Bait Case V. Spincast

[Stoneroller]

oh, now there's a good deal, Jack.

[Jack Jones]

Oh wow...do I deserve heaps of abuse. I meant spinning v. baitcast. Please beat me repeatedly for that one. I have a spincast, but it's a cheapy Zebco I got for Father's Day when my daughter was 5, LOL. No....I have two Bass Pro spinning combos. Admittedly, they were the cheap ones. I looked. They are the Stampede rod/reel combo with 5.2:1 ratios on the reel. Assuming the rod is relatively worthwhile, I'll likely just upgrade the reel right now. I absolutely hated those reels.

Please....forgive my incredible idiocy on this one guys I am not ready for prime time.

I'll check out the Abus at Walmart.

[junkman]

I would say fish with what you are most comfortable with. Of course there are many nice rods and reals out there that come in many different price ranges, but will one catch more fish then the other? They will all catch fish but some do it with more ease. Personally I have always fished mostly with a spin cast reel. I have a stash of the old metal body zebco 33's that is my go to reel. Although not the perfect reel they can still catch fish. I have actually been thinking of buying one of the new Abu Garcia spin cast reels for they seem like a pretty nice reel. i love my Abu Garcia bait cast reels as well but they are only used for catfishing. Some of my fishing calls for very small presentation 1/32 or 1/48 jigs so a baitcast would be irrelevant. I have so much time on a spin cast that I can get pretty precise with my casts so I figure why change.

[Al Agnew]

There are things that baitcasters do MUCH better than spinning reels, but that doesn't mean you HAVE to have a baitcaster. And the others are right, there is a significant difference between cheap baitcasters and good ones, although you CAN learn on one that isn't too expensive. Go cheap on the rod, as others have said. Why? Because spinning tackle is as good as baitcasting for fishing stuff for which you need a sensitive rod. Save the baitcasting tackle for fishing hard baits that you will be fishing fast and making a lot of casts.

And that application is where baitcasting shines. Topwaters, buzzbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits...all are most efficiently fished with a baitcaster, especially in a river fishing situation where your casts will mostly be fairly short and especially especially when floating in a canoe or kayak, where you'll need to be making a lot of accurate casts to cover as you float by it. I know, a lot of spinning tackle aficionados will say that they can fish that stuff just fine with spinning tackle...but having fished with some very good spinning tackle guys, I can say that they can't quite match my efficiency in that kind of fishing when I'm on my game.

By the way, if you are just learning with a baitcaster, you really need to have somebody who has done a lot of it doing some hands on teaching. Two things are important with baitcasting tackle...a rod that matches the lures you will be using, and proper adjustments of the reel. DON'T make your first baitcasting rod a medium heavy or heavy power rod, unless all you plan to use with it are big lures. Get a medium power rod. It's easier to learn with, and you can cast big lures and lures down to 1/4th ounce with it, while you can't cast the lighter lures with a heavier power rod.

[Mitch f]

I pretty much use baitcasters for anything 1/4 oz or heavier. For small 1/8oz and under jigs a spinning reel. So most of the time you will be using a baitcasting reel. Get good at a side arm cast so you can cast your lure under overhanging tree branches in the river. The action of that cast is best described as turning a door knob. If you learn how to use a baitcaster now you will become a much more efficient fisherman.

[Buzz]

I just bought a Medium Berkely Lightning Rod at Wal-mart for $30.00 (on clearance) and I'm going to pair it with a U.S.Reel that I bought at Academy for $ 59.00. I have never owned or cast a U.S. reel, but if what they say is even half true it will be my new favorite. Check Academy often because they run a lot of sales on combos that should fit your needs the Pfluegers and Pinnacles are decent starter reels. You really don't need to spend a lot of money on either a rod or a reel for creek/river fishing to catch fish. Most of the new reels need only a few adjustments out of the box to be fishable. Like Al said you should match the combo to what you plan on throwing. I will mainly throw big baits ,heavy metal as I call it, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits with the occasional topwater plug.

Buy the rig you want and just go out in the back yard and practice for a while until you learn the rod and reel then put it to the real test on the water.

[drew03cmc]

With proper adjustments, there is no reason you can't toss lures down to 1/8oz on a suitably light rod and baitcast reel. I routinely toss 3/16oz spinnerbaits on my Calcutta with an old glass rod that has a really soft tip. I think if you grab a baitcaster and a rod, ML action at the heaviest to learn on, L action with 10# test line would be ideal to learn on and can do a lot of fishing on creeks.

In my opinion, there is no need for the casting rods that you see the pros using, 7' MH action casting rods are great for setting the hook on 100' casts, but how often are you making casts that long on a creek? I like my rods to be L to ML action, graphite or glass doesn't matter as much, but 10# test line is capable of handling everything a creek can give me. 5'6"-6' lengths are suitable to Ozark creeks and will offer the positives of being easily stored in the canoe with you or easily carried through the woods if you are wading.

[timinmo]

Like others have said, I would let what I want to throw dictate what I buy/use. Under 1/4 I usually use spinning, over that it is usually casting equipment. This is certainly not a hard fast rule but it is one that generally works. Yes you can throw under 1/4 with some bait cast outfits and can go over 1/4 easily with any but ultralight spinning. Most of my small stream (think wading) fishing is done with spinning. If I am in a canoe I usually have both, but on some of the bigger rivers and most lake fishing bait casting may do everything. I do think the learning curve is a little steeper with casting equipment and if you are already comfortable with spinning equipment there is no real reason to switch, especially if you plan on using smaller baits. The rods you have will handle a wide range of lure weights and you could get two decent spinning reels for the money you want to spend. Others may disagree but it seems to me that the cost of entry into the casting equipment field is higher. Either way the whole key is to get out and use them.

[eric1978]

With proper adjustments, there is no reason you can't toss lures down to 1/8oz on a suitably light rod and baitcast reel. I routinely toss 3/16oz spinnerbaits on my Calcutta with an old glass rod that has a really soft tip. I think if you grab a baitcaster and a rod, ML action at the heaviest to learn on, L action with 10# test line would be ideal to learn on and can do a lot of fishing on creeks.

In my opinion, there is no need for the casting rods that you see the pros using, 7' MH action casting rods are great for setting the hook on 100' casts, but how often are you making casts that long on a creek? I like my rods to be L to ML action, graphite or glass doesn't matter as much, but 10# test line is capable of handling everything a creek can give me. 5'6"-6' lengths are suitable to Ozark creeks and will offer the positives of being easily stored in the canoe with you or easily carried through the woods if you are wading.

L, ML, MH...these aren't actions, they're power ratings. Actions are slow, fast, ex. fast, etc. Do you need a basic lesson in rod engineering?

[Wayne SW/MO]

L, ML, MH...these aren't actions, they're power ratings. Actions are slow, fast, ex. fast, etc. Do you need a basic lesson in rod engineering?

Don't get too technical Eric, Ugly stik doesn't get that involved.