Bait Case V. Spincast

[drew03cmc]

One of my goals this year is abandon spinning as much as possible.

Advantages or disadvantages not withstanding the darn things are just to hard on my hands. After a season of holding the reel stem between my fingers I develope this big knot above my knuckle. Heck I still have the knot from last year. Ergonomics is a big deal when I have this thing in my hand for countless hours. I'm not entirely sure but it seems to me that bait casting rods and reels also have their disadvantages as well. what can I do to have a rig that doesn't disfigure my hand and doesn't wear me out?

You will love baitcasters. Spinning gear is great for finesse fishing, but for crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater and really anything else, it is hard to beat the versatility of a baitcaster. I use my bc rigs for soft plastics like soft craws on jigheads, tubes, worms, etc. A lot of guys do not use them for that, but it is a comfort issue with me. Take only casting rigs with you and leave the spin tackle at home. Learn to make it work in all situations, it will not only give you a sense of accomplishment, but will make you a better, more rounded fisherman.

[Greasy B]

The bait casting set up I use most requires me to shift my hand up onto the reel to get my thumb on the spool to cast. kind of half gripping the rod and half gripping the reel. This does not afford an adequate grip to set the hook. I then need to shift my band back more to grip the rod handle to gain enough leverage to set the hook. While this hand shift is only slight it seems to me as inefficient and there is an instant where I'm not in a position react. While I didn't need to read this thread to understand something that has been a thirty year issue i still haven't found a solution.

[eric1978]

Maybe try a lower profile reel, Greasy. The new Curados are really comfortable. I used to feel kind of the way you do with the big, clunky reels, but the newer models are far more ergonomic. Pair it up with a high-dollar lightweight rod, and I suspect you'll enjoy the BC experience much more.

[Greasy B]

Yea, it looks like unloading some serious ducats on equipment is what I'm going to have to do. That was certainly the solution to all the pissing and moaning I use to do about my fly rigs.

[junkman]

The big clunky BC's do have there place. Took my Abu Garcia 6000 out for a little workout in Kansas today. Fished a river and caught 11 cats and one drum. Nothing big but 5 of them were over 3 pounds. 5 of then were blue cats which surprised me. Didn't figure they had made it up that far yet. Tried for a walleye to but had no luck. Clunkers fit the bill for this kind of fishing.

[exiledguide]

One of my goals this year is abandon spinning as much as possible.

Advantages or disadvantages not withstanding the darn things are just to hard on my hands. After a season of holding the reel stem between my fingers I develope this big knot above my knuckle. Heck I still have the knot from last year. Ergonomics is a big deal when I have this thing in my hand for countless hours. I'm not entirely sure but it seems to me that bait casting rods and reels also have their disadvantages as well. what can I do to have a rig that doesn't disfigure my hand and doesn't wear me out?

I understand your problem but first i would have the doctor check that the knot is only related to holding the rod and real. That could be arthritis or some kind of a growth. My problem is pain in my right thumb when I try to cast modern baitcasters with a thumbar. I wish I would have a long time ago forced myself to cast lefthanded. Spining creates no pain at all so I fish most of the time with spinning but to throw a crankbait or spinnerbait I need baitcasting then the day is always problemetical, some days the medicine works pretty good but there is no way I can fish a baitcaster all day

[Mitch f]

Yea, it looks like unloading some serious ducats on equipment is what I'm going to have to do. That was certainly the solution to all the pissing and moaning I use to do about my fly rigs.

Hey Greasy, I'm getting my daughter started on a left handed baitcaster early, will save her endless years of wasted motion switching hands.

[Greasy B]

She is as cute as can be. Your a very lucky man, oh and make sure you you do the same when she takes up the the fly rod.

[Feathers and Fins]

Al, you made me chuckle evily when i read your post about price. My favorite reel of all times is a Penn Jigmaster 500 at a whopping 50 to 75 bucks it is without a doubt the most powerful and versatile reel in its class and can beat hands down or at least keep up with 1000 dollar reels. Ive caught everything from 1 pound surf pearch on it to a 500lb Black Marlin. If Penn made it smaller say the size of a Calcutta 400 series I would buy it in a heart beat and save a couple hundred bucks.

When you talk serious day in day out fishing I do feel that price matters or more so the quality NOT so much in fish catching ability but for longevity of the the equiptment. Sure guys can catch fish on anything but 35 bucks here and there when rods or reels break adds up to those high dollar rods and reels and the price on them is associated more so about the longevity of the product. Kind of like fishing waders by the 50 dollar ones they work fine for a season but 4 season of replacement and you could have bought a pair of high dollar ones and still have a few more years in them. So in the long run the high dollar purchase may well be the cheapest in the long run.

[ozark trout fisher]

Feathers, I haven't experienced any great problems with longevity. I've been using my $25 Shakespeare spinning rod for over four years now, and it still works great. I do have to replace the reel about once a year, but considering that's about a $15 investment I don't consider it a problem. In any average year I fish about 50-80 days- about 1/4 of that with a spinning rod, so that would mean I'm getting 15-20 trips out of it per year. So for a more expensive (say $200) set-up to be work out better for me it would have to last 10+ years, and that probably just is not going to happen. I'd shut it in a car door or fall down and break it before then. Fishing for me is about simplicity, and having to constantly worry about taking care of an expensive rod gets in the way of that. The only way I sort of breach this has been my recent thing with bamboo fly rods, but that doesn't have much to do with fishing...I just like them, and I don't buy the expensive ones anyway.

I know others look at that differently, and that's great...But this is just how I look at it.