magnetic or centrifugal? 2025

jimmyjoe reply :

I'm a shorecaster. In spring, northern shores warm up first with a southerly wind, so I'm casting into the wind a lot. I hate casting into the wind, especially with a spinnerbait. (I'm used to centrifugal reels, not magnetic. I figure I can maybe learn, though, if need be.) So .... which works better into the wind with non-aerodynamic lures, a magnetic or a centrifugal? Thnx. jj

BrackishBassin reply :

I don’t have many issues with throwing into the wind with my Tatula CT. It’s a magnetic braking system. That being said, if it’s really windy, I just switch to a spinning set up and throw into the wind all day without worrying about it.

The Bassman reply :

I've said it before, as much as I love my baitcasters I'm finding my spinning rigs to be much more practical. There's definitely a place for baitcasting gear. In my applications baitcasters are toys to be tinkered with but spinners are tools to get the job done.

Josh Smith reply :

I prefer centrifugal brakes. The reels I use regularly that have magnetic brakes at all, also have centrifugal.

The magnets help with the wind.

Regards.

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

Casting into wind, magnetic brake all the way. It is easy to adjust and less bird nest. Centrifugal, doesn't matter how well train your thumbis, you gonna have some problem or suffer a lot on distance.

But like everyone mentioned a spinning gear might be better than both.

jimmyjoe reply :

Thnx. Spinning gear is out. Looks like magnetic is in. Now the only things to ask is ...... which magnetic? Spinnerbaits are all 1/4 and 3/8 oz, so about 1/2 and 5/8 oz total. Crankbaits are 3/8 balsa (Bagley's). Sale price would be nice. What about Lew"s magnetics? Are they as consistent as Daiwa's?

Tywithay reply :

I think that Daiwa's MagZ is the best magnetic on the market (aside from Mag3D, but they don't use that on any current reels).

WCWV reply :

I like the multiple braking system

CroakHunter reply :

On 3/27/2018 at 9:30 AM, jimmyjoe said:

Thnx. Spinning gear is out. Looks like magnetic is in. Now the only things to ask is ...... which magnetic? Spinnerbaits are all 1/4 and 3/8 oz, so about 1/2 and 5/8 oz total. Crankbaits are 3/8 balsa (Bagley's). Sale price would be nice. What about Lew"s magnetics? Are they as consistent as Daiwa's?

I have been so pleased with my daiwa fuegos, tatulas, and tatula sv's that it is hard for me to recommend anything but them. Although I do have some lews reels, I much prefer the daiwa with mag brakes. Respectively $65, $100, and around $140 for the reels I listed, on eBay.

burrows reply :

I prefer centrifugal but I have to admit I don’t have much experience with any good magnetic reels. The only reels I’ve used with magnets were lews that was some time ago and I hated them. I only fish shimano reels but I’m thinking of getting a diawa soon waiting to see what they come out with next.

Delaware Valley Tackle reply :

The Daiwa brakes are a firm of msg brake but I put them in a class separate from other msg brakes with out the inductor. Outside of daiwa I don't care for mag only brakes. Regardless of the reel or brake style you choose setup, practice and skill are what will make the difference.

LionHeart reply :

They both work differently. Centrifugal works by engaging more as your spool spins faster while mag brakes slow your spool all the time. I like having both, but spool control knob can carry the weight of mag brakes 'more or less'. Casting into the wind with a spinner bait can be tough regardless. I find that is when I need to turn both breaks up and really pay attention to thumb control.

Even then, I will back lash a fair amount casting non aerodynamic lures into the wind. That's when it can be a breath of fresh air to just grab a spinning rod and cast hard directly into the wind and not care.

custer reply :

One reason I'm a revo3 stx fan. It has both, centrifugal and magnet.

I set the centrifugal first, based on lure weight. Make a cast or ten varying the mag setting. Reset the centrifugal so your basic mag adjustment is neutral. You want the centrifugal set so you can cast the target lure rig throughout the mag range in no wind conditions

Then when the wind comes, you have adjustability in your set up.

FishDewd reply :

I was told that magnetic helps more at the beginning of a cast, while centrifugal helps more at the end of a cast. Not sure how accurate that is, but it seems to hold pretty true whenever I am casting into a wind with my BC reel that has both brakes. Most of my backlashes when windy happen near the beginning or the middle, and when I up the mag brake it seems to help with those issues. It's always windy here though, there is no such thing as a "calm fishing day" so I'm always having to play with it until I dial it in just right. I usually don't mess with the centrifugal setting. Probably advisable to not try and set a casting record when dealing with a head wind at any rate. Less lob, more dart board trying to keep it low.

LionHeart reply :

On 3/27/2018 at 11:02 AM, FishDewd said:

I was told that magnetic helps more at the beginning of a cast, while centrifugal helps more at the end of a cast. Not sure how accurate that is, but it seems to hold pretty true whenever I am casting into a wind with my BC reel that has both brakes. Most of my backlashes when windy happen near the beginning or the middle, and when I up the mag brake it seems to help with those issues. It's always windy here though, there is no such thing as a "calm fishing day" so I'm always having to play with it until I dial it in just right. I usually don't mess with the centrifugal setting. Probably advisable to not try and set a casting record when dealing with a head wind at any rate. Less lob, more dart board trying to keep it low.

Not sure I would put it like that. Mag breaks are always trying to slow your spool down through every part of the cast, while centrifugal engage the most at the higher spool RPM, which is at the beginning of your cast.

burrows reply :

I’m going to give you my opinion centrifugal brakes are better!

craww reply :

Centrifugal and a ready thumb for me.

Tywithay reply :

On 3/27/2018 at 12:07 PM, LionHeart said:

Not sure I would put it like that. Mag breaks are always trying to slow your spool down through every part of the cast, while centrifugal engage the most at the higher spool RPM, which is at the beginning of your cast.

This is true of most magnetic reels, that have stationary magnets in the side plate. The Daiwa system works a little differently, most notably the Magforce Z. The inductor slides on the spool shaft as the spool speeds up during a cast. When it's sitting further away from the magnets, there's very little to no magnetic pull on the spool. As the spool gets faster, the inductor moves closer to the magnetic field, slowing down the cast. So, it's only really effective at higher speeds.

OperationEagle reply :

But just as some posters have mentioned some have both.

Lews pro G as well as the Abu STX are two fine reels to consider that can be found at very reasonable prices.

That way way you will have both types of braking systems to experiment with?

really there are four systems. Centrifugal, magnetic, the spool knob as well as your thumb. The last two are friction based.

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

This ^^^^^

I can hear my sv 105 click (mag Z into work) after first initial spin. The mag Z will slow down spool depend on how fast spool spin almost all the way until spin slow down enough. This is why magZ help a lot with backlash and most of angler prefer magZ to skip.

I got backlash with centrifugal brake(shimano) at almost the end when casting into light wind. This was tested, I have done with my aldebaran mg7 with Husky Jerk 06(1/8oz) and 1/16 jig with 1/2 Zinkerz(1/10oz). I had to set the tension to very slow drop and set to 3-4 brakes on.

desmobob reply :

I love reels having both types of brakes (Lew's Tournament Pros, for example). But for casting into the wind, I think the magnetics help the most. Daiwa's Mag Force Z magnetic brakes are extremely effective and have the advantage of using centrifugal "boosting" to somewhat replicate the effect of centrifugal friction brakes in addition to normal magnetic brake effect.

We are lucky to have so many choices of great braking systems!

Tight lines,

Bob

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

Centri brakes for me all the way .i dont do enough light lure casting to make a impact with mag brakes .my round abus with polished spool shafts and no brake blocks and my thumb can do anything i need.

jimmyjoe reply :

Thanks to all. Looks like I'll have a Fuego CT coming real soon. jj

KP Duty reply :

On 3/27/2018 at 6:32 AM, The Bassman said:

I've said it before, as much as I love my baitcasters I'm finding my spinning rigs to be much more practical. There's definitely a place for baitcasting gear. In my applications baitcasters are toys to be tinkered with but spinners are tools to get the job done.

I'm more baitcast than spinning (I'm in the south), but I understand. 'Fish Chris' was a member here from cali that fished for giants and he only used spinning gear. Its was hard to argue with his success.

new2BC4bass reply :

On 3/27/2018 at 2:36 PM, OperationEagle said:

But just as some posters have mentioned some have both.

Lews pro G as well as the Abu STX are two fine reels to consider that can be found at very reasonable prices.

That way way you will have both types of braking systems to experiment with?

really there are four systems. Centrifugal, magnetic, the spool knob as well as your thumb. The last two are friction based.

I wouldn't say that. I know Diawa has at least 4 different magnetic brake systems. Magnetic brakes from other brands are different from Daiwa's. I know there are some differences in performance even among Diawa's systems. I don't know how many different centrifugal systems Shimano uses...3?...4? How about Abu's IVCB-IV system?

On 3/28/2018 at 8:57 AM, jimmyjoe said:

Thanks to all. Looks like I'll have a Fuego CT coming real soon. jj

Good choice.

jimmyjoe reply :

Got my Fuego CT today, 7.3:1. Put 10 lb. Trilene XL on it and took it to the lake. First, the negatives: 1) It makes a "whispering" noise during retrieve. Don't quite know what that is. Doesn't seem to affect performance. 2) Sounds hollow. 3) Doesn't cast under 1/3rd ounce real well. Acceptable, I suppose. But not real well. Now that we have the negatives out of the way, let's go to the positives. My original question had to do with casting into the wind. And man, does this baby do it well! This is the first Daiwa casting reel I've had, and I can tell you one thing .... the difference between this system and all the other magnetics I've had is amazing. This is consistent. It is easily controllable. I can birdsnest it, but it gives me plenty of warning that I'm getting to that point. That means that I can adjust for maximum distance easily. It's a wonder on spinnerbaits. Oddly enough, it doesn't cast stuff like Kastmaster spoons as far as my centrifugals do. Close, but not quite as far. OTOH, this is my first day with it. Things will improve .... Thanks everyone. jj

Boomstick reply :

At the end of the day, I don't really think it matters a whole lot. I have mostly magnetic braking systems, and they work great for me. But a good braking system is a good braking system,

The advantage of magnetic brakes is that they are extremely quick to make adjustments on the fly to.

The advantage of centrifugal brakes is due to the way they work, they might let you cast a little bit further since they act as a speed limiter and not an always on brake, but I don't think it ends up being a big deal for beginners who are turning the brake way up, and becomes less and less of an issue as you get good and start turning the brake down below half.

Generally, I think Daiwa has the best magnetic braking system and Shimano and Pflueger have the same centrifugal braking systems.

lmbfisherman reply :

I mainly use Shimano, I am just more conscience when wind is around. If I cast into the wind I don’t power cast it. A low trajectory also helps, it really doesn’t bother me much as my thumb an awareness of the situation helps me.

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magnetic or centrifugal? 2025

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