I bought a baitcaster last year. Best to practice in your back yard or a park before you get on the water. My first time out wasn't so smooth.
For the rat's nest, there's a technique where you hold your thumb on the reel and pull the line out. Just give it a google
I'm working on it. Practiced in my pool until I got the spool control and the weight control right. At least it was right for the lure I was practicing with. Changed it later and back to nest
yup bait casters are for the real fishermen, you have to feel the line to know what the bait is hitting, whether a fish or a log or brush, its not for the beginner I hate to say, for the beginner I suggest a spinner real, a good spinner set is in fact the ugly stick combo, nice for any fishing
I'm not a beginner, spent a ton of time fishing years ago, but it's been awhile and certainly never used a baitcasting reel. I've got a bunch of spinners, so I'm good there.
I built a milk crate basket for the back of mine. Use the PVC tubes as holders for rods, nets, paddles, etc... Next I want to make an outrigger system for more stability. I have the rod holder from Scotty that mounts on the rail. I am also considering an anchor trolley system. This boat is for lake use only of course. The rivers would eat it alive with all that stuff on it.
Thanks. I did a youtube search and the guy had a setup similar to your crate. He also recommended the anchor trolley. I'm gonna get the crate together and put off the trolley till it's a necessity.
Having grown up in MI, and fishing throughout the state my entire life, where abouts are you going to be fishing/going?
I know guys are real protective with their spots - no need to be specific. Happy to give drinking and dining advice based on where you are going, though, if you're interested.
I'm trying to sneak one last trip in to da Yoop before it gets too cold.
Mostly Gun Lake. Brothers and I are renting a house on the water and a boat for a week. We might hit some rivers around that area. For sure, we are ready for some fishing. Little late in the season, but the one brother just can't get away in the summer. Don't mind too much, I prefer to miss the crazies and their skidoos.
I have used one since I was a kid. They are tricky at first to learn. A tip to try is to tighten the spool control so when you click down on the button to put the reel into free spool, tighten just enough so the lure attached to the line slowly drops to the ground. If it drops to fast it's too loose. At least when your a beginner with these reels. So attach the lure, tighten the spool so the lure slowly drops, and then use your thumb as you cast the lure and apply just enough pressure at the end of the cast, when the lure hits the water, so the reel stops revolving. You will get the hang of it with practice and you can then loosen the control on the spool to make it a little looser to cast farther as you get better at it. Hope this helps....
John
That's what I'm doing now John. At first I though F this, what a bad reel, but once I got the friction on the spool right for the lure weight, and learned to apply thumb as a brake, it worked a lot better.
I found that the spool friction helps a lot for when the lure lands, but if I added too much wait the spool would still rat nest during flight. That's when I figured out how to add additional mass to the spool using the other (not sure the name of it) spool weighting thing on my reel. It's a Lew's.
I'm getting out to Lake Tarpon (outfall canal area) to test it. Was gonna go tonight, but rain. I need to get comfortable with this new reel to know what the advantages of it are over the spinner.
I'll say, it's really nice to be able to put a thumb on it to stop the lure flight. Can't do that with a spinner. It's also much smaller / lighter than any of my spinners.
