why would anyone bother with a baitcasting reel for freshwater ?

Todd Copeland wrote:
"duty-honor-country" wrote in message
ups.com...

Carlos wrote:
Accuracy and the ability to control the entry of a bait into the water.

Sometime watch, really watch guys on tv casting. Or even better, go to
a wintertime fishing show where a big name angler is tossing a jig into
a cup 50-80 feet away and never missing. Doing it while not making a
lot of noise. Just laying it in there.

Baitcasters are far more useful, and accurate than you give them credit
for. They take practice. Anything worthwhile does.

I've been fishing for 37 years now, and to say a baitcaster is more
accurate, is very misleading- and downright incorrect. I can put 6
pound test on an open face and cast 200 feet with ease. And I can put
10 pound test on it and haul in huge bass. And I've fished small
streams and creeks with open faced spinning reels, that require far
more precision than any baitcaster can give- and would leave a
baitcasting reel in a birdsnest tangle.

Caros mentioned that baitcasters were more _accurate", not that they could
throw a lure further as you keep mentioning. Spinning reels _are_ good for
distance and for using light lures. But baitcaster win hands down for
accuracy.

There are very few times (really none) that anyone should want to throw a
lure 100-200 feet (by the way, the over-hand throw on a 200 foot cast has
_got_ to be scary!)

You mentioned backlashes on a baitcaster and that you've been fishing for 37
years. If you're getting backlashes then you've not fished long enough with
a baitcast to appreciate how well it does. I've been fishing, steady, for
about 10 years and use baitcasters 80% of the time. Out of the past
thousands of casts I'd say I've only had backlash once... and it only took 5
seconds to clear. The only way to control the line on a spinning reel is to
apply slight pressure against the line with your finger once each time the
line wraps around the spool. As you mentioned, on a baitcaster you just need
to drag your thumb across the spool as the line is going out.

From your posts it really seems like you are no open to accept the fact that
baitcasters _are_ more accurate then spinning reels. If they were not, why
do all professional bass fisherman use them 80%-90% of the time? I guess
they _all_ could be wrong about the subject.

Something you don't mention is what _kind_ of bass fishing you do. If you
just need to throw a shiner out into the middle of the lake, then a spinning
reel would work best for your needs. But if you want to throw that plastic
worm or spinning lure right into that 6"x6" hole of lily pads four or five
times, then you might want to consider practicing with a baitcaster.


You bring up valid points- but to repeat what a previous poster gleaned
from my posts- why use 20 pound test and a heavy lure, to catch an 8
pound fish ? And the added headaches of a baitcaster added to it. It
seems that same lure could be presented with a stout open faced reel
and rod, and horsed in just as easily.

They use open faced reels for deep sea fishing too- so obviously the
new ones have the gusto to horse a big fish in as well. Correct ?

Keep in mind professional bass fishermen get a lot of sponsor money.

I've yet to try to make a cast that I could not make with a spinning
reel. Where's the accuracy problem ? I've fished streams where the
target area is 2 feet square- and anywhere else is a snag and lost
hook/bait. If that's not an accuracy challenge, what is ?

I agree that for pulling a lure through lilly pads and stumps, a
baitcaster has the leverage advantage. But what average guy would fish
that area, every time ? Sooner or later, one tires of the obstacles
and snags. You may not break the line, but you may have to go up and
unsnag it often.

If there was a place where all of the fish caught were over 10 pounds,
sure I'd use a bait caster. But the baitcaster aura is reminding me of
a street car with a 6-71 supercharger sticking through the hood, that
can't get out of it's own way.

"duty-honor-country" wrote in message SNIP
You bring up valid points- but to repeat what a previous poster gleaned
from my posts- why use 20 pound test and a heavy lure, to catch an 8
pound fish ? And the added headaches of a baitcaster added to it. It
seems that same lure could be presented with a stout open faced reel
and rod, and horsed in just as easily.

***Why use 20 pound and a heavy lure to catch an 8 pound fish? Because that
is many times the right tools for the job. If you were taught how to
properly set up and use a baitcast rig, there would be no added headache. A
baitcast reel can handle heavier line much better than a spinning reel, and
typically, a spinning rod does not have the necessary backbone to adequately
horse a fish from heavy cover. Sure, it can be done, but I can do the same
with a baitcaster with a rig that is much lighter and easier to fish with
all day. Saying you can do the same with a spinning rod is like saying that
you can pound a nail with a screwdriver. Yep, you probably can, but it's
not the right tool for the job. Matching line weight to fish is fine for
open water fishing, but there are many other factors that must be considered
when choosing tackle. Fishing many of the areas I do with eight pound line
will only result in borken line, lost lures and lost fish.

They use open faced reels for deep sea fishing too- so obviously the
new ones have the gusto to horse a big fish in as well. Correct ?

***Yes, they do use spinning rods for deep-sea fishing, but look at the
weight of a spinning rod/reel combination rated for 20 pound line, then
compare a baitcast combo rated for the same. I'd rather hold and cast the
baitcaster all day than the spinning rod/reel.

Keep in mind professional bass fishermen get a lot of sponsor money.

***And those professional bass fishermen get paid to WIN tournaments. If
spinning tackle were the "End-All to End All", those selfsame professional
bass fishermen would be using spinning tackle. But, they don't, so
obviously there is a reason why baitcasting tackle is used. You could use a
Yugo to race the 24 Hours at LeMans, but you wouldn't be competitive.

I've yet to try to make a cast that I could not make with a spinning
reel. Where's the accuracy problem ? I've fished streams where the
target area is 2 feet square- and anywhere else is a snag and lost
hook/bait. If that's not an accuracy challenge, what is ?

***Then you obviously haven't fished with me. Two feet square? C'mon,
that's easy. Now, pitch a lure underneath overhanging tree branches into a
10 inch hole in the weeds, two feet underneath the overhang. THAT'S an
accuracy challenge.

I agree that for pulling a lure through lilly pads and stumps, a
baitcaster has the leverage advantage. But what average guy would fish
that area, every time ? Sooner or later, one tires of the obstacles
and snags. You may not break the line, but you may have to go up and
unsnag it often.

***THAT'S exactly why baitcasting tackle is used, leverage and mechanical
advantage. I consider myself an average guy and I fish obstacles and snags
quite often. I prefer to actually CATCH fish and that means I have to go
where they live. If you're fishing bass, pike, and muskie, they are a very
object oriented fish. That means heavier tackle, heavier lures. I don't
tire of fishing in heavy cover and I don't have to "go up and unsnag if
often" as I use the proper tools for the job, baitcasting equipment.

If there was a place where all of the fish caught were over 10 pounds,
sure I'd use a bait caster. But the baitcaster aura is reminding me of
a street car with a 6-71 supercharger sticking through the hood, that
can't get out of it's own way.

***Obviously you don't understand the concept of using the correct equipment
for the task at hand and refuse to do so.
--
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com