Dear Mr. BaitCaster 2024

siiilent reply :

Dear Mr. Baitcaster,

You win, I give up. Its been a straight week night and day praticing, I've even stood outside infront of my house on the road at night time praticing casting. I've read every article I could find, watched every video I could find, tried every setting prossible and still out of 60 casts I get 60 birds nest. From a 10 feet cast to a 40 feet cast I get birds nest. The problem is not putting my thumb down intime to stop the line, becasue I end up getting a birds nest while the lure is flying through the air. No I'm not whipping the reel to cast i'm doing soft and smooth lobs and still the same thing happens. A baitcaster is not for me, its not gone into storage until further notice. Maybe for the rest of the year who knows.

fishinfiend reply :

What kind of bc and how much?

njbasser reply :

Did you set the spool tension knob correctly? Brakes? Try lightly tapping the spool with your thumb during the cast.

siiilent reply :

Quantum Tour PT

Yup, adjusted the tension knob so that the lure is slightly falling, even tried putting it a bit tighter.

Even tried every setting on the braking system. tried basically everything. While casting tried slightly keeping my thumb on the line, and that still doesn't help. Line spool in mid air! NO FUN

fish-fighting-illini reply :

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Did you set the spool tension knob correctly? Brakes? Try lightly tapping the spool with your thumb during the cast.

"I've read every article I could find, watched every video I could find, tried every setting prossible"

vicdotcom reply :

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Dear Mr. Baitcaster,
. The problem is not putting my thumb down intime to stop the line, becasue I end up getting a birds nest while the lure is flying through the air. No I'm not whipping the reel to cast i'm doing soft and smooth lobs

Sounds like your not putting thumb pressure soon enough or your line is unwinding off the spool after you cast. Apply the thumb pressure when the lure is still in the air but slowing down. In otherwords just after it hit its speed apex so that the spool is not letting out more line faster than the lure is flying.

It can also be that your line stinks. I tried a few lines that were so stiff that it jumps off the spool everytime I casted no matter what. This happened to me more with floro line. When I switched to braid, it never jumped off the spool again.

Another tip, if you cant get it yourself, have someone else HELP you. Some people learn better when shown instead of reading or watching a video. Maybe asking someone to show you how to once, you might get it easier. You have a good reel. Your line might not match your reel.

Sorry to hear that your giving up though especially since you spent all that money and didnt even get it out on the water.

Vic

vicdotcom reply :

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Dear Mr. Baitcaster,
I end up getting a birds nest while the lure is flying through the air.

Two things might cause this. One is that the spool is releasing out line to fast. When you toss out a lure, it leaves the rod really fast, then starts to slow down in the air, then falls into the water. Now the spool is letting out line during this entire time BUT when the lure starts to slow down and fall, the SPOOL is still spinning really fast because it has less friction. This causes slack and extra line in the spool and BAM you get a birds nest. And this will happen while your lure is flying through the air.

What you have to do here is apply thumb pressure to make sure that the spool isnt letting out line faster than the lure can pull out.

The second cause maybe that your line is too stiff or has to much memory causing it to loosen up as soon as you release the spool. Kind of like a spring right after you cast. Try some 40-50 pound braid.

Understanding how a birds nest occurs is the key to stopping it.

Its mostly what I stated in the post above but I just wanted to show you why it happens.

Vic

packman reply :

when i was haveing truble i put 50# pp on it and that helped,once you get use to that i put 12# mono on and could cast fine,,hope it helps.

islandbass reply :

I highly recommend that you reconsider. Another thing that makes things difficult for newbies is how much weight they are practicing with.

How much are you practicing with? From what you've written, I would guess you're throwing something in the 1/4 oz range? This can be a bit of a challenge for a novice.

As a newbie, I recommend throwing no less than 1/2 oz. If you are throwing less than that, you could be impeding your process.

Also, the aerodynamics of the lure can affect your learning. I think a 1/2 oz bass casting weight is ideal for practice. For example, it would be easier to learn witha 1/2 oz casting weight than a 1/2 oz spinnerbait.

Also, practice does not make perfect necessarily. Quality, focused, practice is better.

If you don't believe me, go to a driving range (golf, the other four letter word) and watch the average Joe hacker whack through his bucket of balls, never once picking a target or analysing mechanics and working toward improvement. Just mindless ball whacking. When you practice and make a bird's nest, try to figure out what caused the backlash. Did it happen at the beginning of the cast, or at the end, or somewhere in the middle? Did you put too much energy into the mix? Did the thumb stop the spool from spinning before the weight or lure hits ANYTHING, be it the water's surface, the ground, or your neighbor's fence? The last thing is the only thing I told my daughter when she was 6 and a half. Her first cast was sweet and clean and she stopped the spool cold right before the weight hit.

1) Stick to throwing something heavy but within your rod's specs.

2) Learn to allow the weight to load the rod. Many people who come from a spinning background (like me) tend to not properly load the rod and you can always tell when they do because the rod whips by them and the lure takes off with a rainbow type trajectory that doesn't go far. Fotunately, with a spinning rig, the angler can get away with this but unfortunatley, not with a casting reel.

3) The time the thumb gets off the spool to let the line go is somewhat earlier than when the forefinger lets the line go on a spinning rig. If 12 o'clock is directly above and 9 o'clock directly ahead, the time that your thumb let's got is actually somewhere between 1:00 and 12:30. Yep, that early.

Vidco's advice is spot on. Even if there is some juice left in your cast, if you can see that the lure is not going to be going any farther, you will have to stop the spool. Once again, you can get away with this with a spinning rig, (lure hitting the water and line is still coming of the spinning reel) but not a casting rig.

If you are making easy casts, and using a heavier weight, then the general steps followed by most need some fine tuning. Put the cast control on a setting that the lure won't fall when the reel is in free spool but one little turn would get it to fall. Make a cast. If you're still nesting at that setting, chances are you're tossing a weight that the reel just won't handle without constant thumb nursing. Not all reels are equal in casting lighter weights.

Just don't give up.

Certified Public Angler reply :

lol sounds like me. The last 2 nights ive been casting into my pool. I can avoid a birdnest but the accuracy and distance are pathetic.

adclem reply :

More nice info for us bait caster beginners. So your line could actually be causing problems? I just recently started having problems after switching from a practice plug(1/4oz) to a trick stick t-rigged weightless.

I am using BP Excel 12# line that they sell and spool up for you at the shop.

I saw that switching to heavier braided line would help, correct?

Thanks for all the help,

.RM. reply :

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Dear Mr. Baitcaster, :'(
You win, I give up. Its been a straight week night and day praticing, I've even stood outside infront of my house on the road at night time praticing casting. I've read every article I could find, watched every video I could find, tried every setting prossible and still out of 60 casts I get 60 birds nest. From a 10 feet cast to a 40 feet cast I get birds nest. The problem is not putting my thumb down intime to stop the line, becasue I end up getting a birds nest while the lure is flying through the air. No I'm not whipping the reel to cast i'm doing soft and smooth lobs and still the same thing happens. A baitcaster is not for me, its not gone into storage until further notice. Maybe for the rest of the year who knows.

That's right just put it up (quit) and in the next decade try it again.......... :

moby bass reply :

I'm just wondering, have you spooled your line on the baitcaster correctly? It needs to come off the top of the line spool and over the top of the reel spool. I don't know if that would cause your problem but if you've tried everything else, check it out.

anglermangler reply :

hey man, i have 2 suggestions for you as i was struggling too in the beginning.

1.)throw something heavier like an un hooked crank bait that is broken or terrible lol and put the line through where the back hook would be so you reel it in to you backwards.

2.) put on a heavy line (either mono or copolymer) I just started throwing my BPS Qualifier with 20# cxx on it (feels like guitar string) and it not only made it easier to cast but made the messes WAY more manageable since with a line that thick you can not spool nearly as much and the knots are WAY more noticeable.

I went this route and am now throwing almost only my 2 baitcasters (well 1 at the moment as my tension knob went out again on my cabela's fish eagle tournament 2) the Qualifier still has the CXX 20# line on it and my Cabela's had suffix 20# braid with a 6# diameter that i only nested one time due to releasing too late and having the lure hit the water about 5 feet in front of me at full bore.

Hope this helped

AnglerMangler

catchnm reply :

Trade your Quantum in for a Shimano Citica D. I've been using BC reels of all brands for 20 years and these Citicas are the smoothest, quietest, easiest to adjust, and the most birds nest free that I have ever used.

Another reel that I had in about 1987 was the Bantam 100 Mag by Shimano. At the time I was a die hard Abu Garcia man but decided to give this Shimano a try. Jimmy Houston was pushing them so they couldn't be that bad. : Anyway I spooled it up with 8 lb. Trilene and matched it to a med/light BPS rod with a pistol grip handle. That thing would cast a grub on an 1/8 oz. lead head for a country mile. It very seldom ever backlashed. I wasn't smart enough to see the light then and wound up giving the rig to my son eventually. Stayed away from Shimanos (tried Quantums, Shakespeares, Daiwas, and most offerings by Abu Garcia) until this spring when after much stress and a lot of advice from guys on these forums, I bought the Citicas. I now own no other brand of bait caster, but I do own 6 Shimano bait casters. 20 years I tell ya, try the Citica D reels, you'll be writing a thank you letter to Mr. BaitCaster afterwards.

vicdotcom reply :

Quote
More nice info for us bait caster beginners. So your line could actually be causing problems? I just recently started having problems after switching from a practice plug(1/4oz) to a trick stick t-rigged weightless.
I am using BP Excel 12# line that they sell and spool up for you at the shop.

I saw that switching to heavier braided line would help, correct?

Thanks for all the help,

Braid is more limp than standard mono. Thats why it is sometimes easier. It lays real lazylike on the spool and doesnt want to "spring" out like some mono and floro can due to line memory. 50 pound braid is the same diameter as 12-14 lb mono. Thats the reason heavier braid is prefered. 12 lb braid is very thin.

In your situation, make sure you adjust your cast control knob after switching to the t-rig worm also.

Vic

Raul reply :

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Dear Mr. Baitcaster,
You win, I give up. Its been a straight week night and day praticing, I've even stood outside infront of my house on the road at night time praticing casting. I've read every article I could find, watched every video I could find, tried every setting prossible and still out of 60 casts I get 60 birds nest. From a 10 feet cast to a 40 feet cast I get birds nest. The problem is not putting my thumb down intime to stop the line, becasue I end up getting a birds nest while the lure is flying through the air. No I'm not whipping the reel to cast i'm doing soft and smooth lobs and still the same thing happens. A baitcaster is not for me, its not gone into storage until further notice. Maybe for the rest of the year who knows.

And you are quiting after only 60 backlashes ? :-? man, seriously, you need to grow some tuffer skin.

fishbear reply :

I learned to throw a BC about 25 yrs. ago using an old Daiwa Blue round reel, and 20 lb. Maxima line, and throwing 1 - 2 ounces of bait/lure and lead. I still get professional style birds nests. I have also casted Daiwa 250h reels on 14 ft. sturgeon poles on the Columbia River with 16 oz. of lead, and 60 lb. mono. Now, I am throwing 1/4 - 1/2 oz. stuff on light line.

IT TAKES PRACTICE and LOTS OF IT!!!!!

I bet I spent close to 60-70 man hours in the back yard practicing when I started. Learning my reel, adjusting settings, playing with diff. weights, etc....

Now, I can cast, left or right handed, do roll casts, cast for distance, etc.... and I can do it all without a second thought......... BUT YOU WILL ALWAYS get the occasional birdsnest. Just the nature of the beast.

Spend the time practicing, and it will work out.... just don't give up and lock it up in the closet... It opens a whole new world up to you in fishing when you have that BC in your hand. IMHO.

billbrum reply :

Keep at it. I learned how to cast a baitcaster when I was 7...and that was with a cheap Wal-mart reel.

siiilent reply :

Tried different lines and different weights.. Even tried braided. The thing is I can't figure out when its turning into a birds nest as soon as the lure starts flying though the air, not even when its slowing down, even just about 10 feet away from the rod tip the birds nest start. I tried again today and exact same results

fishbear reply :

It is freespooling to fast. You obviously do not have the settings correct for the weight you are casting.

grimlin reply :

siiilent,where at you located at? Maybe if somebody is close by you on this forum have him/her show you.Once you get it,it's a breeze...

catchnm reply :

Ya know it actually sounds like you have a faulty reel there bud. Try returning it or exchanging it. Might just be the problem.

siiilent reply :

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It is freespooling to fast. You obviously do not have the settings correct for the weight you are casting.

I do have it set right, lure falls extremely slowly. Even tried putting it a bit tigther so taht the lure doesn't fall unless i wiggle the rod. Then even tried a bit looser, same result

.RM. reply :

Sounds like the spool is turning faster than the lure is moving out.

Set the brakes at zero then set the cast control so that you have to wiggle the rod to get the lure to fall, and the spool stops turning when the lure hits the ground/water.

Then reset the brakes at about a 4 or 5 setting to start with.

Never set the cast control with the brakes set at anything other than zero, you defeat the proper setup.

adclem reply :

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Sounds like the spool is turning faster than the lure is moving out.
Set the brakes at zero then set the cast control so that you have to wiggle the rod to get the lure to fall, and the spool stops turning when the lure hits the ground/water.

Then reset the brakes at about a 4 or 5 setting to start with.

Never set the cast control with the brakes set at anything other than zero, you defeat the proper setup.

Great tip, will try that today, because I was not doing it this way.

Thanks for the advice also Vic.

Thanks again,

.RM. reply :

Vic,

You can read the whole article here.....Basic Baitcast Reel Setup 101

Tight Lines!!!!

moby bass reply :

Are you swinging the rod too hard? Easy does it. Every now and again I try to get a little more distance on my cast and swing the rod harder than I should and the bird's nest will start while the lure is still in the air. That is the one thing I had to learn over again, don't swing the rod hard. Try real easy soft casts.

dajmacd reply :

Quantum reels with the ACS braking systems usually ship with a great deal of Hot Sauce grease on the braking surfaces. Every new one I've ever seen is just gooped up with the stuff. If this stuff is still on your reel I recommend setting the ACS to it's highest setting, removing the side plate, wiping off the braking ring in the side plate and the tabs (weights) on the side of the spool. Use a little Zippo fluid or Ronsonol on a paper towel or kleenex to help get it really clean. Open the side plate and clean again after several casts because the stuff will continue to work out of the spool weight assembly. This should improve the response of the braking system. You can also polish the ring with some wet 1000-1500 wet-or-dry sandpaper and/or metal polishing compound. The weights will brake more efficiently on a smoother surface than on a rough one. Also, try setting the spool tension so that when the rod is held straight out with the handles up and the spool is released that the weight does not initially drop, but when the rod is lightly flexed, the weight/lure drops about a 18" and stops. Start with the ACS on the highest setting and back off as you build confidence. When everything clicks, you'll be glad you stuck it out.

daj

siiilent reply :

^ Great to know thanks,

I think I may even have a defective unit, as my drag doesn't hold tight anymore, on the tightest setting I can still pull out drag. Also I'm seeing the lubrication you're talking about

Gatorbassman reply :

That's typical on many brands of baitcasters. Most only have a max drag of around 8lbs.

adclem reply :

Set my bc up with some new braided line today and reset all the settings as suggested and am going to try it out tomorrow. It seems a lot better now that I reset it with the brake at 0 and then set the brake.

Thanks for all the help,

Catt reply :

#1 your reel is not set up properly, to resolve this problem go to The Reel Mechanic's web site for proper instructions.

#2 uneducated thumb, to educate you thumb start in your living room with you rod tip up, push the release button and watch your lure fall stopping it before it hits the floor, see how close you can get to the floor without hitting it. Next move outdoors and start making short cast remembering to stop the lure before it hits the ground with your thumb, continue until you can cast with close to no back lashes then move on to father distances.

st00pid reply :

I'm glad i read before i got mine. I hope you get it sorted out. My first cast ended up in 7 bucks worth of braided line cut off haha. I started with zero brakes set the spool tension then set the brake to ten.

After a month now i normally leave it on 4 or 5. Simply because i get tired of casting. Ive made some nasty ones but i really enjoy using them. I use two hands to cast, i cant use one or my accuracy is little to none. I need to start trying more stuff so i can get to where the fish are.

I just prefer fighting a fish with one vs a spinner kinda hard to explain.

When i got used to casting mine it took me a few trips to get the feel of a fish hitting it. Now i feel that i dont miss near as many as my spinning set up.

3795

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