baitcaster reel question

[bigcat]

trying to teach a old dog a new trick. i`m pushing the mid 50`s and the last time i tried a baitcaster was in the early 80`s, it ended up a birdnest 7 out of 10 times. well, here i go again, i got a new quantum accurist and a 7ft im7 1 piece rod i picked up last year at a garage sale in minnesota. been using spinning reels since i was a kid so what i was wondering is what kind of line works best and cast easiest, it takes 12 lb line. any ideas or suggestions will help. gonna use it mostly for rattletraps and such .

[ho_shi]

best thing to do is to start slow, tighten the reel up tight and just cast cast cast. loosten it just a smudge and do it again, the more practice the better, keep loosening it up a little at a time as you get used to it.... if you birdnest, tighten it up slightly...

YOU WILL BIRDNEST we all do it, i been throwin em for 3 or 4 years and still ratnest a lot... cast heavier then lighter lures as the chance is less with heavy

[dipper69_2000]

bob, there is a thread on here regarding this but tight'n the spool down till the lure. "plug" you are going to cast slowly drops when the bar is pushed. i myself still prefer mono. just last year i went to trilene maxx for all my catfishing tourney outfits and i LOVE it. frey resistant, holds a great knot and low memmory. cost alittle more than standard trilene but worth twice as much in my book. start with good line cheap line is cheap line and will cause back lashes. you can spool half the spool with cheap line and then spool the rest with the better stuff till you get the hang of it atleast that is what i did and it worked well fer me. once ya get the hang of it you'll wounder why ya waited so long lol...

[bobo1]

Also the spool tightness will need to vary with the weight of the lure. I'm also getting set to use my baitcaster thats been idoled since the early 80's. Back then, musky fishing, almost everybody used 20-25lb braided line and a 5' "broomstick". The rig was probably outdated at that time. Now I'm going to put 65lb spiderwire stealth braid on it, put it on a 7' uglystick and chase cats and maybe stipers. I'd like to know what the avid catfishers on here would suggest for a spinning real for the rod. The uglystick is the white catfish model rated medium/heavy for 15-30lb line.

[heath19]

When i first got a baitcaster i was told to use trilene XT untill i was decent at using it. The reason i was told to use it was that that line is pretty easy to get a birds nest out with compared to alot of lines. I now use braid on my baitcaster after i got use to it.

[jepik]

big cat...as dipper 69 points out ,set lure drag with lure tied on, so that when you push in release button, lure will fall very slowly down...set star drag where ever you want it...when you cast... turn wrist so you have reel handle facing down...your thumb is the brake, so you can feather your cast down... you can controll the spinning of the reel this way to stop backlash...try casting with the wind when you first start...you will soon be able to release lure drag all the way and be able to cast for more distance and accurate...thumb control is the number one thing to remember...

[bowfisher1]

These helped me alot, especially the first video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBtuWFSJVyw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDI5kwR5zjc

[bobo1]

If you use braided line make sure it is wet befor thumbing it or the resulting thumb burn will ruin the next few days. i'm speaking from personal experience.

[lunchbox]

(i wrote this for a bass fishing person, you cat fisherman use much heavier stuff than i do, so IF it is not for bass/small pike ect fishing, adjust weight accordingly)

First and probably most important of all YOU ARE NOT ROLAND MARTIN/KVD! this means that you do not have to be seated and lob a 1/4oz spinner bait over 400 yards. Yeah, funny, but true. I wish some one had told me that before i learned how to cast a bait caster.
Next is You are going to back lash. Accept it, swear a bit *or a lot if you are like me* and move on. It gets better i promise.
Also, when the shiny knob on the side of your reel, make sure that you have the magnetics knob *the one with the numbers* set to 5 on a 10 point scale. Why? well so once you get your lure falling at the right speed you can mess with the mag break and get a bit more distance, or more control *less back lash* The magnetic brakes help control the lure as it comes to the end of the cast. The OTHER knob is the spool tension knob. IT helps set the drop speed of your lure on the line.
What is the right speed? good question, i run my bait caster very very loose, (see above statement about needing a better role model) i have found that a reasonable rule of thumb is to set it so that you do not get any excess line or loops when you allow a 1/2oz lure to drop in free spool from 7 or so feet. Once you get comfortable with that you can of course adjust the reel to what ever setting you wish.
Finally Short casts are ok. There is nothing wrong short casts. There is no if, and or but, to tag on to this.
I hope my rambling helps you out some. If not, please feel free to email or PM me with what ever issues are troubling you.
Lunchbox

P.S.
As for line, DO NOT SKIMP! cheap line just means that you will get peeved and chuck your set up in the lake/river/trash. It has been my experience that braided line is the easiest line to pick 'lashes out of. Remember, a back lash is just a bunch of loops. Do not just yank on the line to get it cleared. Check the loops and start picking them out individually. Hope it helps.

[jm563]

I just started usin a bait caster last year. The only advice I can give is practice,practice,practice.