Baitcasting Reel How To

[PI guy]

When mono nests up it tends to stretch and cinch down on itself making it very difficult to pick out, if you got the dough go for the braid.

[crash]

I just started with a baitcaster myself, I have one with powerpro, one with mono, and one with fireline. Fireline is by far the easiest to learn on. Just keep the casts short until you get used to it.

[nightfighter]

Would like to see another Casting Clinic with Big Dave......... Since I've asked about this more than once over the past two years, is there anyone else who might be available to lead such a clinic?

[baldwin]

I prefer braid, though it's more expensive if you have to cut away a squirrel's nest and discard it. Streamlined, distance-casting lures tend to do better. Most metal-lipped plugs are more wind-resistant, result in more tangles. Darters, needlefish, bottle plugs, tins and bucktails do better. Conventionals are great for working plugs slowly, they have a lower gear ratio that negates the temptation to reel too quickly as with spinning reels. I also learned on a Penn Squidder, now use AbuGarcia Ambassadeur 6500 and 7000. I once killed the antireverse on my 6500 on a Block Island night with many big bass on eels. I hope the 7000 is beefier in this respect.

[Steve K]

I would start with mono. I find it much easier to pick out backlashes in mono than with braid, especially powerpro. Also, it has stretch which might prevent you plug from sailing off after a backlash. The problem with braids like pp, you can damage the line after a bad backlash and then lose your plug on the next cast. My favorite braid for conventional reels is spectron. Not as thin as pp but a lot tougher and easier to pick out.