practice tips for new baitcaster

[djr]

what would be some tips for getting use to a baitcaster?what should i use for weight and how much?how far to throw it?all the good stuff :
dawg

[Infisherman1]

what action roddid you get? Anyways just keep on practicing is the thing you gotta do, you'll get a lot of birds nests at first but after awhile, you won't look back.

[djr]

6' med shakespear combo ,xterra reel, wife bought as present

dawg

[ryan7261]

Turn your magnet setting right up get something like 1/2 inch nut tie it to your line start casting with magnet high then work your way down slowly it's what I found worked, don't worrie about casting too far at the start that will come later.

Hold your rod at a 45 degree angle and push the cast button, adjust the magnet so that when it releases and hits the ground the spool stops too.! Use this for all your lures till you get the hang of it.

Robby .

[DaHorns73]

Dawg,
I cast my baitcaster in my back yard. I put a 5-gal. bucket out there to cast at. (focal point)
I also use a 3/0 hook and an old super fluke, rigged weedless, to practice with.
Hope this helps.

[djr]

THANKS GUYS , as i am still trying to get back into fishing after many years , i can use all the help i can get. all the people her have been a great help.

THANKS TO ALL,
DAWG

[crankbait23]

whats the bennifet of having a baitcaster over a spinning reel

[zman]

Cilem,
In a nutshell they can be a little more accurate than spinning and they are a good bit better at fighting large fish. Baitcasters would be the most popular type of reel in America if not for two reasons...

1.) They can be difficult for some to learn to use.

2.) It is especially difficult to throw any baits lighter than 1/4 oz on a baitcaster.

[randerson52]

i recently got a baitcaster and after i learned how to i guess you can say lob it wihtout geting backlasehes i loved it. now i can cadt it accuratley with minimum backlashes. the most important thing is to stop the sppol from moving when the lure hits the water or ground

[socalbasser]

the most important thing is to stop the sppol from moving when the lure hits the water or ground

or dock, tree limb, pontoon boat, etc. etc. etc. lol.

You'll love them once you learn to use them.

Skeeter

[randerson52]

yah i love my baitcaster, i go threw many emotions when using it heres what i go through
;D > 8) ??? : :P :-[ :-X :-/ :-* :'(

[macgyver]

[quote author=WTL link=board=news;num=1092004975;start=0#7 date=08/08/04 at 22:47:36]Cilem,
In a nutshell they can be a little more accurate than spinning and they are a good bit better at fighting large fish. Baitcasters would be the most popular type of reel in America if not for two reasons...

1.) They can be difficult for some to learn to use.

2.) It is especially difficult to throw any baits lighter than 1/4 oz on a baitcaster. [/quote]


I definately can't agree with this. The reel you practice with and use the most is the most accurate, the person using it makes the difference. As for fighting fish, what does the reel have to do with anything? The rod yes, the tension of the drag yes, the line you choose yes, the reel NOT ONE BIT as for 1. and 2. I agree 100%.

Lizards

[Rosemeyer]

for fighting the fish, drag can be one of the primary, being it consists of a good hook set and how much control you have over the fish and the selection and type of poles available for baitcasters come available with reinforced backbones making stiffer poles for better hooksets and control of the larger fish so when most refer to a baitcaster they are considering the whole set up being fun to use and making for a more controlled cast.........using a spinning reel the line comes off your finger even though you may get good at using it the control of the cast will never be the same.....This is my second year using a baitcaster and I rarely go away from them except for finess fishing then I turn to my spinning setup.....

[Patrick Krueger, Jr.]

Once you get used to the baitcaster, you realize it has a ton of advantages over spinning gear. My favorite differences are casting distance and casting accuracy.

[hackattack]

jeez...ya really dredged this one up from the deep

[Patrick Krueger, Jr.]

lol... I usually look at the dates, but missed it this time. Sometimes with the new guys we need to "dredge up" some old ones instead of repeating ourselves. I know Rebbasser has answered tons of the same questions with the exact same responses, Zooker too.

[zooker]

yeah and a few lame question from patty-o furiture too..

thats 8500+post guys..

zooker

[fishheadhunter1987]

Just stick with it man it'll come! But like everyone above this said once you got it you wont look back! May the force be with you!

[islandbass]

Please check out baitcast 101 for the scoop

http://pages.infinit.net/fishing/page7.html

Here are some things I kept in mind when I first started using a baitcast reel that are now second nature. However, having it second nature still does not make one immune from encountering a bird’s nest.

1) Practice with cheap mono of about10# test. 12# and up is even better for learning. Avoid using ines of thinner diameter can hinder a novice’s learning. The reason for mono is because it is relatively cheap and is easier on the wallet.
2) Use at least 1/2 oz of weight when you practice. For the time being, do not practice with anything lighter. A good chunk of pencil lead, a casting plug, or a slinky (river fishing weight) are great options because they remove hooks from the practice equation. You can practice with a lure, but I see no point in wasting one for the sake of learning.
3) The only thing I taught my little girl: No matter what happens, your thumb must stop the spool from spinning by feathering it to a stop or stopping it dead cold if necessary BEFORE your lure (weight) hits anything, be it the ground, a shrub, or the water. If you do this you greatly reduce your chances of nesting. Sheis 7 now and was 6 at the time and she got it down. Kid are amazingly fast learners!

The Bird’s Nest

A bird's nest occurs when there is a great difference between the speed of your lure flying away from you and the speed the spool is spinning in which the spool's speed is higher than that of the lure. These situations occur most frequently when:

1) You are casting into a strong wind. The wind slows your lure but the spool is still spinning fast.
Solution: learn to cast lower, and if that doesn’t work make

2) When your lure hits the water or other object such that the speed of your lure comes to a dead stop (or slows considerably relative to the spool's speed) and your spool is still spinning, giving out line.
Solution: Learn to stop the spool with your thumb right before your lure hits the water or other object like a shrub or even the ground when you are practicing in your yard. This nest is what gets most beginners especially if they are coming from spinning background (like me). Also, the moment you think you're going to nest, stop the spool cold! Don't get caught looking at it like a deer staring into the headlights! (I'm speaking from personal experience).

3) Trying to make too hard or too fast a cast. (i.e., perhaps too “wristy’).
Solution: Slow down. You will learn and be amazed at how little effort it takes to make a good quality cast and a long one if need be with but a flick of the wrist.

Keep in mind is that no one, not even the pros are immune from getting a bird’s nest every once in a while. Keeping that in mind will help to put you at ease as you are learning.

If you are coming from a spinning reel background, you will come to realize that the release time for a baitcast reel (thumb coming off the spool to let the line go) is slightly earlier than that with a spinning reel (forefinger coming off the rod to let the line go). If you find the lure/weight slamming into the ground just in front of you with an overhand cast, or flying off the the left for a right-handed person making a side arm cast, this means that you are letting go a little too late. If you find the lure/weight going up high with a rainbow like trajectory with an overhand cast, or flying off the the right for a right-handed person making a side arm cast, this means that you are letting go too early.

The adage "It's all in the thumb" is oh so true. It is the only appendage that is between you and a bird's nest.

To answer your question, just work on the mechanics of the cast and don’t worry about the distance of your casts. Your first goal should be to make consistent cast without any overruns or bird’s nests.

Oh, one last thing.. once you've got it down, you might ask yourself why you took long to start using them. I did and I have only been fishing for 4 seasons.

[Rosemeyer]

haha it was on mine since I am a new member it showed as a post not looked at so I automatically thought it was a new post sorry for digging it up guys