decreasing the magnets on the baitcaster

[bigjim]

2nd year now using the baitcaster set-up, but still find myself fearful of keeping the magnets at any less than 10. everytime i get gutsy and say " ok, lets back this down to 5 and see what happens" i get the birdnest on the 1st throw, i say a few curse words, un-do the nest and ratch it back to 10 in disgust, but i realize im not doing myself any favors by doing this. got work twice as hard to get a decent distance cast, pitching a jig is pointless too when the mags are that high. yet still i continue to do it.
also if im making a long cast i find myself always feathering the spool w/ my thumb,although very lightly feathering it, i cant seem to completely get my thumb away and let that lure sail through the air and then stop the spool with my thumb just before contact. i know what i wanna do, just cant get myself to do it

[bassboogieman]

What kind of reel are you dealing with? Does it only have magnetic brake on the side plate or is it dual brake? Usually the magnetic brake on the side is to brake the reel towards the end of the cast, the internal brakes (6-pin) will help control the spool at the beginning of the cast - more pins out the more brake is applied. Adjusting the centrifical brakes inside will help considerably with reducing the bird nests (professional overrun) if so equiped.

[Jrob78]

The first thing you need to do is move the dial to 9 and cast, if that goes well, move it to 8 and cast, etc. Going from 10 to 5 is a recipe for disaster, as you've found out. My reels that only have magnetic brakes (Daiwa Magforce V,Z) are usually never dropped below about 7 or so. The brakes are there to be used, you shouldn't feel like you need to drop them all the way down to cast well. Somewhere in between all on and half on should work for you. Also, don't forget to adjust the spool tension knob accordingly.

As for the thumb, I always thumb the spool too. I don't do it in the middle of the cast unless I feel like it's getting away from me but I always do at the end of the cast to prevent backlashs when the bait hits the water. Cut yourself some slack, ease off on the brakes little by little until you get the performance you are looking for.

[wallywallace]

listen these guys before, me but with my smaller rods, my 6 then 6'6. I turned the mag on the side to 5 then fixed my tension and other braking knob. yea i am not big on names. if it has a 6 pin as well, i always pull one out, then the one across from that, i have been relgiously practicing baitcasting though. Again these guys help me to learn so listen to them over me, lol

[IowaBasser]

It sounds like you have your reel propperly adjusted. But if your reel isn't properly adjusted, you might be hiding a problem with the brakes at 10. When you reduce the brakes to 5 the impropper adjustments cause you to back-lash.

BigBassin144 wrote a terrific article on getting your bait-caster adjusted:
How to: Properly Adjust a Baitcasting Reel

If you've got everything set-up correctly (which you probably do) I reccommend doing what everyone else said... try adjusting the brakes a little at a time instead of cutting them from 10 to 5. You may find out that your reel casts best with the brakes on 7 or 8... and there's no way to find that out if you jump all the way down to 5.

Good luck.

[lilmule]

Im backwards ,set mine as low as I can about a 3 use the main brake called a thumb.
And im willing to bet can outcast you.
What would life be without an occasional bird nest.

[boloson]

keep the brakes high & try loosening the spool tension. see if that works. i pitch this way & pretty much keep the settings the same if i swap out lures. of course you'd still have to keep your thumb close to the spool but this setting has increased my casting distance without trying to force the lure

[bigjim]

im going to give all these ideas a try and see what works best for me along with gradually just getting better at it as time goes on
sometimes i just dont have patience and forget i have to crawl before i can run

[dave]

I don't have any reels with magnetic brakes. (I used to and couldn't get used to them) I have all Shimano reels. According to Shimano, the six pin brakes under the left palm plate, control the cast at the beginning of the cast. The thumb control knob controls the end of the cast. I've heard that magnetic brakes work a little different. I for one, never got the hang of them.

[gysgthard]

Bigjim

I am no pro but a I was tought to set your spool tesion all the way tight let your lure hang at the end of your rod push the release button and slowly lossen the spool tesion untill your lure starts to drop on its own when this happines the brake is set. I do this two to three times and I am good to go.

[Tavery5]

Just make sure that when you set your spool tension that your magnetic brakes are turned completely off.

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by Tavery5

Just make sure that when you set your spool tension that your magnetic brakes are turned completely off.

Very good point!

[bigjim]

hmmmm. never done that, i will start now though..thanks

[Tavery5]

Originally Posted by bigjim

hmmmm. never done that, i will start now though..thanks

Turning the brakes off allows the magnetic brakes to be used throughout their entire range. If you set the spool tension with the mag brakes on, the mag brakes then play a part in how much spool tension is required to get the proper fall on your initial setup. With the brakes turned off your spool tension is set and then the mag brakes have their full range to fine tune you casting.

Hope that made sense.

[bigjim]

that totally makes sense, thanks alot!!!
the more i sit back & think about my overall throwing technique too, maybe sometimes im throwing harder than i need to instead of my wrist doing most of the work and by chuckin it out there im creating more momentum on the spool than whats needed. which is also causing the overuns/backlashes at times

[slounch_slayer]

Well it really all depends on the weight of your bait. If you throw lots of lightweight baits then 10 is probably the way to go. I throw lot's of heavy jigs and can back off almost all the way on the magnetic brake without any backlash. If I tried that with an 1/8 ounce shakey head it would be disaster lol.

[Tavery5]

Slounch, I am not in total disagreement with what you say, but I am trying to understand your opinion about turning the brakes up when casting light baits. Can you explain you theory some.

[Crankbait]

Different things work for different angles and both brakes have their place and both have pros and cons…..some of it has to do with what you are casting (bait) and the style of fishing (flippin,pitchin,crankin and so on) you’re doing. I will say that setting your tension knob all the way down can have some negative effects on your reel….or at least make you have to change parts more often. One thing to consider and it varies from reel to reel is how fast line can truly come off your spool. The type of line and lb test can also be a factor. I did a couple of you tube videos on the subject….check em out.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnMQE...1&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAxl7...eature=channel

[DVT Mike]

No braking system will totally eliminate the need for some level of thumbing the spool for total control. Adjust the spool tension with brakes off then set the mag at 10 and test cast, backing off one click at a time as suggested. The rod, line and bait all affect casting too. A lure with a non-aerodynamic profile like a spinnerbait, looses velocity quickly and is easier to over run at the end of a cast. If the rod does not match the weight of the bait being thrown, you will be tempted tp force the cast and throwing hard is asking for trouble.