baitcasting rant.. 2024

I.rar reply :

i dont know what my problem was today , but every other cast was a birdsnest. it was a bit windy which didnt exactly help but it was super frustrating. also , the fact that we didnt even get a single bite didnt help either. i kept telling myself that my citica/compre combo will be up for sale and ill just go strictly spinning. shoot , they are cheaper and nests are not a problem with them , but i do like the control of the BC. :-/

has anyone else felt this way?

firefightn15 reply :

Happened to my nephew earlier in the year. He got so mad in the end that there wasn't anything left to do but laugh. And laugh we did.

5bass reply :

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] five.bass.limit.

I.rar reply :

Quote
Happened to my nephew earlier in the year. He got so mad in the end that there wasn't anything left to do but laugh. And laugh we did.

i laughed about it too , but it was very frustrating at the same time.

my combo may be up for trades in the flea market soon..

Big Tom reply :

How long have you been baitcasting?

What were you throwing?

fishfordollars reply :

NO.

kms399 reply :

do not sell the combo! my first baitcaster aggrivated the crap out of me i finally put it away for a couple weeks and then gave it a go and some how it clicked and i figured out how it works. i now prefer them to spinning reels. how do you have the brakes in the citica set up, if you are getting backlashes then add more brakes if that doesn't work tighten the tension knob a bit. and also dont try to cast really hard. my brother always does that. he swings for the fences and backlashes. hope that helps.

I.rar reply :

i have two of the brakes on, the way they have always been. tension knob was tighter than i usually have it too. i was throwing flukes and 5" trick sticks.

i find that i kinda force the cast but i never had this many in one outing before. usually its only one mild birds nest per outing since ive only had it since feb.

meh.

Hammer 4 reply :

When in the cast waas the birdsnest happening..?

If it was during the first part of the cast, add 2 more brakes/pins.

If it was at the end of the cast, your thumb needs more work..lol

Also, if you try and be real , what I call Wristy, i.e. snap your wrist hard, a overrun is more likely to occur. Just my 3 cents, but I'd add the 2 brakes, and practice throwing a 1/2 or 3/8 oz plug in your yard for awhile, as the plug begins to decend, strat feathering the spool with your thumb, same as you would with a lure on the end, feather/stop the line before the lure hits the water. Once you can do this with regularity, it's time to go back to fishing.

I recomend that you not try to cast a country mile at first, but try to be accurate, then as you gain confidence, try castin a tad further, you may need to loosen the spool friction knob or tighten, experiment to see what works best. also as you become more better, take the 2 brakes back off..It'll take time, but it's worth the practice.

RippinLips86 reply :

Ive been throwing a BC since i was 11yo now 23 and The only thing I've gotten better at is getting out birds nests. I was surf fishing the other day i must have spent 20min getting a birds nest out. Its all about how much you really want to throw them and the level of patients you have

grimlin reply :

I notice when I break in a new reel,the spool starts spinning faster than usual.If you were't having problems before and now you are might be a good idea to put on 3 on and 3 off for the brakes.All my centrifugal brake system reels are set like that.I rarely touch them.

Another thing that comes to mind is line.The limper that line is the better it'll cast.If that line gained some kind of memory from not using it much,it can make a big,big difference.This is why i can't cast fluorocarbon for nothing,it's stiffer and i backlash just about every time on it. You need a limp line to learn with before you start getting into any other hardcore lines.Using KVD line and lure conditioner or Reel magic may help you.

I still can't cast anything under 1/4oz of weight pending on what I'm trying to cast as well. Weightless plastics? I can't cast them with BC either...All of that goes on my spinning rigs.

mrlitetackle reply :

stick with spinners, and be happy

most will disagree,

but i cant stand BC's myself...

whittler reply :

Another backlash post, I'm probably going to step on a few toes but here goes.

Like Chris my father started me on a bc at age 11, but unlike Chris I'm 69 now. Pflueger Nobby reel and a True Temper tapered square steel rod. A Pflueger Nobby has no free spool(direct drive), no drag, no ball bearings and no magnets. Complaints to me about backlashes usually just draws a grin, make that big grin. Practice is the key and when you practice casting you will indeed get plenty of practice picking backlashes.

I really beleive that if most would simply learn to rely on their thumbs instead of adjusting gadgets, buttons and dials a lot of problems with baitcasters would go away. The worst of the modern baitcasters are head and shoulders better than anything out there 50 years ago.

Did I mention Practice?

grimlin reply :

Quote
Another backlash post, I'm probably going to step on a few toes but here goes.
Like Chris my father started me on a bc at age 11, but unlike Chris I'm 69 now. Pflueger Nobby reel and a True Temper tapered square steel rod. A Pflueger Nobby has no free spool(direct drive), no drag, no ball bearings and no magnets. Complaints to me about backlashes usually just draws a grin, make that big grin. Practice is the key and when you practice casting you will indeed get plenty of practice picking backlashes.

I really beleive that if most would simply learn to rely on their thumbs instead of adjusting gadgets, buttons and dials a lot of problems with baitcasters would go away. The worst of the modern baitcasters are head and shoulders better than anything out there 50 years ago.

Did I mention Practice?

That post almost completely made me want to toss my baitcasters and say the heck with it. I feel entirely retarded now......It also made me realize how much i love my spinning reels... ;D

islandbass reply :

The short answer is no.

Man that has got to be terrible, but in the end all birdsnests are angler induced, so the reel can't be blamed... And that can be irksome.

I.rar reply :

what i just realized , is that i did oil it for the first time since i bought it used. boy , was that spool spinning. it was mid flight when the nest would occur. the first nest took me about 5 minutes. the last one took me about 30 seconds to get out.

i have tried with 3 and 4 brakes and i could not get the distance i wanted. i mean , i have had it since feb , so im familiar with it but today was just one of those days i guess.

i did find a frog colored rapala skitter pop that someone had got snagged.

rubba bubba reply :

Sell it and get a Revo.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. You are throwing fairly light baits which aren't the easiest to learn on, however it now makes you much better at throwing heavier weights which are easier. It's like any sport - sometimes you can't hit the broad side of a barn - but it really is just a matter of practice. I wouldn't give up on them but if it's making fishing miserable, eventually if you don't improve you'll need to make a decision.

If it's performing differently after you made a change (oil), then you'll need to re-educate your thumb to that change. You'll need to thumb more during the middle of the cast now. It'll be less needed when you throw a heavier bait.

I.rar reply :

both baits i was throwing with a 1/8 oz bullet weight.

i have thrown 1/4oz wild eye somethings without any problems before. i may have lost my touch. i love the rod and the reel , but it seems im focusing more on my technique than i am fishing. i will give it more time before i decide on what i want to do (unless someone has a cardinal 800 series and a rod to match lol). just frustrated is all...

Red reply :

Quote
both baits i was throwing with a 1/8 oz bullet weight.
i have thrown 1/4oz wild eye somethings without any problems before. i may have lost my touch. i love the rod and the reel , but it seems im focusing more on my technique than i am fishing. i will give it more time before i decide on what i want to do (unless someone has a cardinal 800 series and a rod to match lol). just frustrated is all...

I have an 802...... ;D

I.rar reply :

Quote
I have an 802...... ;D

lol...

how much you want for it?

Red reply :

PM sent ;D

I.rar reply :

replied. ;D

man , im tired of it. they will be up for sale / trade tomorrow.

ill give casting another shot at a later time. i need to concentrate on my presentations more rather than my casting techniques , lol.

NewAngler reply :

Funny you mention the cardinal. I just found one in my garage. Paired with a berkely lightning rod.5'6" light.

I think its a crappy cardinal 130MX or something, but I didn't know I had it. I'm gonna test it out in the morning.

sweet daddy reply :

Before you sell your combo take it out in your yard, or some other open space and try this little trick. On a six pin/ vbs reel push in two weights toward the spool and adjust the tension to where the lure barley falls when you push the thumb bar down. Your first cast should be an overhead cast using just your elbows, don't put your back, or shoulders into it just use your elbows. Try a sidearm using just your wrist's. I know a nest will kill your attitude, I nest one up at least once a week, most of the time I can pick it out but I still have catastrophic ones that need the scissors. Don't give up now, just slow down.

I.rar reply :

Quote
Before you sell your combo take it out in your yard, or some other open space and try this little trick. On a six pin/ vbs reel push in two weights toward the spool and adjust the tension to where the lure barley falls when you push the thumb bar down. Your first cast should be an overhead cast using just your elbows, don't put your back, or shoulders into it just use your elbows. Try a sidearm using just your wrist's. I know a nest will kill your attitude, I nest one up at least once a week, most of the time I can pick it out but I still have catastrophic ones that need the scissors. Don't give up now, just slow down.

ive spend many hours in the backyard with buckets and such placed all around. i was pretty accurate , but i really dont use any techniques that i couldnt used with a spinning reel. i find it just as easy to stop the lure in midair than i do with casting. feathering is a different story.

well baitcasters are not going anywhere , so ill probably pick up a caster at a later time and give it another go.

Bantam1 reply :

Maybe the rod you are using is not correct for the application? It might be too heavy and not loading properly to get that good cast. I bet you are trying to force it to cast further and this is why you are backlashing. Typically 3-4 break weights is more than enough breaking to allow for a long cast and not backlash with the Citica.

championmayday reply :

some people just cant use a baitcaster and/or like them. nothing wrong with that, myself i cant stand spinning reels because i cant seem to use them worth a crap. just use what works for you and have fun thats what fishing is about anyway.

bilgerat reply :

Quit beating yourself up. There are a lot more people than you think that use spinning only. One extreme example is Fish Chris, who's caught a pig or two on spinning gear (ultra lite no less )

Hammer 4 reply :

Saw the op rig in the flea market..good prices imho, someone should jump on this..

farmpond1 reply :

Don't give up on it yet. I've been using baitcasters for years and yet early this summer I had a two day period where nearly every cast turned to shinola. I couldn't explain it then and I still can't. But the situation/my technique corrected itself and most of the time, casting isn't a problem.

Usually, I advise folks to be a little heavy on the thumb at first and gradually lighten up. I can't advise on how to use your particular reels gizmos.

I.rar reply :

like i said , i fished with it fine for the past few months without any problems. same two brakes , same way i set the tension knob as well. i just lost my touch.

i will jump on another BC when i get more funds. ive always liked spinning reels better anyways, its what i learned to fish on. my birthday and christmas is right around the corner , so depending how i feel about the situation then , the wifey may put a citica e under the tree for me.

also , the more i stick around , the more you will see i dont like to stay with one setup. for whatever reason , i like to try different things even when what i have works fine. im the same way when it comes to car audio. ive been through more speakers than id like to think about. ;D

Raul reply :

It was the year 1983, a friend of mine from Guadalajar ( who owned 3 tackle stores ) just inaugurated another store where I live. I went to visit the store and there is was, the strangest looking reel I 've seen, I was used to spincasting and spinning reels, have never actually seen a BC reel before, to me it looked like a miniature saltwater reel with extra dials. I asked Jorge what it was and he said it was a baitcasting reel. The price ? obscene by my poor student on an allowance standards.

So for a good 5-6 months the reel stayed there, they were so uncommon in Mexico that almost nobody knew anything about it ( let alone how they worked ); but it already had me coveting it. So when summer vacations arrived I asked Jorge if he could gimme a summer job at the store, he said "no problema" you can work at the store. I worked all summer and at the end of my summer job I told Jorge if instead of giving me money he could give me that reel and a rod as payment, "Sure !" he said, not only you can get both but also with the employee 's discount gran some line and some baits.

Finally the object of my desires was in my hands, I got a Silstar BC and a Silstar rod ( the brand of reels the store sold along with Penn ). I got a spool of 10 lbs test Stren line ( when it was manufactured by DuPont ), filled the reel and went to a pond to break it in.

Pressed the line release button and held my thumb against the spool, made a cast and ......... , as you can imagine the line got all tangled up on a megabacklash >, not knowing how to untangle the line I reached for a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut the line, leaving me with about only half of the line, but I 'm like fine fighting roosters, don 't matter the other rooster is beating the living carp out of me I go for more, I 'm stubborn as a mule. Same s*t happened again on the next cast :, couldn 't make another cast cuz I was out of line. :-[

Went back to the store for another spool of line and filled my reels again, next day I went to the pond and this times it only took me three casts to run out of line, it went on on the 3rd, 4th and 5 th spools of line but I wasn 't going to allow the dang thing to beat me.

One day when I was at the store wasting some time a gentleman from Celaya arrived, his name is Manuel Puente, he saw another reel Jorge had brought ( identical to mine ) for sale, looked at it and left it on the counter, we talked and I told him I had that reel and had all sorts of trouble with it, he made me some questions and that day I learned what the cast control is for .

Armed with new knowledge I took my reel for a try and began playing with the cast control cap, suddenly the backlashes began to diminish in quality and quantity. Then I began playing with the braking system and so on.

So, to make it short, you want to quit ? DO IT ! there 's nothing wrong in quitting or ....... chomp one of your balls and keep trying until you get the hang of it.

Nowhere is written that when you are born you already know how to cast with a bc reel without backlashing.

I.rar reply :

good story.

im not quitting , just throwing it on the 'back burner'. im keeping both my balls. ;D

Big Tom reply :

I am not entirely convinced that it is all you though. You said that you oiled the reel before the outing that gave you so much trouble. If that is the only variable that has changed (same rod, some old baits, etc...) maybe something isn't right with your reel.

Maybe someone more experienced with reel maintenance can chime in.

.RM. reply :

I would say that the reel is/was breaking in. The cc and breaks had to be backed off to get the distance you wanted. Then you oiled the reel, you don't say what you oiled.

So many of the new reels when first opened are greased on the shims and I have actually seen white grease in the bearings this alone will slow a reel down. Then add oil and you have a very slick area, will make a reel change.

Over time any reel will need to be readjusted, you cannot expect a new reel right out of the box to stay setup during a break in period of a season.

I have serviced and tuned many a reel that were over 2 season's old, and when the angler first takes them fishing I tell them they will need to re-learn their reel.

On out of town/state work I enclose in the box a note that the reel/s has been set to zero (my way of saying the free spool = cc is set so there isn't any lateral play, and all breaks are turned off).

I also agree with bantam1 here that maybe the rod isn't the right rod for the baits being casted or casting technique.

Also I have known anglers that get so mad when they don't catch they will place blame on the gear and sell it, and I have seen some blame other anglers...

I would say keep the system, and get back to fishing with what your comfortable with. Then at a later time when you have time off of the water, start practicing again.....

Just an old service techs .02¢

Tight Lines All!!!

I.rar reply :

im well aware of the difference from how it casted when i first received it from how it casts now after the oiling. i cleaned and oiled the spol shaft and bearing. basically the first page off shimanos bait casting reel maintenance page - http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/customer_service0/reel_maintenance_instructions.html and this has made a huge difference. i would recommend everyone who hasnt done this to their BC reels , to do it if you have noticed a decline in performance.

i am not blaming anything or anyone but myself for the backlashes. its obviously my fault they occur. i have been contemplating selling/trading it for a spinning reel for some time anyways. i may keep it and give it more time , but i will always feel more 'at home' with spinning outfits.

I.rar reply :

after some serious thought and going through this thread many times , ive decided to keep it. im almost embarrassed i let it get to me , but man was it frustrating.

the rod is rated from 1/8 - 1/2oz iirc , and thats what ive always been casting with it. maybe a little heavier , but never anything lighter. like RM said , i may just have to re-learn it. :

grimlin reply :

Quote
after some serious thought and going through this thread many times , ive decided to keep it. im almost embarrassed i let it get to me , but man was it frustrating.
the rod is rated from 1/8 - 1/2oz iirc , and thats what ive always been casting with it. maybe a little heavier , but never anything lighter. like RM said , i may just have to re-learn it. :

You're not alone....I feel the same way sometimes. ;D

I'm a little rusty when spring time comes around after a long hard winter up here. :-[

K_Mac reply :

squertz

I have been working a lot lately on pitching with lighter weight lures on a BC, and I can feel your pain. I have made some progress, but am still trying to find the line between too free, too tight, and the right amount of thumb. If I could land a lure as quietly with a spinning outfit I wouldn't bother, but I can't. I will keep working at it and hopefully enjoy the journey. Good luck.

Bigs reply :

Just gently put it out there and it will come natural as long as u dont force it. Thats my only advice. Its like learning to drive a stickshift. All it takes is a lil practice. Wind or no wind, makes no difference. Dont worry bout how far u cast it at first, distance will come. Focus on finding a motion that works for u and stick with it. Finesse it out there. Once u master it you will love the control you get with it. Just my 2 cents.

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