Do I Need A Baitcast Combo?

[chub minnow]

I agree the bait caster can save your arm when you are chunking hardware all day. It has not been my experience that it provides more accuracy or distance. I grew up on a spin caster and a I can drop a fluke in a 5 gallon bucket at over 100'. It would take me twenty tries to do that with a bait caster. I don't understand the comments about accuracy and not being able to control a spincast. I always overpower my cast, the feather the line with my left (non-casting) hand to slow the line and make it land where I want. Just saying if you are used to fly rods and spincasters you are not going to pick up a baitcaster and be able to use efficiently the first day.

If I am casting to schooling fish chasing shad I ALWAYS pick up my spin caster with 6# fire line on it, because I know I can get it there and I won't mess it up. If I pick up the bc in this quick reaction situation I usually end up with a backlash! To me the big baitcaster rods also take a lot of the fun out of catching. If I was fishing professionally and needed to horse as many fish as possible into the boat, then I'd probably be running with 3-4 baitcasters. But if I'm fishing for enjoyment I'll take my 5wt and St. Croix spincasters and not ever spend a minute worrying about servicing and untangling the equipment

[bfishn]

Al's breakdown was excellent, especially since he pointed out that the reel alone isn't the end-all. I know the rods I have baitcasters on are too stiff for lighter loads.

There's the matter of due diligence as well, it takes some practice to get it right. I don't think I've ever thrown 2 fluffies on the same trip, when the first one rears its' ugly head, that rod gets racked and out comes the spinner or a spincast. It's not the reel's fault that I haven't worked hard enough to learn it. Also likely the same reason my childhood ambition for the trumpet was brief. :-)

Chub minnow has good points too. Spincasts have come a long way from the ubiquitous 202, and I always keep one ready for that quick cast at a surface boil. I know there are exceptions, but had I been handed a baitcaster as a kid, I might not have any interest in fishing today.

...Then again, maybe I'd have learned how to use it... :-)

[Chief Grey Bear]

Nothing, other than it sucks!

It's the one mono that I have always had problems with and I gave up on it 30 years ago. If I was going to go with an older model it would be Trilene XL, for spinning, or XT on a baitcaster. I know it has it's followers, but I'm not one of them.

I have used it all my life. Can't say a bad thing about it. Isn't Trilene what they use on those Snoopy rods??

Jack, I can give you the general location

where one now rests in the river. It's about a 1/4 mile stretch of water to look thru, my son noticed it fell off his kayak just as he got to the takeout yesterday.

It bummed him out big time.

You left out that part yesterday

[Al Agnew]

I agree the bait caster can save your arm when you are chunking hardware all day. It has not been my experience that it provides more accuracy or distance. I grew up on a spin caster and a I can drop a fluke in a 5 gallon bucket at over 100'. It would take me twenty tries to do that with a bait caster. I don't understand the comments about accuracy and not being able to control a spincast. I always overpower my cast, the feather the line with my left (non-casting) hand to slow the line and make it land where I want. Just saying if you are used to fly rods and spincasters you are not going to pick up a baitcaster and be able to use efficiently the first day.

If I am casting to schooling fish chasing shad I ALWAYS pick up my spin caster with 6# fire line on it, because I know I can get it there and I won't mess it up. If I pick up the bc in this quick reaction situation I usually end up with a backlash! To me the big baitcaster rods also take a lot of the fun out of catching. If I was fishing professionally and needed to horse as many fish as possible into the boat, then I'd probably be running with 3-4 baitcasters. But if I'm fishing for enjoyment I'll take my 5wt and St. Croix spincasters and not ever spend a minute worrying about servicing and untangling the equipment

More misconceptions...every one of my baitcasting reels that I use for the river (all ten of them) weigh less than 8.5 ounces, and the newer ones weigh in the mid 7 ounce range. Weigh your favorite spinning reel. Unless it's an ultralight, it weighs more than that...probably in the 10 ounce range. None of my baitcasters has line heavier than 10 pound test on it, nearly all have 8 pound test. Baitcasting outfits don't have to be heavy, and in fact you don't want a heavy one for the rivers, or even for most lakes, except for applications where you're fishing heavy cover for big fish.

I seldom get a backlash that has to be picked out. Occasionally I'll get some loose line, which may not disappear with the next cast, or I might have to lift the rod tip at the end of the cast occasionally to bring out the last of the loose line. Once in a great while, maybe twice in a full day of fishing, I'll make a long cast to the middle of the river and make sure the loose line down deep in the spool is all gone. But with today's baitcast reels with both friction spool control, counterbalancing weights, and often magnets, you can "dial in" your reel to where backlashes only happen in major disasters, like when your lure hits something halfway between you and where you're aiming, and stops dead. Those adjustments are important, even for somebody who uses the reels all the time and has a very experienced thumb. Get them wrong, and you WILL have problems. Get them right for you, and baitcasting becomes at least as trouble-free as spinning.

[Quillback]

Yep I second what Al is saying, you also won't get as much line twist with a BC as you'll get with a spinning reel. I was one of those spinning only guys until I started seriously using baitcasters about 15 years ago, I still like spinning for drop shots, shakeyhead, and real light non-aerodynamic cranks like a Shad Rap size 5 or 6, but the BC's can't be beat for bottom dragging stuff like Carolina rigs, Texas rigs, and jigs. I can also walk the dog with topwaters much easier with a BC than a spinning rod.

So Jack, are you going to be at the OA gathering at Cape Fair next Saturday? I plan on going and I can bring a couple of BC setups if you want to do a little test casting. I have a lightly used Citica 200D that I'd be willing to sell to you that I never use, for say, $35, which is dirt cheap for that reel. A good deal that is running right now is Cabelas has Daiwa Vientos on sale for $99, that's a great value buy for a decent reel, it has a twitching bar feature which some folks don't like, but it's not in the way and if you don't like that feature, don't use it, the Viento is fairly compact and light. I have a Viento and can bring it to the gathering if you're interested in checking one out.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I'm about 180 degrees from joed. Your equiptment does make you a better fisherman when it matches the situation.

[Jack Jones]

After reading all this, I think much of what JoeD says makes sense. As someone who just got back into fishing a season or so ago, I think I definitely need to work on proficiency with and familiarity with different types of lures. I acknowledge I'm an incredible novice here. I'm using a BPS Stampede cheapy setup with Vicious line on it. I know I need to upgrade and probably will this season. I'm going to start new post seeking advice and I'll let you guys take it from there.

Quillback, I wish I could go, but it may be unlikely. I may have a four year old to watch and not sure how he'd do. I'm not dead set against it. I'll consider it. I'd like to go.

[Quillback]

Ok, well hopefully you'll be able to make it, let me know if you decide to go and I'll bring some stuff. I think I recall Bill Babler saying he was bringing his boat and tackle with him, not that I want to make promises for him, but if you're going you could shoot him a PM and see if he's bringing some BC's.

[MOPanfisher]

Having had tennis elbow at different times in each elbow I can Guarantee you that the stress placed on your wrist/arm is not twaddle. I have always cranked spinning reels left handed and eventually switched to left handed bait casters also, certainly feels wierd for a while but now its fine, and I can use either right or left without a problem, sort of like switching from a manual to an automatic transmission. When the tennis elbow hit my right elbow (casting arm) I was is misery while casting heavy baits, I simply can't cast as far or as accurately with a baitcaster as I can with a spinning rig, however it is getting closer to even. The wind is what really puts me in a bind sometimes, walleye fishing with shad raps which don't cast all that well on a bc anyway toss in a little wind blowing at me and it gets tough to make the cast without a backlash for me. Simply pick up the spinning rod and keep going. In the end it is simply a personal choice, some like one some the other, many of us use both. You won't be laughed out of a boat for using only spinning rigs, nor will someone decline to fish with you because you have a bait caster. And there is a break point between quality and cost, if you have the $ you will never regret a good spinning or casting rig. Many cheaper ones are just fine but you'll never regret a good quality outfit. (until you slam it in a car door, or lose it, or well you get the idea).

[Al Agnew]

Having had tennis elbow at different times in each elbow I can Guarantee you that the stress placed on your wrist/arm is not twaddle. I have always cranked spinning reels left handed and eventually switched to left handed bait casters also, certainly feels wierd for a while but now its fine, and I can use either right or left without a problem, sort of like switching from a manual to an automatic transmission. When the tennis elbow hit my right elbow (casting arm) I was is misery while casting heavy baits, I simply can't cast as far or as accurately with a baitcaster as I can with a spinning rig, however it is getting closer to even. The wind is what really puts me in a bind sometimes, walleye fishing with shad raps which don't cast all that well on a bc anyway toss in a little wind blowing at me and it gets tough to make the cast without a backlash for me. Simply pick up the spinning rod and keep going. In the end it is simply a personal choice, some like one some the other, many of us use both. You won't be laughed out of a boat for using only spinning rigs, nor will someone decline to fish with you because you have a bait caster. And there is a break point between quality and cost, if you have the $ you will never regret a good spinning or casting rig. Many cheaper ones are just fine but you'll never regret a good quality outfit. (until you slam it in a car door, or lose it, or well you get the idea).

Your point about the wind is a good one. Casting lures with poor aerodynamics in the wind is definitely easier with spinning tackle. It's always nice to have a spinning outfit handy if you need it.

But I disagree that it's "simply" a personal choice, because if your proficiency is equal with both, there will be a lot of things you can do better with a baitcaster.

However, if you're proficient with spinning and not so much with baitcasting, your choice is either to use what you use best, or to spend the time and effort to get as good with the other. It's not like you're badly handicapped with spinning tackle; we're talking rather minor differences here.