments. One for the drop down rate of the lure. I adjusts this so the lure drops slowly when you disengage the reel. The second adjustments is for the brake. If your just getting started use a lot of brake to avoid the birdsnest. You will not be able to cast far but you shouldn't get the birdsnest. As you feel more comfortable you can back off on the brake adjustment to gain further distance in your casts.

Casting:
I keep my thumb on the spool when I bring the rod back behind me to load and up until the release point. I then remove my thumb when the rod tip is pointed in the direction that I want to cast. I then put my thumb back on the spool right before the lure hits the water. For me the best cast is a moderate throw with a smooth release. (I use a sidearm cast) Every time I try to gain a little extra distance and whip the rod it usually causes a slight birdsnest. 

The best suggestion that I could make is to have someone with some experience help you make the adjustments and show you how to cast.

You never know you may end up having a new friend and a fishing buddy :wink:


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## ho_shi (Feb 1, 2009)

practice practice practice

to learn to thumb pretty fast open it up pretty loose and use it to pitch and flip in the back yard. You learn thumbing REEL fast that way. then tighten it down to barely drop when free spooling and go to the lake. to get some more good practice in fish at night. that way you have to listen to the reel and thumb as it slows or falls towards the water. 

Fishin at night and pitchin n flippin took my baitcaster backlashes from a lot to just a few!!! Even the best anglers still backlash its like taxes and the weather, it will always be there.

also i use braid -power pro- and that helps with the backlashes i can pull most of em out instead of pickin em out


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## willfishforfood (Feb 1, 2009)

I have a lot of new to baitcasters in my boat so what I do is cast as far as you can strip off 10 yards of line then take 6" of black tape.
Now when you reel back up the line(do this dry) stick the tape on the back of the spool and reel it up.
Make sure you keep the tape smooth as the line goes over the tape.
Now if you back lash you only have to clear the line on top of the tape.
At the end of the day remove the tape.
If you hook a fish that pulls off drag past the tape just grab the tape and pull it off as the spool turns.
I do this with fast running salmon and only had the tape ball up one time and still got the fish.
Smaller spools can use less tape but it needs to go around the spool 1 1/2 times.
WFFF


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## tincansailor (Feb 2, 2009)

Hey, you guys are the best. Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I came home the other day with the birdsnest I told you all about still in my reel. The next morning I began to work on clearing it out and wound up removing all of the line. I had 12 lb. test on it. I had intentions of not using the reel any more until I read your comments so now I will put new line on the reel and start again. Thanks for your support.
I am severely limited in funds available to upgrade any of my equipment so I will have to use the reel I have until I can sock away enough to buy a better one. When the birdsnest that I mentioned occurred I had a light lure on the line so that is a lesson learned. Will stay with 1/2 oz. or more while learning. 
Thanks again guys.


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## BensalemAngler (Feb 2, 2009)

Never take your thumb off the spool. And cast side arm with a flick of your wrist. Let the rod do the work of casting.

Most od my bird's nest comes when i am not paying attention and my thumb rises from the spool. I have a Cabela's fish tournament one and have zero issues with it. I also practiced 5 days all summer long a week 2 summers ago when I could not get out to fish. I was stuck home b/c of people being sick in my family so i would go out back and set up kiddie sand buckets and pitch into them then I started setting up lawn chairs and casted under them.


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## ilinimud (Feb 3, 2009)

Persistence pays off. Good luck with it!


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## Brine (Feb 3, 2009)

Hang in there! I FEEL YOUR PAIN. 

A couple things I learned that helped as a beginner

1. *Practice on a lawn*. It's less frustrating when you get a bird's nest and it doesn't cut into "fishing" time (as long as bird's nest isn't literal  )
2. *Use 12# or greater Monofiliament.*
3. *Hold your rod at a 45* angle and set the tension so that once you release the spool the lure falls slowly and the spool STOPS SPINNING as soon as the lure hits the ground*. (repeat this process throughout your practice to ensure the reel has not come out of adjustment, which it proably will, slightly, after several casts) 
4. *Practice casting at targets rather than on distance*. As your aim gets better, gradually move further from the target. Once you've gotten good at aim, you will find the "control" of a baitcaster is greater than a spinning reel.
5. *When you release the lure, turn the palm of your hand face down towards the ground*. Depending on whether or not your reel is left or right handed, your handle will either be facing the ground or the sky. Most "off the shelf" models are right-handed and the handle will face the sky with a right handed caster. 
6. *Keep your casting elbow against your hip*. This is proabably one of the easiest ways to notice a novice. Most of the movement in your arm should come from below the elbow, and most of that movement should come from the wrist. If you try to "throw" the rod with all of your arm, you will have a hard time. FYI - this was one of the hardest things for me to overcome, as I grew up on spinning gear where bigger arm movements gave me longer casts. You really just need to watch the distance the tip moves in an arch which can be created by using the wrist alone. The centrifugal force provided from your wrist during the cast is enough to cast a weightless plastic 30-40 feet easy. 

Lastly, figure out how a baitcaster can "enhance" your fishing ability and focus on that. The way I fish and the style I fish lends itself more so to spinning tackle than baitcasting. That said, I own twice as many baitcasters as I do spinning. #-o Unfortunately, it's taken alot of Bass Pro gift cards to realize that.


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## shamoo (Feb 3, 2009)

Sounds like everyone has given excellent advice, for those bird nests, try to stop them as soon as possible(thumb), than turn your drop rate knob all the way tight, hit your release button and pull your line out of the reel, the line will have tension on it and should pull the nest right on out.


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## shamoo (Feb 3, 2009)

bcritch said:


> The best suggestion that I could make is to have someone with some experience help you make the adjustments and show you how to cast.
> 
> You never know you may end up having a new friend and a fishing buddy :wink:


CORRECTOMUNDO


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## slim357 (Feb 3, 2009)

Brine said:


> Hang in there! I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
> 
> 5. *When you release the lure, turn the palm of your hand face down towards the ground*. Depending on whether or not your reel is left or right handed, your handle will either be facing the ground or the sky. Most "off the shelf" models are right-handed and the handle will face the sky with a right handed caster.




I never heard of this before, so I went out to give it a try, and it just doesnt feel right. That might be because Ive been using them for a while and trained my hand, but I cant imagine doing a roll cast like that. The handle will only point up if im casting left handed, or flipping. If im casting right handed then my handle will be facing down


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## russ010 (Feb 3, 2009)

slim357 said:


> Brine said:
> 
> 
> > Hang in there! I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
> ...



This is one of the best things you can learn to do with a baitcaster. It will also give you an extra few yards on each cast. If you think about it - there is less friction because as the line goes through the line holders on your rod, there is less friction because instead of the line coming out at a 45* angle, it comes out almost at 180*... 

Also, I helped a kid who bought one of those shakespear rod/reel combos from wally world for about $25. He kept getting birds nests, and I thought I could show him how to use it, as well as set it up right for him. I couldn't get it to do anybetter.. I stripped his line, put some of my Triple Fish 15# fluorocarbon on it and it did a little better, but there just wasn't much distance to the cast with a 1/8oz bullet weight, 4/0 EWG Owner hook, and a 7.5" Yum Ribbontail worm.. I took that line back off, and told him I'd try one last thing - Stren Superbraid 30#.. that solved most of his problems... might help you out too. The line cost almost as much as his reel, but he was a happy kid and I was glad to help out.

You can get good with baitcasters though - I don't have to thumb spools with any of my reels. I've got all the brakes set up right and I sling the chit out of it. I get a few overruns, but very seldom to I get backlashes.


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## Brine (Feb 3, 2009)

slim357 said:


> Brine said:
> 
> 
> > Hang in there! I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
> ...



That's ok. It's a fairly common technique for beginners. This is not a roll cast tho. Sorry I don't have a video to go with it. I guess because I'm familiar with it, I took for granted how it could be interpreted. You did mention that your handle points up when you flip. The reason is because that postion (more than likely) gives your wrist the widest range of motion. The same applies when using an over hand cast. The motion is similar to a screwball for you baseball fans. 

I'll look for some videos that show what I'm failing to explain.


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## slim357 (Feb 3, 2009)

No video needed, it was just something I never heard of and wanted to give a try


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## jkbirocz (Feb 3, 2009)

Just keep practicing, and you will be fine. All the tips given will help you tremendously. I started using super old baicasters that my great grandfather gave me when I was 10, and I am 23 now and have $200+ reels and still seem to get a backlash atleast once a trip. Of course I am trying to cast as far as possible on practically every cast, but that is no excuse. Keep at it, baitcasters are the way to be 8)


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 4, 2009)

jkbirocz said:


> J still seem to get a backlash atleast once a trip.



Yeah only once a trip :roll:


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## HOIST-N-HAWGS (Feb 4, 2009)

These will help you, he explains it very well.
spool it with your line in the vertical position (and a pencil or marker or what ever in the spool to pivot on), have the line come off the top of the spool and it will roll right on your reel with little trouble. I have heard some people defeating line memory by spooling off the bottom, but the only time I tried it I saw no difference. 

The tension in the line is the key to getting off to a good start. If it's just a little too loose, it will slowly dig into its self and cause some of the worse back lashes you'll ever see, and its not even your casting that caused it (so don’t get discouraged by a few birds nests). 
Too much tension and you'll cause the line to have memory even if its a good line. 
I spool line by feel... about every so often I'll feel the line with my fingers and make sure if "feels right" and I don’t know how to tell you what that feel is, haha. It just takes some practice... you don’t want to easily feel any spring or softness in the spool (too loose) and you don’t want to be able to slide the loops of line on top with your fingers (way too loose) but you don’t want it to feel like a solid rock either (way too tight)... you'll just have to play with it. 

Now for the best tip anyone ever gave me with a casting reel. When your set up and ready to practice, put the same amount of weight on the line that your going to be fishing with or a little lighter... reel the weight up to a few inches from the tip and turn the breaking knob way up... depress the thumb button and see if your sinker fall's or just hangs there... you want it to hang in the air even with the thumb button pressed. 
Now back off the breaking knob a little at a time until the sinker starts to fall at a slow but steady rate. When the sinker hits the ground the spool should stop dead with no over run at all...
This is where you start casting... now backlash will be prevented at the end of the cast, and you can concentrate on controlling through the initial part of the cast. It wont cast far, so don’t think it should.. that’s the point... this is practice. So don’t try to power the cast like your slinging a base ball bat.
You will find that after a few casts you can easily sling the lead with out any problems at all. So back off the breaking knob a little more so that the sinker falls a faster rate, but the spool will have just a small over run (maybe a half rotation at the most)... and start casting... 

Full series of step-by-step video intructions, anotomy through casting.

https://www.monkeysee.com/play/1483-fishing-the-anatomy-of-casting-a-bait-casting-reel

Other useful links;
https://www.catcherman.com/features/baitcasters030307bud.htm

https://www.catcherman.com/features/baitcasters030307bud.htm

https://www.informativefisherman.com/

https://en.allexperts.com/q/Fishing-1634/Baitcaster.htm

https://www.fishing-tackle-repair.com/education/baitcaster-setup-101.html

Pratice Practice Practice. Good luck!


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## clarker2000 (Feb 4, 2009)

All good tips. Here is my 2 cents:

Go buy a $50 spinning reel and then buy a $150 spinning reel. There isnt a ton of difference. Maybe a smoother drag or lighter all together but certainly not a ton of differnce. 

No go buy a $50 baitcaster and a $150 baitcaster. Night and day difference. I am a big fan of the earlier model curados. They were about $120 new. You can probably find them on this site or ebay of bbc etc... Im seeing used good reels for $50 to $60 a piece. They are simple to use and I rarely ever backlash. 

Keep in mind you probably shouldnt use 8lb test on a baitcaster. I would reccomend a begginer baitcaster using 14 to 20 lb mono or flourocarbon. Stay away from braids for now until you get more confidence. My buddy insists on using fireline and I sware he backlashes about 30 or so time a day. I cant personally deal with that all day. Its frustrating and takes time out from what you should be doing, fishing!!!

On another funny note this is why I bought a nice baitcaster. I was about 21 and was drinking a few cold ones late evening and decided I would get up early the next morning and go wading in a local hot spot. Woke up hung over and tried to find my gear but it was no where to be found. So I grabbed my roommates rod and reel and tackle and headed out. I get to the parking spot, put on my waders, grab the rod and tackle and start walking. While walking I looked at the reel and thought "thats weird, this must be a newer model zebco push button special." I had never seen one like this before. I walked about a half mile then waded out another 300 yards or so. Very foggy, chilly, fish were jumping everywhere. I reached back and casted and whammo, the whole reel was birdsnested like nothing I have ever seen. I sware there could have been quail and pigeons nesting in there. So I was back home sleeping by 8:00 with no fish and a giant mess. I then bought my first nice baitcaster and thats that. Man, that was a long time ago. 

Hoisten Hawgs has very good comments, I agree 100%.


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## Ouachita (Feb 5, 2009)

Here is a great site for Abu Garcia baitcasters if anyone is interested. (Best reels bar none in my opinion...but that is coming from a catfisherman) 
https://www.ffo-tackle.com/ProductDirectory.cfm?Show=Reels
You can usually find them 25-50% off.


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## SnowmanJon (Feb 15, 2009)

Just stick with it. I was using a Zebco 33 and went to a baitcaster.....I'm not sorry I did....took me 3 or 4 trips of nothing but back lashes.....leave the other rods in the truck..but not at home....this will defeat you from putting it away...hhaha

JON


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## Zum (Mar 10, 2009)

I never tried this and don't know if I ever will have to but it's worth a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDI5kwR5zjc


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## Waterwings (Mar 10, 2009)

The next time I mess up my wife's baitcaster (if she lets me use it again :roll: ) I'll try that trick. Last time I bird-nested it I had to cut the line off the spool :-


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## BensalemAngler (Mar 11, 2009)

clarker2000 said:


> All good tips. Here is my 2 cents:
> 
> Go buy a $50 spinning reel and then buy a $150 spinning reel. There isnt a ton of difference. Maybe a smoother drag or lighter all together but certainly not a ton of differnce.


This maybe true but fish with a $350 spinning reel and the difference is amazing.


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## Popeye (Mar 11, 2009)

Zum said:


> I never tried this and don't know if I ever will have to but it's worth a look.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDI5kwR5zjc



Couldn't tell if he was pushing the spool release or not. Sounded like it was engaging the spool when he cranked but that could have just been his fingers hitting the crank. I'll be trying that myself when (not if) I "overrun" mine.

I also watched the monkeesee.com video clips and saw in the last one "where to cast" he was casting up to the Captain's Gig from the USS America.


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## Andy (Mar 11, 2009)

I didn't know the thumb trick. 
I'll be trying it also. Even though I still get an occasional backlash, nothing like it was when I first started using the baitcaster.
Thanks for posting.


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## Zum (Mar 11, 2009)

I still get the odd backlash but never any big ones anymore(knocking on wood).Normally I get my thumb down in time to stop a catastrophy.I just find the loop,pull it back and I'm good to go.The video did look interesting though.


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## cathunter21 (Mar 17, 2009)

luckily when sbout ten years ago when i was 7 or 8 my dad stuck me in the front yard with an old daiwa baitcast and told me to go for it. about 3 or 4 weeks later and 5 or 6 spools of line i had it pretty well mastered. but keep working at it. i think throwing baitcasters are more fun than any other reel


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## Tennwalkinghorse (Mar 17, 2009)

Brine said:


> Hang in there! I FEEL YOUR PAIN.
> 
> A couple things I learned that helped as a beginner
> 
> ...


This info is right on the money Practice Practice Practice it will all fall togeather one day and you will say whats the big deal this isn't hard


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