RegentHoneyEater Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Hey there! I am very new to baitcasters. Could I have some tips for beginners on them. And also, no I don’t know what I’m going to target with my setup. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 (edited) Have you bought one yet? If not what is your budget? From various sources I've heard that if you are going to buy one then it is worth spending the money on a good reel otherwise you are wasting your time. I went with a Shimano Curado and a barra rod. If you have bought one then what did you buy (reel and rod - in particular what are the specs such as line and lure rating). Braid or mono. The reason I ask this is it will have an impact on what you are likely to be casting and what you might be chasing (bream, bass or barrra). Edited January 12, 2020 by DerekD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingie chaser Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 (edited) They are like a lot of spin gear, you can have a set up dedicated to bream set up or 20kg barra set up, & everything in between. You need to workout what its being used for! To me the biggest thing about baitcaster reel is getting to know the number of brakes you need & the amount of spool tension tt the weight of your casting lure so you do not get over run & birds nest the reel every cast Look up some youtubes on this. There are plenty of threads on here discussing various set ups if you do a search. Edited January 12, 2020 by kingie chaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 I use mine occasionally when I was Barra fishing. They can be a bit of pain to use with all the birds nests and when you are untangling them, you aren't fishing. The last couple of times, I've gone with a spin reel. There are a lot of youtubes on how to set them up to avoid these. I've recently bought a new one, its a Shimano DC when it was on sale. Not used it in anger too much yet, but its a nice reel and it mostly stops the backlashes for me, but you still need to practice and practice and practice with them. I think that the reason people use them is for more accurate casting and getting under snags/trees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegentHoneyEater Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 Hey everyone, thanks for all the replies. I have a Shimano Tranx 300HG paired with a Shimano Jewel 5ft 10in the reel is spooled with 16lb braid Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Hi again, From the Shimano website: Shimano Tranx 300HG: Bearings 5+1 Max drag 8kg Gear ratio 7.6:1 Retrieve per crank 100cm Mono 9kg/160m Braid 50lb/190m weight 330g Shimano Jewel 5ft 10in: 1.78m line rating 4-8kg lure rating 7-23gm Sounds like something for bigger fish such as Mangrove jack, Barra, pelagics, big bass. Ultralight lures will be a pain. Next question where are you fishing? You mention you are in Queensland but what type of fishing areas do you have access to? Mangroves, open waterway. Do you want to do bait or lure? Most baitcasters I have used come with 3 different drag systems. A centrifugal one to ensure that the drum speed doesn't exceed the line speed (over run then birds nest) when casting out, a second one to stop the drum from turning when the lure lands and a third which is the drag to fight the fish. As you get better with the control of the reel (with your thumb) you can back the assisting drags off and get better distance out of your casts. One of the Americans (1rod1reelfishing) I follow on Youtube recently did a nice introduction to baitcasters video recently. I'll find the links later but google baitcasters on YouTube and there are plenty of videos out there. Regards, Derek Edited January 13, 2020 by DerekD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegentHoneyEater Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 Hey Derek well I have quite a few areas to fish around. I have the mangroves as well as the open waterway. Im comfortable with frozen/live bait. However I’m willing to flick some lures. will have a look at some of those videos. Thanks for all the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirvin21 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 get yourself a cast weight or just an old lure around the size you intend to use and practice practice and practice some more I spent a lot of time flick casting a weight into a bucket, the main challenge is controlling the speed of the spool while casting you need it go fast enough to cast but not to fast and overrun, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squ!rt Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 With a baitcaster i would start by using a lure, and get the reel setup right for that weight, there are heaps of vids on the utube about setting up according to stick bait or lure etc.. even on the shimano website from memory, i'd stick to one setup with the baitcaster for now until you are confident to change settings on the fly, i have 1 baitcaster set up just for a particular weight of lure and the other i change regularly, Best way is attach a small sinker or something same weight of what lure/combo you will use and practice in the backyard or at a local soccer field or park, better than going out and losing a lure or your jig setup cos the reel wasn't set right. I did this with my first baitcaster, honestly helps, practice makes perfect. One baitcaster is setup just for my little wobbler jig and then i just carry a spin rod. always good to have options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hornet Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 You will find it a lot easier the get the hang of a baitcaster if you start out fishing a relatively stiff line, ie mono or fluorocarbon. If you really want braid, choose a fused version such as Fireline. You'll get far less backlashes and once mastered can switch to more traditional, woven braids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Clain Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Started using baitcasters when I was little so im quite good at controlling them. You should be able to cast small lures reasonably well with that setup. I use an Okuma baitcaster spooled with 14lb braid for flicking plastics, as long as you set the cast weight tention correctly you can cast anything heavy enough to pull line out. Usually this involves the 2 knobs one next to the drag and the other on the other side of the reel. I usually only use the one next to the drag loosening the opposite tensioner completely. All you want is to hold your rod at 45 degrees and changing the tensioner until your lure drops pulling line, then slightly tighten so that line barley comes off but continues moving. Since your just starting out I would tighten the tensioner even more just for a bit of give incase you make a mistake or are casting into wind. Edited January 13, 2020 by James Clain spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Hi RHE, From past research the term bait in US speak is actually a lure. So a baitcaster is designed to be relatively lightweight for frequent and precision casting of lures. Not that you can't fish them with a real bait such as a livie or some sort of other edible stuff but it might be a little more challenging flinging your livie into snags. If you fish them with a lure you can set them so they are unlikely to backlash. As you get better with your thumb control then you can start to do more with them. The link I mentioned previously is: Regards, Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegentHoneyEater Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 Hey everyone! Thanks a lot! heaps of extremely valuable information. will definitely practice soon! thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegentHoneyEater Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 Hey again everyone, so I’ve been using the baitcaster and have gotten a lot better then before. I did get some really bad backlashes but it actually was quite easy to take out. have been practicing with the casting, birds-nests aren’t as frequent. I believe I have the vbs braking system in which I currently have four out of six brakes on. so as I get more comfortable with the baitcaster do I turn off more brakes to increase casting distance? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 5 hours ago, RegentHoneyEater said: Hey again everyone, so I’ve been using the baitcaster and have gotten a lot better then before. I did get some really bad backlashes but it actually was quite easy to take out. have been practicing with the casting, birds-nests aren’t as frequent. I believe I have the vbs braking system in which I currently have four out of six brakes on. so as I get more comfortable with the baitcaster do I turn off more brakes to increase casting distance? As you say RHE lots of really good info provided here by some very astute and capable anglers. Don't get too carried away with DISTANCE CASTING. Baitcasters were never designed for that usage. They are primarily for assisting in ACCURATE CASTING over shorter distances. If you find that you need to cast long distances to accommodate your particular fishing, use an eggbeater reel and appropriate rod. As mentioned practice is the key to becoming good at using a baitcaster set up. Good luck mate, bn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekD Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, RegentHoneyEater said: I believe I have the vbs braking system in which I currently have four out of six brakes on. so as I get more comfortable with the baitcaster do I turn off more brakes to increase casting distance? Hi RHE, Just to confirm with the VBS - if they are in the outward position the drag (inertial resistance - like being on a spinning swing and putting your arms out to slow the spinning down) will be on and they will slow the line going out. Pushing them closer to the axle will result in less resistance when the line is going out and will allow you to cast further. I find on my Curado if I try and drop below 2 of the 6 in the outward position then I start to see overruns. Get into the habit of stopping the drum with your thumb as the lure just hits or is just about to hit the water. Alternatively stop the drum with your thumb when you have reached the point you want it to land. Getting good with this will give you the pin point accuracy that is the selling point of baitcasters. The other advantage of this is that you can back off the second drag (for the landing) located next to the star drag which will give you some more casting distance. This gentleman talks about the VBS in the open (outward position) which gives more control but less distance: As per what @big Neil said if you want further casting distance then go to an equivalent spinning reel. Getting off topic they use multipliers (baitcaster type overhead) for super long distance casting. Seems once the drum starts spinning it can be more energy efficient than a spinning reel. Have a look at this article - over 1000 feet (300m) casts. https://www.outdoorlife.com/record-casts/ Regards, Derek Edited January 18, 2020 by DerekD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niall Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Hey mate. I'm no bait caster expert but a mate of mine has recently become obsessed with the BFS (Bait Finesse System) style reels and rods. This is apparently a style imported from Japan that allows you to cast extremely light lures with a bait caster. Might be worth having a look into that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Clain Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 As I said once you get really good at controlling the spool with your thumb you can start to loosen it off for a very long cast. You wont really be able to cast into headwind unless you put more spool tension on and those 2 factors will really decrease your distance. Baitcasters aren't really about distance but once you become a natural at it you will be able to cast just as far as a spinning reel. When you do the cast with lighter spool tension and you see a backlash appearing mid cast that is when to put your finger on the spool and slow it down so that the spinning releases the backlash the further your lure travels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegentHoneyEater Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 Hey everyone, thanks a lot for all of the information. Will need a lot more practice for sure. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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