I picked up a bait caster around December, and I've been practicing with the damn thing all spring and still have problems with casting and backlashes. It's a Daiwa Megaforce 100TSH. I've spooled it with 10 lb braid and 10 lb mono and just can't get the thing to work like I expect it to. Any tips that anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I have a Megaforce 100h and can't cast worth diddley with it. I bought it as a light duty trolling reel, so it is not a problem for me. Many fishermen will agree that the under $100 baitcasters don't have a good enough spool control for a beginner to master. I agree, my Shimano Cruxis is no problem for me! Tom

go to your back yard and walk your line out for the longiest cast you want and then go back to your reel and take some clear scotch tape and put it in your reel so no more line will come out, ps you might want to give a couple extra feet there. this should help with your backlash

first of all Mike don't give up and get rid of the braid, use mono until you master it then you can go to braid. Now lets see if we can't get your reel set up. First tie on a lure and hold you pole at 45 degrees and depress the thumb bar, it the lure fall too fast you'll need to set the spool tension knob ( the knob behind the handle) intil the lure falls slowley or you have to shake the rod to make it fall. Now if you have an external break system set it at 5 or 6. Now remember you will need to set the tension knob each time you change the weight of the lure until you get use to casting. Now when you cast turn your wrist so that the reel is parallel to the ground this causes the line to go up and down on the reel instead of back and forth reducing the chance of a backlash ( we call it a professional over run). Also use your thumb to stop the rotation of the spool this takes practice to learn how much pressure you will need. One other thing try to avoild casting into the wind if at all possiable. Try these tip and see how it works for you and keep me posted on your progress. Just keep practicing and it will come. good Luck


Lifer since 95 NW Bass Pro Washington State Keep a tight line

hhardy summed it up pretty well. I allways tie on a 3/8 ounce to tune my reels in. That reel has a magnetic spool brake. I tighten down the tension knob and the brake to full. Make a couple casts and turn the brake once. Cast some more and loosen up the tension knob a little. Just keep repeating till u can make the lure hit the ground or water without putting your thumb on the spool. Eventually you will be able cast about 25 to 35 yards. Like hardy said, you will have to readjust for different weights. Usually u will just have to adjust the tension knob for weight. Once u understand how the two adjustments work together it will only take about ten minutes to have it water ready. I have also found that a drop of oil in a new baitcaster makes a big difference, even on my $200 reels. Dont forget about using the right kind of rod for the application. Ten pound line would go good with a 6'6" to 7' medium action with a fast tip. A longer rod puts less drag on the spool and helps rocket the lure out there. Remember that it doesnt take a lot of force to cast a baitcaster. Its not a baseball bat.

I also started on baitcasters this spring, and it's been a rough start but persistence and lot of learning experiences has paid off. Here's what I can tell you from my learning experience (otherwise known as "mistakes").

First, I REALLY should have listened to Tom (pegsguy) on this, I would NOT start out with Flouro. I posted a similar question on here around December and Tom warned me not to use flouro and I didn't listen. Three backlashes and several crimps in the line later and I wasted an entire spool of Triline Transition Flouro. Use a line that you are comfortable with and that has plenty of flexibility. If it's too stringent line, it will get crimps and it will not case properly after that. In two months I spooled the same reel for the third time and I went back to 12 mono. ( Thank you Tom).

Second start out with lures that have weight on them until you get comfortable. Would not start out with something like a light carolina rig. Use something in the 1/2 oz or higher. I took my brand new Pflueger baitcaster down to the neighborhood pond as soon as it was warm thinking I would get some good practice before I went to the big water, but I only had a light tackle for panfish thinking "two birds one stone". Practice with my new baitcaster and hopefully catch some little bluegills or crappie in the process, win-win. Wrong. That ended up being re-spool #1.

Next a tip I just learned a couple of weeks ago, that 1" to 2" inches slack you usually give yourself between the rod tip and the lure, double it. Tip from my mother's husband turned out, he actually knew what he was talking about. I got a lot more distance and a little better accuracy adding a little extra line at the end of the rod tip.

Finally, do what I did, tighten your spool a little bit more. The "experts" say until the lure falls without restriction, I say until you have to gently bounce the rod tip to make it fall. You'll get shorted on distance, but only for the short term while you're learning. I tightened my down and put a heavier weight, didn't really make much difference to me. And it saves the hassle and headache of fighting backlashes and getting discourage. Again, after three times I respooled with different line made adjustments because I was getting frustrated.

That's been the pain in my rear the past two months, but practice definitely pays off. If you live where they have retention ponds, use the tips from everybody (especially tape trick) and just practice. I went back to my neighborhood retention pond, put a hollow belly swim bait with a 3/4 oz swim hook and threw cast after cast until I get comfortable.

I'll still prefer spinning reels to baitcasters simply because I feel in my small experience they are more versatile, but I am becoming a fan of baitcasters and am finding that both have their place and use. Sorry so long-winded, this has been as much a confession of my own trials, but I hope some of it helps.

Best of luck and don't give up. I won't!

-j

pratice using your thumb as a break. Can't remember which recent show it was on, i believe it was Keven Van Dam, program tension so that your lure or bait falls just by itself or with a little shake (slowley that is, then practice thumb break.

Thanks a lot for all the pointers. My buddy told me that once I got a baitcaster, I'd be more frustrated than pleased with it at first, and it's turning out to look that way. Practice and more practice, I suppose, haha. Thanks again everyone! I'll keep you all updated on my progress.

Just take a look at any of the videos I posted for you guys to learn this here at http://delawaretrophybass.com/apps/videos

Choosing a heavier line to learn with also helps.  Try some 14-20# test mono.  You won't get as much distance, but the backlash are much easier to dig out.

bait casters work better with a medium heavy bait like a fat IKA,rigged with a perfect finesse worm rig or medium sized crankbait,brush hog, leave the smaller light stuff for your open reel,start off  by casting a few feet then lilttle by little cast farther and farther keeping your thumb on the spool with a very light pressure

Mike, first of all you should have bought a little cheaper reel. Because if you give up on bait casting fishing you wouldn't lost much money! Now everyone is correct on learning how, I learned how to by casting in the back yard and then casting slowly and not try for distance yet until you master it. I suggest 2 websites, 1st. is www.bassfishin.com and then go to YouTube and click on learn how to use bait casting reels. The bassfishin.com is a very nice site with lot of information. Good Luck and try not to get discourage!

While a cheap reel may save money initially, you find yourself fighting the reel as well as inexperience. Most folks I know feel that, as stated previously, a reel around $100 MSRP is the minimum. If you want to go cheaper, there are plenty of used reels available but again, watch out for cheap reels. The backlash controls just aren't good enough for a beginner. With a bit of success you will be able to use these inexpensive reels with no problems. Tom

I bought for my first reels was Abu Garcia Silver Max & Black Max. As for back lashing, even the pro's get them! But just practice, and you will get fusterated very fast. Just don't give up! If you get a back lash pull the string until it stops then put yourthumb on the spool and crank the reel while you have the thumb pushing hard on the spool. Then open the spool and pull the line until it stops again and then proceed the same way over again! You will eventually get it out. You can see this video how to get back lash out on www.bassfishin.com . I bought my combo rod & reel from Dicks about 75.00.
Dennis

Hey Mike I can only tell ya what I had to do to get use to it as well, I set the spool tension to let out line at about 1 foot per second and used the cheapest mono I could buy and just went at it for an hour in the back yard till I had it right. like everyone is saying adjust the tension with every bait change and when the time is right you will be able to add that 30 pound braid and horse the big ones out of the weeds in no time. I preffer my spinning gear over the bait casting because of price and  less hassles and just as pegsguy, you will usually only see my bait casters in a rod holder while back trolling where I think they do the best job. I guess I'm just set in my casting ways but hey, good luck to ya and hope you pick it up before you put it down. Happy hooking to you and everyone out there.

I have every single video that You Tube has and Bassfishin.com and more.

I just got a baitcaster two days ago and was wondering if it's normal that the casts aren't as far as spinning reels.

Yes it is normal.

Baitcaster normally will cast shorter, but when you start getting into heavier weights of 2 oz or more and using heavier lines of 20# mono or more the Baitcasting reels will usually cast further.