Bait Cast First Timer

"Jim" wrote in message
om...
SNIP
Now, anyone who grew up on spincast reels knows that the push button
on the reel locks the line when fully depressed - right? And a bait
cast reel probably does the same thing - right? Wrong! So I push the
clutch bar, swing the rod behind me and discover the lure impacting
the bank behind me. Plus, you know it, of course the spool is spinning
and creating the second overrun.

Score so far: 2 overruns - 0 casts to the water.

LOL! I hate to laugh, but I've seen it, you're not alone, and you learned
the lesson the best way possible. The other reason I chuckle at this is that
I took a LONG time off from bass fishing, from the time I was about 19 until
the past few years (I am now 36). So...I got some new baitcasters, a couple
complete with a "flipping" switches, where you have to hold down the clutch
the whole time and release it when you are completely finished with the
cast. Needless to say, I was unaware of the functionality of that switch and
tried to cast normally with it first time with the "flipping" switch ON so
when I flicked the wrist and tried to let her fly by releasing the thumb
pressure, the line stopped dead and my lure came back and nearly took an eye
out...not an overrun, but I figured out right quick like what the "flipping"
mode was, and have learned to love it when it is needed.

Fortunately, I'm not totally inept and was making some very good casts
before heading back to the house about an hour later. I only had one
more overrun and caught it in time to make it a small one. The hardest
part to get through my head was how early in the cast you need to
release the spool.

Yup, this timing is critical. Figure I bass fished from the time I can
remember anything until I was 19, and again another 3 or so years recently,
probably well over 15 years total, and I STILL learn things in the back yard
and on the water, all the time. My biggest lesson came in the most
unlikliest of places, in an aisle of a Dicks Sporting Goods. Last year,
about 4 days prior to the Santee-Cooper BASS event, Mike Iaconelli was there
doing an appearance on his way to that event (Im in Raleigh NC) and was
flipping and pitching down the aisle in an amazing manner, hitting his
target EVERY time, no overruns, even looking away and talking while doing it
flawlessy time and time again. So I grew some male accessories and stepped
up and asked, aside from practice, what tips could he share to develop this
talent. Practice was his first tip, something akin to Steve's advice on
spool tension elsewhere in this thread was another, and some physical
demonstration of his wrist positions and actions during the cast were the
rest. (Along with matching the rod stiffness and length to the reel, the
line weight, and the conditions, of course.) So long story short, find
someone who "can" cast well, and watch and learn as they probably can't tell
you how they learned their timing outside of practice and maybe a few
starting and finishing positions with the various types of casts. (Do you
really think casting is that different than a golf swing? I don't. Muscle
memory and repetition are key.)

Just thought I'd share this to ease the frustration of others new to
bait cast reels. For me, it's the lake tomorrow and then, after I've
built my confidence with this monofilament, some better line. I'll bet
some of the super braids will cast further.

Are the braided lines more problematic regarding cutting in or
overruns?


I'm with Steve on this one too. I like Power Pro, and have it on half my
rigs (I have mono on 1 baitcaster and all 3 of my spinning rigs, my other 4
baitcasters are all PP equipped with various weight ratings of the line). It
casts great and cuts in in no worse, IMHO, than any I may ever get when
using mono.

As for distance, I dunno. I was lucky enough to get a Daiwa baitcaster for
my 12th birthday, and have been casting them a long time. Even after my
decade long layoff, it came back pretty fast and I consider myself pretty
good at it, though no where in the league of the touring guys that fish
hundreds of days a year. That said, I can't really tell a distance
difference. Sure, with 30# Power Pro it will cast farther than 30# mono due
to the shear thinness of the braid compared to the rope-like mono at that
weight rating. But when casting 4# mono (for example) compared to the 4#
"sized" braid (12#-15# actual rating likely), they're about the same in my
experience. All I can say, casting distance aside, is that as long as they
make a coated braid, similar to Power Pro, that doesn't "sing" through the
eyelets (like Fireline does), I'll be using it. Its advantages far outweigh
the drawbacks IMHO. Mono and its stretch has its place, and times when it is
warranted and almost required, but my first choice in line anymore is
superlines. And as long as fishing stays a hobby and not an income producer
for me, that'll be what I fish with most.