nite fishing with baitcasters? 2024
shootermcbob reply :
How do you guys fish at night with baitcasters??? I mean, you can't see your lure so how do you know when to stop the spool? I fish in the am alot in the dark and have to use spinning gear. I fish from the bank and have to make long casts. Any suggestions?
Koop reply :
Comes down to feel, you will get the hang of it. You know how long it should take for your lure to hit the water.
roadwarrior reply :
Use a spinning rod.
On the rare occasion I fish at night, that's my choice.
8-)
J-B reply :
QuoteUse a spinning rod.On the rare occasion I fish at night, that's my choice.
8-)
From most of what I have read RW, that is your choice during the day also. 
J-B reply :
QuoteComes down to feel, you will get the hang of it. You know how long it should take for your lure to hit the water.
I have to agree. With either spinning or baitcaster you will develop a feel for how to throw it. Trial and error will teach you the way. Feel the force mcbob.
J Francho reply :
I mostly throw only REALLY BIG stuff at night, and don't have a spinning rod that would handle them. Get a Daiwa reel. I have no issue with setting the Mag-Z brakes to 10. The spool stops at just about the end of the cast with the proper spool tension. As others have said, you learn to time it out after a while anyway.
SammyLee reply :
I just learned BC's a few months ago and my first night effort resulted in backlash city. A couple of weeks ago, I was fishing at sundown and they were still biting and I kept casting. No backlash. I can now do it consistently. As they say, it's just practice and paying attention. Also, upgrading my reel seem to help all of my level wind casting.
Shane J reply :
I had issues with this also at first, but seriously, you do get better at it.
steezy reply :
At night and very early in the morning when its quiet, your ears will tell you when the lure hits the water. You will also develop a good feel for how long it takes but you will also develop a habit when its dark to feather that spool more closely with the ole thumb.
RoLo reply :
QuoteUse a spinning rod.On the rare occasion I fish at night, that's my choice.
8-)
There are only two times when I will use spinning gear,
at night, and during the daytime.
Roger
wagn reply :
As others have said, you'll get the hang of it if you practice.
I fish spinnerbaits and topwater at night on my BC all the time. It's all about feel
fishfordollars reply :
Educated thumb. It comes from time(Years) on the water.
mikesjet reply :
I haven't had much trouble with backlashes at night, my troubles arise when I miscalculate the distance to the bank and put a super spook in the darn trees 
;D :'(
swilly78 reply :
I have found that every ten casts or so its worth stripping line out until your guide and the line on the spool are lined up. I got one of those little hat lights for that, its awesome. Otherwise, just feel for it.
Catt reply :
QuoteEducated thumb. It comes from time(Years) on the water.
fishfordollars reply :
QuoteEasy for an old man to say ;D
Yep, and it gets harder every year.
CWB reply :
Practice, Practice, Practice. Definitely turn your brakes up a notch as J.F said. Also, spinning gear can present it's own problems if you don't pay attention. If you reel in a loop or twist and get one of those deals where you have to carefully pull the line off without causing a knot, you could be in trouble. I always manually flip the bail over, day or night, and pull out line or extend my index finger to be sure there is no loop. Of course with a buzzbait or such, use B.C. gear.
Clark Stewart reply :
like everybody says a lot of it comes down to feel. For me I can watch my spool and it will give me a hint:
When I sling a bait with a 2 hand cast - (I have a hard time casting with any accuracy one-handed unless it's a pistol grip rod) the line will sling off the spool and right before it hits the water for some reason it will usually bunch up like it's about to birdnest and then straighten itself back out. When it straightens out it's about a foot from the water and I stop the spool. Aside from that just dial it down enough that when it hits water it won't backlash much and keep your thumb on the spool the whole time. I also cast at night and keep my thumb close to the spool to feel the line bunch up and tap my thumb. When the line quits doing that it means that it's straightened itself back out and I press down on the spool. Maybe somebody else's rigs do this so they can demonstrate better than me!
Raul reply :
QuoteHow do you guys fish at night with baitcasters??? I mean, you can't see your lure so how do you know when to stop the spool?
We use The Force my young padawan.
Hard to explain, it all adds up, you feel with the thumb as the line getting low on the spool, you hear the reel ( hums different as the line gets lower ); something you get with practice and time.
Many moons ago when I began fishing with baitcasters I used to watch the spool to determine when to stop it, nowdays I hardly ever watch it, I just cast and know when to stop it.
flechero reply :
QuoteHow do you guys fish at night with baitcasters??? I mean, you can't see your lure so how do you know when to stop the spool? I fish in the am alot in the dark and have to use spinning gear. I fish from the bank and have to make long casts. Any suggestions?
At first I thought you were kidding. SOmetimes I forget that not everyone has been using BC since they were children. I guess the worst thing you can do is over think it.
As has been said, feel, spool speed, line level, sound and if there is any light (even starlight) you can usually see a splash. If it's a problem, tighten your cast control a little and be worry free... you don't need a ton of distance, especially at night.
bottledgt reply :
i have all baitcasters now, and i cant even use another type of reel. ive only had these new reels since about july. other rels feel like im grinding coffee now and makes me sick to have one in my hand. flipping,pitching,casting,i love em to death. day or night
ShawnCorreia reply :
I don't know how I do it, but my reals generally stop when the bait hits the water. I don't really thumb the spool on a cast unless I feel something wrong. Most tour pros would say the same thing. I am no hot shot, this is just something that I have learned from various seminars and conversations. It's really all about feeling out the cast. Practice in the day!
islandbass reply :
Definitely in the Jedi class, I am. (Yoda)
I use the force 
and focus on the sound of the spool. If you hear the sound of the spool start to wind down, that is a tell tale sign that the lure is close to the water's surface, seen or not. Now if you hit a shrub or bush, that's a different story.
Culln5 reply :
I've never really thought about it when fishing at night.... But then again, I don't think about it when fishing during the day. It's just second nature now. If you're concerned about picking out a backlash or hitting the shore, outfit your boat with deck lights and/or blacklights.
Hammer 4 reply :
First I don't see well at night due to vision problems, however, I did try to throw my swimbaits at night a few months ago. Even with my Cronarch reel, I did get a couple of pro overruns, so I stopped and now just use my spinning rigs. Still need a mh spinning rod..
shootermcbob reply :
Tried the baitcaster in pitch black dark this am at about 5:30. Not so good. Apparently I don't have the force, although I have been told I look llike Yoda. ;D However, after many overruns, I did get the hang of it. By the hang of it, I mean I went back to the spinning gear. I was spending too much fishing time clearing birdsnests. As the dawn approached, I went back to baitcaster and paid more attention to sound of reel during cast. I think that will help me next time. One can definitely hear reel winding down. Never noticed it before. Thanks for everyones input.
BigMoneyGrip reply :
I just listen for the lure to hit the water and them thumb the brakes.
fishn hard reply :
I pitch at nite with baitcaster and 7'6 flipin rod when you get use to doing it the bait leaves your hand and its low to the water and if you get god at pitchn you can send it out there pretty far and i dont use a black lite
JacobK reply :
QuoteI haven't had much trouble with backlashes at night, my troubles arise when I miscalculate the distance to the bank and put a super spook in the darn trees;D :'(
agreed
DawsonH reply :
Learning to do it with a bc at night is better than going to spinning gear imo. If you go to spinning gear you are going to cut out some of the best night time baits such as large spinners, buzzbaits, big topwaters, and 10-12'' worms. Practice doing it without looking in the daylight where you have more confidence, then when you get ready to try at night it will already be ingrained in your head and you will not need to think about it.
shootermcbob reply :
Worked on it exclusively yesterday morning at 5 am...still dark here in Ohio. Did much better than last weekend. Also, caught 4 fish, including one on the buzzbait. Good day all around. Thanks much to all who shared their knowledge.
retiredbosn reply :
It takes practice, I feather with my thumb more consistently at night especially at first. As my confidence builds I find that it is no different than day time. As another poster stated your ears become your eyes at night, you can hear the line playing out and just know when it is time to apply the thumb. I bet you already know the sound of an overrun, listen to the reel, you do subconsciously already, that is why you can cast during the day. As you get comfortable with it, you don't even think about it, you feather correctly, you know long before your eyes see the bait that the reel is slowing down, etc. It is the same at night.
dave reply :
QuoteQuoteEasy for an old man to say ;DYep, and it gets harder every year.
I always thought that as men get older, there is a problem with it be let's say, "not as hard"
Bankbeater reply :
I don't have any problem at night unless I happen to hit something I didn't know was there.
zbigbadaaron reply :
The first two months I had trouble fishing at night with a baitcaster. Now I find it easy. I think you just need to get used to it.
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