I've got a friend who uses spinning reels and instead of cranking them like they are intended to be used he flips the rig right side up and reels the handle backwards! It works for him yet a odd site to see.
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My bait casters are all right handed crank and my spin casters are all left handed crank. I cast both with my right hand, I switch with my baitcasters back to my left hand after I cast. I don't know if it would make any difference to you, but if you plan on flipping and pitching, I would learn on a left hand retreive so you don't ever have to left go of the rod to engage the reel. I read that somewhere. If you get a bite immeadiately when the bait hits the water, you are less likely to lose the fish.
P.S. I will admit it was harder to learn to fish a spook with a right hand retreive baitcaster, but go to Nolin this summer, you'll learn that quickly!!
I've got a friend who uses spinning reels and instead of cranking them like they are intended to be used he flips the rig right side up and reels the handle backwards! It works for him yet a odd site to see.
All my reels are right handed...including spinning. I have always put the handle on the left.
Don't feel dumb about baitcasters. Here's dumb: buying 2 Johnny Morris baitcasters and only use one 4-5 times b/c you can't get the hang of it. The other one is in the box. I probably need to sell them but I adamantly tell myself I'm gonna learn. So far, only heavy baits are working out.
I use all right handed reels. That's the way I feel comfertable. I switch my spinning reel handle to the right side feels weird trying to crank left handed so I say do what makes you feel comfertable. Their is no such thing as dumb quesitions......
Thank you all so much for your help! I'm going to practice a bit both casting left handed and also casting right handed then switching hands and see if I feel like I could get used to either method. I played with the new rod and reel today for a few minutes outside practicing casting both ways. Only thing I can tell you at this point is that it's probably going to take me more time to learn a baitcaster than I had anticipated. But that's ok.
meant to say I put the handle on all my spinning reels on the right.
How come there is no edit option btw?
FF, ive been using a baitcaster for 34 years, while fishing today i only backlashed .......who's counting anyway?!?!? LOL another 34 years i might actually get good at it. you will get the hang of itThank you all so much for your help! I'm going to practice a bit both casting left handed and also casting right handed then switching hands and see if I feel like I could get used to either method. I played with the new rod and reel today for a few minutes outside practicing casting both ways. Only thing I can tell you at this point is that it's probably going to take me more time to learn a baitcaster than I had anticipated. But that's ok.
p.s. do you understand how to adjust the spool tension / mag brakes etc?
I watched a few videos on youtube touching on those subjects. I understand the spool tension and I have that dialed in perfectly with the practice plug I currently have on the rod. However, I don't really understand the whole braking thing. In one video I watched the guy said if you're a newbie he suggested having 3-4 brakes on. So I have mine set to 4 brakes on at the moment. But I don't even understand what it does...FF, ive been using a baitcaster for 34 years, while fishing today i only backlashed .......who's counting anyway?!?!? LOL another 34 years i might actually get good at it. you will get the hang of it
p.s. do you understand how to adjust the spool tension / mag brakes etc?
Last edited by coombro; 02-20-2012 at 10:32 PM. Reason: lookin for edit button
Those are centrifugal brakes. Some baitcasters have two sets of brakes, one is spring loaded/mechanical, the other is magnetic. There are some that use friction. What the brakes do is slow the spool down after the initial cast to take up for the lure slowing down after throwing it so the spool can catch up. They call it antibacklash. I would suggest, when new to baitcasters, to walk out the amount of line equal to the distance you will be casting, then take a piece of electrical tape and put it over the line on the spool. This way, if you do have an overrun as a result of incorrect brakes or spool tension, it will not backlash. There are some YouTube videos that will help get your brakes and spool tension set up correctly. Usually, the heavier the bait, the tighter the spool tension and less brakes, for lighter baits you want less spool tension and more brakes. The setting are trial and error. Different people will have theirs set different than others. Once you get good throwing a baitcaster, you'll wonder why you never tried using one before. The accuracy is amazing and the casting distance is nice too, plus no line twist!!I watched a few videos on youtube touching on those subjects. I understand the spool tension and I have that dialed in perfectly with the practice plug I currently have on the rod. However, I don't really understand the whole braking thing. In one video I watched the guy said if you're a newbie he suggested having 3-4 brakes on. So I have mine set to 4 brakes on at the moment. But I don't even understand what it does...
This biggest downside for me is using lighter baits, it is very hard to get the baitcaster dialed in. You still need to have some spinning reels.
Last edited by 09Z7SC; 02-21-2012 at 08:39 AM.
Like most have said, no dumb questions. After using spinning reels for most of my life I too tried bait casters. The first one I got I took back after several hours of frustration. The following year I tried again. This time I went to Bass Pro and talked to the guys there after also talking to guys in my bass club. The BPS person sold me a BPS Extreme combo and then told me how to set it. He then told me if I couldn't figure out how to cast in my drive way to come back to the store on a weeknight and he would show me how to do it behind the store. After he showed me how to set in the store I learned very quickly how to dial it in for various baits.
I also have to agree that for very light baits it is more difficult. So like Ike says, never give up!
One last comment...
After using a bait caster for several things I still couldn't walk the dog using my left hand with a right hand retrieve. So this year I bought one left handed bait caster to use for top water. Probably should have bought all left handed to start with, but live an learn!
Oh, I spooled the baitcaster with 20lb Power Pro braid. Is that a decent line to use to learn with??
Thanks again to all for the help!