Poetry in Motion- Successfully Throwing a Baitcaster Reel

Poetry in Motion- Successfully Throwing a Baitcaster Reel 

Several months after deciding upon buying a baitcaster reel you have finally squirreled away enough money to make your purchase. Excitedly you attach  the reel to the rod, tie on your favorite lure, haul back and let it fly. Frrruummmppptttt. DAMN the mother of all bird’s nests. Too bad the directions with the reel did not offer one bit of guidance on the art of calibrating and throwing a baitcaster reel. 

Back to basics, why did you purchase a baitcaster? Several reasons; it usually throws further than a spinning reel since the line comes off the spool directly parrallal to the rod. A spinning reel released line in a coil that leaves the reel 90 degrees to the rod shaft. The spinning reel line must now be uncoiled and throttled down to slide through the guides. All of the line movement causes friction reducing the casting distance of the spinning reel.  The line on a baitcaster also exits the reel  in a smooth thin strand of line. The spinning reel  releases coils of line that need to be “thinned” out by the gradual  diameter reduction of the rod guides which causes distance reducing friction.  

I have also found that baitcasters eliminate line twist. 

 No need for swivels since the line on the spool is not released ninety degrees to the rod. 

If the spinner has had a break off and loses some line the spinner will not cast as far as when the spinner had a full spool of line. This is due to increased friction of the line rubbing on the partially filled spool lip. The baitcaster  will throw as far with a  full spool or half a spool of line. 

 Baitcasters last longer. Less moving parts, no bail, no finicky bail spring, no worm gears and the related  stress of transferring power ninety degrees from the handle to the rotor and spool. No up and down spool ossiccillation either.   

Cast a baitcaster too far, add some thumb pressure to mend the cast and feather the lure so it drops at the foot of the mangroves instead of hanging that eight dollar lure in the middle of a snake and mesquito infested cay. This can be done with a spinner, however it is harder to control and takes two hands while the baitcaster takes only one. 

Rod choice for a baitcaster is very important. If you are going off shore or surfcasting heavy spoons a rod with a fast stiff tip will work fine. With this set up and experience you can put a lure out into the surf one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet.  For inshore/backwater fishing of light lures in the one half ounce and less range I suggest a slower tip rod that will bend more on the back swing. This softer tip loads up the rod and helps you to sling the light lure out. Remember the slower the tip on a rod, the less casting accuracy you will have. 

The reel itself requires some adjustments before you start. On the left side (as you hold it in the casting position) of the reel is an adjustment which I call the casting ability adjustment. This  adjustment  slows down the spool during the cast. This adjustment may be external or internal. The external adjustments have a mechanism to add friction to the spool during the cast, slowing it down somewhat and reducing the casting distance. Other styles of baitcasting reels utilize either a magnetic or centrifical adjustment that must be accessed from the inside of the reel.   

As a beginner set these adjustments to maximize cast control, worry about distance when you educate your thumb. 

The other control is on the right side of the reel, under the star drag, (where it is next to impossible to access). This  is the lure weight adjustment, (LWA). This is adjusted for each different lure weight you are casting. To make this adjustment, tie the lure on and hold the rod at a forty five degree angle from the ground. Tighten the LWA firmly. Release the reel clutch and gradually untighten the LWA until the lure starts to pull line off the rod. You may now slightly tighten the lwa or leave it alone if you are experienced with a baitcaster. 

Now you are ready to PRACTICE casting your baitcaster in the BACKYARD. Practice casting downwind since casting into the wind without some experience and control can cause a birdsnest. Bird’s nests  occur when the initial lure speed is slowed by the opposing  wind and the spool keeps spinning off line quicker than the lure is pulling it out.  As you become more experienced with a baitcaster you can practice casting across the wind and eventually into the wind. Even though the reels have casting adjustments your thumb must compensate for the casting conditions by gently feathering the spool speed during the cast. The heavier the lure the less thumb you will need. 

When casting into the wind I find it helpful to use a sidearm motion to help keep the lure out of the eye of the wind. The sidearm motion helps keep bird’s nest to a minimum and can maximize distance cast. 

When you do get a bird’s nest carry a golf tee to help unravel the mess, it will not hurt your line. I have found that if the bird’s nest a bad one, removing the spool from the reel body makes it a lot easier to unravel.