I have a lot of trouble with the bails on my spinning reels not flipping over after casting.  Does anyone know what magic is required to fix this?

My reels stay in the boat so are not getting gunked up with sand.  Of course I've taken them apart (except the main body), cleaned and lubed, but still can't seem to resolve it.  

Although not expensive (Gander Mtn Guide Series, Abu Garcia), they are not old.  Getting counter help that knows what they're doing is hit or miss but still no joy.  Hoping others have some idea.

you should always flip your bail manually as opposed to cranking the handle to close it. This prevents line twist and is easier on the mechanism inside the reel.     Happy fishing.

Phoenix Arizona

~N.A.F.C.~B.A.S.S.~BoatU.S.~N.R.A.~

I agree with Mr.Mystery, you should get in the habit of closing the bail by hand.  It does reduce wear and tear on parts.  It also dramatically reduces line twist and knots, especially with braids.  Yes, the reels of yester-year were designed to flip over with the handle, my dad has old zebco 'cardinals' that do function that way, but it's a real bitch to keep working on them and finding those ancient parts. Some of my better reels don't even have bail springs, they use magnets.  I've given him a few modern ones like the new Pflueger Supreme XT, Quantum Energy and Penn Slammer.  He had to retrain himself to close bails by hand, even resisted at first, but now accepts and understands it.  Old dogs can learn new tricks...

     There comes a time to retire the old stuff and update your gear. Hell, you didn't get to this forum using Ma Bell's switchboard.

ALWAYS DO IT MANUALLY. ITS LESS STRENUOUS ON YOUR GEAR.

Gee they have been manufacturing spinning reels and bait casting reels for many years including reels made and sold today that close the bail or sets the drag controls when you crank the reel. I must ask the reason they make & sell these reels if they were not designed to work automatically? Also I then must ask why we buy such reels? I am asking these questions of the fishermen who think you need to close the bails manually. I personally have many reels and some are of vintage years and more than 50 years old and others were purchased this season and I use all my reels as they were designed to work. I have over the years needed to replace a worn bail spring as all mechanical parts can wear from excessive use and I do use my reels. Maybe I am different, but if I purchase fishing reels and pay my hard earned $ for them, I expect them to work properly for me for a number of years. I recently purchased two Shimano reels and spent more than $500 for those two reels and I expect them to work perfectly under extreme conditions and I will put them through a hard work-out this season. I will have no problem returning them under warranty if they do not perform flawlessly. I also will expect to clean and service these new Shimano  reels next year and for many more years to come. I will cast the line on these reels and then turn the handle to set the reel and drag.

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Just my 2 cents on the subject. If I pay good money for my fishing tackle, I expect it to work as designed! Oh yes, my engine on my boat is electric start and I do not pull start it either; no, I expect it to start as designed because I paid for that feature!

None of the Shimano reels that I own has a spring mechanism to trip the bail back.  It's leveraged back by where the rotor position is by design on the reel body with a taper/cam as the trip mechanism.  There's a little lever that makes contact along the friction ring and then contacts the taper/cam to begin the bail trip mechanism.  That forces the bail trip lever to raise in the bail assembly to initiate the bail close.  Afterwards the spring in the bail assembly that pulls the bail closed and keeps it in the closed position.  Over time it's the lever and friction ring and the trip mechanism through mechanical wear that may lose proper operational function.  By manually closing the bail, you bypass the automatic bail close design on it and extend the life of your bail.  The added benefit is reduced line twist.

The bail trip design will differ from reel to reel and different between manufactures. 

Why put your gear through hell. Fishing-Eagle. Yes the bail on a spinning reel, should close when cranked. But why not do it MANUALLY, it only takes a nano-second. Your $500 gear will thank you. Its always better to be on the safe side. All of my reel's bail will close when cranked, but to prolong my reel's life, I close the bail MANUALLY.

Hey Yanosick, I probably crank my reels to close the bails for the same reason I don't push start my truck when I want to head to my favorite lake. I am maybe a little lazy or I expect my fishing equipment to work as it was designed and why I paid my hard earned money for it. I use the key to start my truck and if or when the starter wears out, I will repair or replace it. Do you push start your vehicle or row your boat to save wear on the parts that were designed to do the work? 

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Oh yes, I also push the button on my electric downriggers to retrieve my downrigger ball. They can be cranked manually with a crank handle and that would save the battery... but I will replace the battery when its worn out.  Now I am just making jokes here about things and hope I am not upsetting anybody; yet, I do seriously expect things I purchase to work as designed and I will spend a few extra bucks to buy quality equipment that should last as expected!

First I would send the damn thing back to garcia, they have a warrenty for a purpose. Yeah you would be with out for a few weeks, but hell go to a pawn shop and buy a cheep emergancy set up. Let the people who are pros at this fix it. If you just don't want to do that, then buy a new friction ring, and the little springs and levers in the bail. then replace all the parts, relube with reel magic (from bass pro). Make sure you clean out the old grease with Rem oil. Dry it out very well.

As for the manuel bail operations I do this to stop the line from getting in the mechanisms. I hate having to pick that s**t out.

Hey Pegsguy, I think if you go back and read this entire thread, that I gave some solutions to the problem with my first reply in the thread.

Here is a suggestion.  Watch your reel when you turn the handle to flip the bail.  It will probably turn about 1/4 of a rotation before the bail flips.  For every 100 casts you make in a day, you would be putting about 25 twists in your line.  Think about it, it may be made to flip automatically, but my truck also has a low gear that I don't shift to.  Just because it has the ability to automatically flip the bail, it doesn't automatically take the twist out of the line.

My two cents worth.

Gary