Casting a baitcaster

[kevfish]

I am trying to learn how to cast with a bait caster- I am getting backlash in the real before the lure even hits the water- what am i doing wrong. I have the real adjusted so that the lure slowly falls when i push the buttun. There is also another adjustment on the side of the real that i have set in the middle on #5 ?????

[Eric Wettschreck]

I have mine set so that when I hold the rod up, and push the button, the lure slowly falls to the ground.

When casting your thumb is your friend. It will definately take some practice. Use your thumb on your spool to give it some "drag." This will prevent backlash.

Good luck.

[Ralph Wiggum]

When starting off, I'd use a lot of thumb with very short casts. Then slowly ease off on the thumb until you can whiz it a mile. It takes practice, but you'll pick it up quickly.

[gundy89]

I learned last summer chucking musky baits. It was a lot easier for me to cast the heavier ones, So I did those until I got the hang of it. The heavy braids are easier to pull out, too. Keep chucking and you will get the hang of it real quick.

[Mr Special]

The other drag you're talking about is the Magnetic brake. It's purpose is for fine tuning the lure weight. I'd say keep the manual brake "the one next to the reel handle" so it slowly falls, and stops when the lure hit's the ground. Then turn the Magentic drag to the highest level for now. You won't cast as far, but with some practice, you'll be casting country miles in no time. I too thought I would never get the hang of a baitcaster. One thing is you'll never not have backlashes, practice does keep them to a minium.

Good luck and have fun

[BarryG]

Do a search on "Learn to cast a baitcasting reel" you may find something.

[Metroguy99]

I aswell have been learning this same skill. I found that just putting a big piece of split shot on the line and practice casting on land helps alot. Trying hitting certain spots etc.

[Ranger sport]

What reel do you have? The more expensive reels work much better than the real cheap ones. Try casting with the wind at your back until you learn how to use it. It will be much easier than casting into the wind. Also use a lure that is on the heavy side much easier than a light one.

[Aquaman01]

Braided lines are a lot easier to get out of the nest than mono. When I was just learning a friend said "educate your thumb" and he was right. Keep practicing.

[Finns]

The boys from Ryobi told me if casting right handed, have the retrieve handle point up and if casting left handed have the handle point down. Main thing was to have the reel perpendicular to the ground or water.

Plus what all the people above said.

Finns,

[msm1018]

To give you an idea how it happens, you can prevent it. When you cast, the spool starts to spin and depending on how you adjust that little nob on the side, it will spin faster or slower, and when you cast, that lure will slow down in the air from drag but your spool keeps spinning the same speed. Essentially you want your lure to be "pulling" line out, not just your spool "sending" line out. your thumb is the make or break reasoning behind backlashes. I think after a few casts, your line is wet and it like a lubrication and casting becomes easier for me at least. One of the most helpful hints is cast until you wear down the skin and muscle and hit your thumb bone , and start with a heavy casting spoon.