Baitcasting combo - got it!

So I finally went out and got my first baitcasting combo at BPShop Saturday night. I ended up getting the Bass Pro Shops® Extreme™ Baitcast Reel & Rod Combo ([url]http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=74871&hvarDept=100&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=3&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse[/url]) - it was last year's model, so it was only $99. Drove home with the new combo, a bag full of stuff (including some practice plugs) happy as can be. Got home and began spooling line into the reel (took me a little to figure out how - and am not sure I did a great job), and went to bed with the outlook of a fun day at the Ohio River practicing casting.

Well, eventually it was a fun day the next day, but only after spending about 30 - 45 mins. working out birds nests after every cast!

Honestly, I had a blast and am excited about gettin' out there and gettin' it down better and gettin' to actually fish (not just practice casting). Can't overhand cast to save my life (get major hang ups inside the reel every time I tried) but I could side arm it just fine... I'll definately learn to overhand better.

Thanks for everyone's input here on my previous post about getting one!

If you are getting that many "professional overuns" - aka backlashes, you might try tightening the spool tension knob, and also check to see if you have any anti-backlash breaks. I'm not familiar with your reel, but many use magnets that you can adjust to have more or less drag on the spool.

To adjust the spool tension correctly, you should be able to depress the thumb bar, dip the tip and raise it again, and your lure should fall slowly to the ground, with the spool stopping once the lure is on the floor. You won't get as much distance, but you can loosen it up more as you get better.

Also, as you progress with your casting, you will learn to use your thump to "thumb" the spool to slow the speed of revolution.

Finally, try not casting so hard. To begin with, you need most of the action of casting coming from your wrist. Once you have that down, then you can begin adding extra arm movement, and even two handed casting.

Again, congratulations and good luck. My mom and dad started all of us out on baitcasters. We tightlined the Ohio river. We had to pick out our own backlashes. We started our own casting around 5 years old. Mom and dad would not even entertain the idea of a Zebco for one of us... LOL Now I'm glad, then not so much!!!!!


Danny

Yeah, that's what I did... in fact I had the brake knob (spool tension knob - same thing?) tightened so tight after the first few backlashes, I couldn't tighten it anymore! Of course got very little distance that way. Even when I put it in free spool, the 3/8 practice plug I was playing with didn't move at all! As the day wore on, I was able to loosen it up a little here and there gettin' backlashes every so often, but I definately got better as the day went on and had fun nonetheless. Even saw a peice of drift wood floatin' down the river and thought 'try to hit it' and came within an inch of it... I was pretty proud of myself then - LOL! Anyways, I was able to loosen it up quite a bit by the time I called it quits (started raining or I probably woulda been there all day) - I started to get the 'feel' of it.

The overhand cast is what I really need to work on... pretty terrible when I tried that, but sidearmin' it I was fine... told y'all I was a novice!! LOL!

Congrat on your new purchase I have that one and it is a good reel tips for the back lash
1 dont be in a hurry to throw long casts
2 throw mostly heavy lures to start
3 dont use braided line till you can go all day with mininal backlashing
4 use heavier line like 12 -15... any lighter starting out and you will always be tangled.
5 walk of what you think your longest cast will be and put electric tape their so the line isnt all wasted
6 (from expeience) if you hook something big before you have your drag engaged dont try to stop your spool witha bare thumb ( mine was a duck)It will hurt and cut your digits off
Rodney
Tight lines
NEVER DRIVE FASTER THAN YOUR ANGEL CAN FLY !!!

Sounds like you are well on your way. Congrats on the new combo. I've never tried BassPro reels but a lot of folks seem to really like them. Keep at it and before you know it, you'll be casting naturally without even thinking about it.
tight lines.

Hey, don't forget to practice at home too!!! My neighbors think I am a little looney. There have been many a snowy day where I am on my porch practicing my casting.

I like to stand on my porch, where I am about a foot or so higher than the ground. I put out targets around my front yard, and practice my pitching. For actual casting, I move off my porch to give me room to cast overhand.

You'll be a pro at it in no time.

Danny

crazyfishinnut is pointing you in the right direction. Use a heavy weight to start out (at least 1/2 oz). Take the hooks off a rattle trap or 1/2 oz spinner bait. Adjust the mechanical brake on the side of the reel so that when you push the release button the lure drops very slowly. Then foryour main adjustment you have to take the side plate off and adjust the little plastic brakes inside the reel until you have the right amount of friction to prevent backlashes. The way it works with the two brake system is one of the brakes keeps you from backlashing at the beginning of the cast and the other one keeps the spool from turning at the end of the cast. You have to have both of them adjusted to get good backlash free cast. Your owners manual will tell you how to adjust the plastic brakes inside the reel. It will take some trial and error. Your best bet is to find someone that uses a baitcaster alot and let them help you instead of trying to figure it out from scratch. I'm down on Lake Cumberland far from you or I would help you. Remember make smooth cast. Don't try for distance yet. Dont break your wrist when you cast. Some of my friends found it easier to learn to side arm cast at first (because it naturally is smoother and you are not as likely to break your wrist during the cast causing the backlash). As you get more comfortable start casting more overhanded. It's a lot easier to show you than tell you on this page. But anyway you have a nice rod and reel, I have several and I'm sure you can find someone around Louisville to work with you until you get the hang of it. Remember the internal and external brakes must both be adjusted for that reel. Good luck.

Uh oh... I don't have an owners manual - didn't come with one. I'll try and find it online.

Sidearmin' the casts was a whole lot easier than overhandin' - I think because I wasn't following through on the overhand and the plug would drop super fast right in front of me and I'd get a big birds nest in the reel. With sidearmin' it I could feel the natural motion of it. Like ridin' a bike!

Keep your fingers crossed I find the owner's manual online! LOL!

That reel should have platic brakes inside the cover. Have someone to show you how to set them. Keep side arming for a while and gradually work your way up to an overhand cast. When you master casting then you can learn how to pitch underhand. Great way to put the bait right where you want it with a soft entry.

Still gotta look for the owners manual online... but when I was buying it the guy at the store checked it out and there was a clear/white plastic peice (brake) missing from the gears inside after he removed the cover... they replaced it for me and gave me the rest of the little plastic brakes they pulled from another box.

I think my biggest problem with overhand casting is not following through... also, I'm a little nervous that I didn't do the best job of windin' the line onto the spool and that's helped to create some of the birds nests I've been gettin'... I'll probably try to re-wind the the line back onto the spool this weekend. Might get one of those spool tools or spooling stations when I go up to BPShop this weekend... are they worth it?

I have the berkley spooling station, and have had it for several years. My wife likes it even more than I do, and I love it. She no longer has to hold the spools of line on a pencil, and put pressure on the spool to make sure I got it on tight.

You won't be sorry you have the spooling station. Also, the hook sharpener/line stripper is great!!! It empties the reel faster than you could ever do it by hand.

Get it, enjoy it... honest!

Danny

That's the one I was looking at... I really think I did a terrible job spooling the line on my reel and that might (not sure, but seems reasonable) be why I got birds nests so often at first. Seems like a real affordable thing to have - so maybe that'll be one (as in there'll more than just one!) of my weekend purchases! My fiancee was rollin' her eyes having to stand there with the pencil and keep 'er tight for me (though I don't think she kept it very tight at all... LOL!)