New to Baitcaster

will crask · 04-12-09, 10:09 AM

Hay guys I am new to useing the baitcaster and need some help on backlash how can I prevent from getting backlash. This is verry frustrating when it happens! Any help would be nice.

jooleyen · 04-12-09, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by will crask

Hay guys I am new to useing the baitcaster and need some help on backlash how can I prevent from getting backlash. This is verry frustrating when it happens! Any help would be nice.

Use a heavier bait, set your reel tighter, and thumb your spool.

Love of the Sport · 04-12-09, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by will crask

Hay guys I am new to useing the baitcaster and need some help on backlash how can I prevent from getting backlash. This is verry frustrating when it happens! Any help would be nice.

Which reel do you have? What size and type line are you using?

BigBassin144 · 04-12-09, 10:59 AM

First you need to set the reel up correctly.

The first step is locating the Spool Tension Know. This should be on the same side as the handle, behind the drag. Tie on your lure, to learn I did well with a 3/8 oz lure/weight. Reel it almost to the tip of the rod. Hold the rod up at a 45 degree angle. press the thumb bar and let the bait freefall, but make sure to stop it before it hits the groud. If the bait falls fast, tighten the spool tension knob. And remember, a small turn goes a long way. Repeat the dropping of the lure. You need to do this until your lure falls very slowly, or want fall w/o shaking the tip of the rod a bit. Make sure adjust this when you switch lures, especially when the weight changes a lot.

The next step is the brake. This will be on the opposite side of the reel aas the handle, drag and spool tension. If you have a reel like a Daiwa, or a mid level Abu Garcia, you'll have magnetic brakes and there will be a little dial there with like 0-10 or min-max. Let this to about 70%, so number 7 on a Daiwa and eyeball it on reels w/o numbers. Then you should be good to go. As you get better, you can gradually turn the brake down. I starting baitcaster a couple years ago, and my Daiwa's are down to 3 most of the time.

The other kind of Brakes, such as on Shimanos and high end Abu's are Centrifugal. This will normally, unless you have a very high end Shimano, require you to open the reel. Shimano's new reel have the 1/8 turn thing, which I really like to get into the reel. My Abu and most other centrifugal reels have a little screw on the opposite side of the reel. Anyways, take the sideplate off and you should see six little "pins". These are your brakes. If the plastic cover on the pin is pushed in, the brake is off. If the plastic cover is pushed out, it's on. (I can't take credit for this, but another member on here helped me remember this by this saying, "I fish OFTEN" the word often, sounds like OFF and IN. so when the brake is in, it's off.) Anyways, just remember you always need your brakes on these reels to be symetrical. So if you turn one brake on, the one across from it has to go on as well. I'd turn four of them on to start with. You can also use three, but we'll get into that when you get better.

One more choice for brakes, in Dual brakes, such as higher end BPS reels and higher end Pfluegers. This simply uses both kinds of brakes. But with these, I set both brakes a bit lower. If I use 4 on the centrifugal, I'll use 2 on a dual brake reel. If I have my magnetic set to 50%, I'll move it down to 30% on a dual brake reel.

One more thing to remember w/ yor brakes, especially when you first start out, is to turn them up in the wind. I've used all three kinds of brakes, and for a beginner, the Dual brakes work best, but those reels a normally a bit more pricey. Between Magnetic and Centrifugal, I found magnetic easier to learn with.

Line: when you're learning, you will get backlashes. The only thing that will make you better is to keep practicing. But until then, I suggest using a monofilament line. I suggest this for beginners for a number of reason.
1. It's cheap.
2. It won't get damaged like fluorocarbon if you get a bad backlash.
3. normally the backlashes are less sever than those in braid.
4. if you have to cut a real bad one out, like I said before, it's cheap and easily replaced.

Hope this helps,

BB

islandbass · 04-13-09, 12:01 AM

http://pages.infinit.net/fishing/bait101.htm

CCbass · 04-13-09, 04:12 AM

I learned before the magnetic setting and did so making it as hard as possible to cast. Meaning if I threw it as hard as I could it only went a few yards, by tightening the tension of the line. I backed off slowly and learned how to thumb the spool to not backlash, just how I learned hope it helps.

BassinID · 04-13-09, 04:56 PM

Its always a great idea to do some practice off the water. Some great advice by BigBassin above as well. I find it much nicer to take care of a backlash when you don't have to control the boat or worry about your rigging. Its also much easier, in my opinion, to learn with a single weight on the end, a Carolina rig can or similar setups seem to be harder to start with.

Jim80 · 04-13-09, 05:29 PM

The only thing I can add is you are not trying to fling the bait, yet the bait gets cast by pre loading the rod and letting it do the work so if you are trying to cast super hard it will increase your chances of a overrun . and your thumb is your best friend other than that BB covered it .

Jim

ejvesper · 04-13-09, 08:18 PM

I agree with everyone....tighten the spool so that your lure falls slowly till it touchs the floor and when it does the spool may turn one more time. You should have your brake adjustment @ 0 when you do this and then set it to maybe 7 of if you have centrifugal set them all out and make a couple casts out in the back yard and see how it goes...make minor adjustments to your spool tension and brake system depending on where the birdsnest happens...for instance at the beginning of the cast or when it hits the ground....and don't be afraid to take your boat out on a clam day and just mess around...good luck...once you get it I'm sure you won't go back...

BigBassin144 · 04-14-09, 01:51 PM

Also like a lot of the guys have said, learn to use your thumb to control the speed of the spool as well. With modern baitcasters, you can set the so they won't backlash no matter where your thumb is or how hard you cast, but don't. If you ignore the thumber thing in the beginning, it'll be harder to learn later, trust me. And when you cast you're not trying to throw the bait as far as you can. It's like a golf swing, a smooth fluid motion will get your golfball (or bait) farther than a hard jerky one.

BB

CCbass · 04-15-09, 02:32 AM

Like I posted as to how I learned to thumb and other posts from people, imagine if you did not thumb your reel and the way you set it up to fish it today after learning the baitcaster, I think line sales would go up 80%.

tomd · 04-15-09, 09:50 AM

When teaching my son how to cast I would peel off about 20 or 30 feet of line and put tape on the rest of the spool. This would limit the amount of line he had to get in trouble with. Use the blue painters tape it won't gunk up the line.

Tom D.

04-12-09, 10:09 AM	#1
will crask BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: savannah ga Posts: 8	New to Baitcaster Hay guys I am new to useing the baitcaster and need some help on backlash how can I prevent from getting backlash. This is verry frustrating when it happens! Any help would be nice.

04-12-09, 10:59 AM	#4
BigBassin144 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 9,463	First you need to set the reel up correctly. The first step is locating the Spool Tension Know. This should be on the same side as the handle, behind the drag. Tie on your lure, to learn I did well with a 3/8 oz lure/weight. Reel it almost to the tip of the rod. Hold the rod up at a 45 degree angle. press the thumb bar and let the bait freefall, but make sure to stop it before it hits the groud. If the bait falls fast, tighten the spool tension knob. And remember, a small turn goes a long way. Repeat the dropping of the lure. You need to do this until your lure falls very slowly, or want fall w/o shaking the tip of the rod a bit. Make sure adjust this when you switch lures, especially when the weight changes a lot. The next step is the brake. This will be on the opposite side of the reel aas the handle, drag and spool tension. If you have a reel like a Daiwa, or a mid level Abu Garcia, you'll have magnetic brakes and there will be a little dial there with like 0-10 or min-max. Let this to about 70%, so number 7 on a Daiwa and eyeball it on reels w/o numbers. Then you should be good to go. As you get better, you can gradually turn the brake down. I starting baitcaster a couple years ago, and my Daiwa's are down to 3 most of the time. The other kind of Brakes, such as on Shimanos and high end Abu's are Centrifugal. This will normally, unless you have a very high end Shimano, require you to open the reel. Shimano's new reel have the 1/8 turn thing, which I really like to get into the reel. My Abu and most other centrifugal reels have a little screw on the opposite side of the reel. Anyways, take the sideplate off and you should see six little "pins". These are your brakes. If the plastic cover on the pin is pushed in, the brake is off. If the plastic cover is pushed out, it's on. (I can't take credit for this, but another member on here helped me remember this by this saying, "I fish OFTEN" the word often, sounds like OFF and IN. so when the brake is in, it's off.) Anyways, just remember you always need your brakes on these reels to be symetrical. So if you turn one brake on, the one across from it has to go on as well. I'd turn four of them on to start with. You can also use three, but we'll get into that when you get better. One more choice for brakes, in Dual brakes, such as higher end BPS reels and higher end Pfluegers. This simply uses both kinds of brakes. But with these, I set both brakes a bit lower. If I use 4 on the centrifugal, I'll use 2 on a dual brake reel. If I have my magnetic set to 50%, I'll move it down to 30% on a dual brake reel. One more thing to remember w/ yor brakes, especially when you first start out, is to turn them up in the wind. I've used all three kinds of brakes, and for a beginner, the Dual brakes work best, but those reels a normally a bit more pricey. Between Magnetic and Centrifugal, I found magnetic easier to learn with. Line: when you're learning, you will get backlashes. The only thing that will make you better is to keep practicing. But until then, I suggest using a monofilament line. I suggest this for beginners for a number of reason. 1. It's cheap. 2. It won't get damaged like fluorocarbon if you get a bad backlash. 3. normally the backlashes are less sever than those in braid. 4. if you have to cut a real bad one out, like I said before, it's cheap and easily replaced. Hope this helps, BB __________________ As of June 14, 2014 the members of the BF.com forum have moved to basschat.yuku.com!

04-13-09, 12:01 AM	#5
islandbass BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: WA State Posts: 1,783	http://pages.infinit.net/fishing/bait101.htm __________________ ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)

04-13-09, 05:29 PM	#8
Jim80 BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Thomaston CT Posts: 3,862	The only thing I can add is you are not trying to fling the bait, yet the bait gets cast by pre loading the rod and letting it do the work so if you are trying to cast super hard it will increase your chances of a overrun . and your thumb is your best friend other than that BB covered it . Jim __________________ In memory of Zooker 1/11/73-7/2/2010. You will be sorely missed and never forgotten.

04-13-09, 08:18 PM	#9
ejvesper BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Monmouth, Maine Posts: 66	I agree with everyone....tighten the spool so that your lure falls slowly till it touchs the floor and when it does the spool may turn one more time. You should have your brake adjustment @ 0 when you do this and then set it to maybe 7 of if you have centrifugal set them all out and make a couple casts out in the back yard and see how it goes...make minor adjustments to your spool tension and brake system depending on where the birdsnest happens...for instance at the beginning of the cast or when it hits the ground....and don't be afraid to take your boat out on a clam day and just mess around...good luck...once you get it I'm sure you won't go back... __________________ All those who live must die...all those who die may not have lived.....Fish

04-13-09, 04:12 AM	#6
CCbass BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Monterey CA Posts: 253	I learned before the magnetic setting and did so making it as hard as possible to cast. Meaning if I threw it as hard as I could it only went a few yards, by tightening the tension of the line. I backed off slowly and learned how to thumb the spool to not backlash, just how I learned hope it helps.

04-13-09, 04:56 PM	#7
BassinID BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Too far from largemouth, Idaho Posts: 672	Its always a great idea to do some practice off the water. Some great advice by BigBassin above as well. I find it much nicer to take care of a backlash when you don't have to control the boat or worry about your rigging. Its also much easier, in my opinion, to learn with a single weight on the end, a Carolina rig can or similar setups seem to be harder to start with.

04-14-09, 01:51 PM	#10
BigBassin144 BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toledo, Ohio Posts: 9,463	Also like a lot of the guys have said, learn to use your thumb to control the speed of the spool as well. With modern baitcasters, you can set the so they won't backlash no matter where your thumb is or how hard you cast, but don't. If you ignore the thumber thing in the beginning, it'll be harder to learn later, trust me. And when you cast you're not trying to throw the bait as far as you can. It's like a golf swing, a smooth fluid motion will get your golfball (or bait) farther than a hard jerky one. BB __________________ As of June 14, 2014 the members of the BF.com forum have moved to basschat.yuku.com!

04-15-09, 02:32 AM	#11
CCbass BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Monterey CA Posts: 253	Like I posted as to how I learned to thumb and other posts from people, imagine if you did not thumb your reel and the way you set it up to fish it today after learning the baitcaster, I think line sales would go up 80%.

04-15-09, 09:50 AM	#12
tomd BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Posts: 1	Baitcasters When teaching my son how to cast I would peel off about 20 or 30 feet of line and put tape on the rest of the spool. This would limit the amount of line he had to get in trouble with. Use the blue painters tape it won't gunk up the line. Tom D.

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