So I bought a level wind yesterday and went to Salmon today and am having a lot of trouble using it,in fact I got such a rats nest after about a dozen casts that I couldn't get it undone. Threw the darn thing in the truck and grabbed my good ol open faced and went back to fishin. So I was wondering if any of you have any tips tricks or the secret to fishing with these baitcasters. Thanks in advance
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I am still having trouble with them so I am no expert, but I would practice a lot at home and set your drag so that the bait will barely free fall. I also thumb the line to keep the snags down, but I like I said, I am still working on it.
Windriver
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It does take some practice. To start there is a small dial on the side of the reel. When you put a bait on you want to adjust the reel so that when you release the spool the bait will slowly drop. Then when you cast you need to remember to keep your thumb on the spool so when the bait hits the water you can stop the spool from spinning. You should have seen the rats nests that I dealt with when I started to use one. My buddy noticed that by the end of the three days from when I first got it that I had improved tremendously. A good thing to remember is that they are made for big and heavy baits with heavy line. Don't give up on it yet, they are one of the best rods and you will find that casting them can be more accurate then the spinning reel. I carry one with me whenever I head to a bass lake. Really fun rod. I now own 5 of them and love em'
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I have also found that when casting out... I'm not sure how to describe this but I'm going to try... you have to keep it a fluid motion. It's much like towing another vehicle with your truck, if you get slack in the tow line the vehicles lurch forward. This same idea with your reel will produce quick and erratic spurts of line and increase the likelihood that you will get a birds nest. So... if you cast in more of a circular pattern that allows you to keep a fluid and constant tension, it will work much better. I'm not sure that made any sense, but if it does, I hope it helps. Maybe someone can explain the concept more clearly. [blush][crazy]
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I was told to start by casting about a 3/4 oz of wt on the line d/t more weight causing less issues w/ birds nests. After casting that much wt for a bit reduce the weight and repeat. Keep doing that (and remember to adjust the nob in between) until you are down to a minimal amount of wt. Ultimately a lot of practice. I got board somewhere around the second time I clipped some weight off. Still haven't gotten it figured for most my steelheading yet.
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I make a very long cast and then place a piece of electrical tape on the spool. This helps keep the birds nest from getting to large. I'm still learning on by bait caster as well.
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I absolutely feel your pain! I've used them and have always preferred them for trout and kokanee trolling. So, I picked up a Shimano Citica with a left side wind since I grew up with left side open faced spinning reels. (I'm right-handed) Getting better but still not good at it. I made the mistake of taking the side plate off to adjust those little plastic weights... while wading for steelhead. Immediately dropped one in the water! After freaking totally out, I somehow found it. Went to the shore and contemplated just how stupid that was... better to make your internal adjustments on dry land... Ha.
I agree that the key is practice and more practice. I see guys who've mastered them and they are the ideal reel for many types of angling. I used the old baitcasters as a kid and remember how frustrating it was to cast those beasts. The new reels are much better balanced and fit the hand better.
Thanks for the info above; I'll keep adopting all the suggestions; especially interesting is adjusting the lure/bait/rig so that it drops slowly to the ground. Makes sense.
One additional comment. I recently bought a Pflueger Medalist open face. Why? If the rat's nests on my Citica reach critical mass (unrecoverable) then I'll resort back to what I know and can control.
The Medalist is a superb reel. I was watching the salt water guy Sosin on TV one day fishing for bone fish and I've always listened to this Pro. Figured it would work for steelhead and light Salmon. Put it on an 8' Lamiglass spinning rod and it's perfect. (if and when the Citica gets the better of me) The attachment is three October steelies we took from the canyon. That was first trip with the Citica and within an hour I had a massive and fatal rat's nest. I had to hike back up to the truck for my open face. If you've been to Hell's Canyon you know what a hike that is...
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Properly tuning the reel to the weight is the most important thing i found i could do. also keep a thumb on the spool or you'll kill yourself with backlashes.
also never just buy a bait caster and try to go out with it. spend some time practicing with some cheap mono on a football or soccer field. when i was learning to cast the big level winds i use for sturgeon i spent maybe 3 or 4 hours practicing and by the end i could hit hula hoops all the way out to 75 yards and if i really wind up i can toss stuff 100 yrds. but i have been using bait casters for years now for salmon and steel heads
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You're right about the Medalist. Great reel. I've used it for years for the steelies. I also found out last year that the step down, the president does a pretty good job as well. I like to always have a backup setup ready should it be needed!
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A lot of the better quality baitcasters have anti-backlash control mechanisms like magnets and centrifugal weights that can be adjusted. Read through the manual to see if yours does, and how to set it.
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Have read, studied, applied said suggestions. Found that while they help, they do not eliminate backlash entirely. The best anti-backlash device you can get is a well trained thumb.
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[quote Belasko]Have read, studied, applied said suggestions. Found that while they help, they do not eliminate backlash entirely. The best anti-backlash device you can get is a well trained thumb.[/quote]
Ever so true.
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Its all about training your thumb. Try short underhand flips and progress higher as you feel comfortable. Heavier baits are easier to throw while training. Keep throwing! Its just getting used to the learning.
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All,
I also agree with the "well trained thumb". I use a bobber for steelhead and a bait caster is almost a requirement. Once the bobber goes downstream, an open face does not feed the line out in a friction-free manner. It would also take too long to flip the bail when you get a take down (you miss the hook set because the fish figures it out in less than a second and spits the jig).
Some of the suggestions above will not be optimum for bobber fishing because as you tighten the clutch, the reel no longer pays out line in a friction free environment. Then the added friction pulls your jig off the bottom which is obvious because your bobber is no longer standing straight up. Sadly, for bobber fishing, the reel has to free-wheel in a manner that maximizes the bird nesting tendency.
Unfortunately, you have to put in lots of time to avoid the birds nest and until you are ready, don't put yourself in a combat fishing situation. It is too stressful and the other folks won't appreciate the problems that you create for them. Even worse, if you do start using a bobber, you will find it much more difficult to cast than just weight and your birds nest will return. I still have the problem on rare occasion (usually the first cast of the season) and have cast maybe 10,000 times with a bait caster and bobber setup.
I agree with the car tow analogy and would add that primarily my thumb comes into play just before the outfit lands - at the end of the cast. You want to bring the rod tip up and progressively increase thumb input pressure as the cast terminates.
I learned to carry a cork screw and practice the science of how to recover without hacking line or disassembling the reel. I now don't carry the cork screw - but it took years. I also recommend extra limp line until you get used to it. I always went with Stren Easy Cast in the 14# strength. They quit making it and I don't know what to tell you. Although the braided lines are limp, if and when they birds nest, the recovery is nearly impossible even with a cork screw.
One last thing. The bait-casters are worth it - but only if you are willing to put in the time and effort. When you look around on the river, it is easy to tell the serious fishermen: they have bait-casters.
FR
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I've got no problem at all using bait casters and have been using them for years as well, but one thing that I still haven't been able to figure out is "flipping" like for bass. I get the concept but i just can't get the fluid motion like Cristhefish talked about with an underhand cast. anybody have any pointers on this?
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i think what ChrisTheFish said is right on. That is a huge key to casting a baitcaster. if i would add another tip it would be: get some cheap line, go to an open field and practice practice and practice. i say get cheap line for two reasons: one so you don't spend all your money on quality line when its most likely that itll have to be cut off due to a rat's nest, another reason for cheap line is that once you learn to cast with cheap line, using the good line that you would use on your fishing trips will make casting all the easier. thats what worked for me anyways.
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I recently read a post, not sure were it was, the author stated that he always carries a crochet hook with him. It sounded like a great idea but I haven't tried it yet. Fishingrocket uses a corkscrew and that sounds like great advice also. I do use a level until I hook the friendly bush behind me during the cast, that is when I get "level wind madness" and grab the open face.
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I've found that for "flipping" I get the best cast using two hands. I hold the base of my rod with my left hand and use it to quickly push the rod back while I use my right hand to thumb the spool and release it at the right moment. And I've found that the smoother the motion (I guess the best way to describe it is circular) the better your short cast will turn out. I've had to do this when I'm up against willows. I can't seem to get the same distance as a regular cast but get close to it depending on what i'm flinging.
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Thanks for info guys I'll be sure to try it all out before I get back to the water, I did pratice for a little bit before I went Thursday but it obviously wasnt enough because after about a half dozen casts came the NEST, and it was ugly took me about an hour or so to get it out, luckily I brought my open face and was still able to fish.... tried it again today and same result. A couple of years ago I bought a Rapala clipper with tuner, small knife, and a line pick. I wear it when I fish and that was real handy for those nasty nests.
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Try the electrical tape trick that Wombat suggested. You'll still get a backlash, but it won't involve all the line on the spool and will be much faster to take care of.
Just keep your thumb lightly on the spool when you cast until you start getting a better feel for casting. Better to lose a couple of yards on a cast than wasting valuable fishing time dealing with nests.
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