Why Use a Baitcaster | Reasons, Benefits and Advantages
Truth be told, there isn’t nothing bad with a spinning tackle, especially if you are going for largemouth and smallmouth bass. Thanks to its ease of control and fine casting ability. More importantly, a spinning reel is also great for light and finesse presentations.
But even with that said, many anglers who grew up fishing spinning reels and ignoring baitcasters have finally joined the bandwagon. Today, every one of them that’s turned pro will have a collection of baitcasters in their kayak.
So why use a baitcaster? As a pro angler who have used baitcasters for most of my bass-fishing applications, using baitcasters have better benefits compared to the use of spinning reels.
In this post, therefore, I am going to highlight some of the reasons why an angler should use baitcasters, its benefits, and the advantages.
Let’s dig in!
Why Use a Baitcaster?
There are many reasons why you should use a baitcaster for your angling expeditions, including these.
- They are easy to use and will give you quick flicks with one hand
- They give you better control and save you so much energy
- They are light in weight and therefore easy on your arms
- They are affordable and cost almost the same as spinning reels
- They come with simple but comprehensive manuals
- They don’t have any big difference with the spinning reels
Using the baitcaster will also give you lots of benefits as an angler. Some of these benefits, I will tackle next.
Benefits of Baitcasters to Anglers
Like I mentioned above, baitcasting has so many benefits to any angler irrespective of their level. These benefits include the following.
Better Fishing Line Control
A baitcaster enables the angler to enjoy better line control as compared to the use of the spinning reels. As such, the angler will enjoy more accurate casting anytime that they choose to go bass-fishing.
Easily Dip Your Lure in Water
Next, the use of baitcasters also allows you to easily slow down your lure so that it can softly fall into the water. This is a very important thing since it prevents your line from scaring or spooking the nearby fish. It’s because of this reason that baitcasters are also important when you are flipping baits into covers.
Maintain Right Contact with Lure
Again the use of baitcaster will also ensure that you easily maintain the right contact with your fishing lure. This is even possible when you are using your reel in frees pool. As such, you can easily detect the strikes when you are still letting out your line.
Better High-Drag Cranking Power
Finally, for any angler that uses the baitcaster, the angler will have the required cranking power for any form of high-drag baits such as those of the spinnerbaits and the crankbaits. This is because baitcasters are better equipped even to cast any more massive line better than the spinning reels that come with the same size.
NOTE: Everyone wants to know why they should use a baitcaster, well the reasons are clear in the benefits above. Even so, the most important thing when it comes to baitcasters is not solely in knowing the benefits but also understanding your baitcaster.
Understanding Your Baitcaster
We have low-profile baitcasters. These are different from spinning reels or reels that work in salty water. They require some tweaking, unlike the other two that can be easily used right from their box. For the low profile baitcaster, here is what you must know.
- It has a palm side and the handle side opposite the spinning reel
- The right-handed baitcaster has the handle on its right side
- The left-handed baitcasters have their handle on their left side
- The palm side fits the hand contours
NOTE: The contoured touch of the palm side baitcaster is its main advantage over the round baitcaster. Even so, if you have a braking system on your reel, it is usually located on the reel’s palm side.
Frequently Asked Baitcaster Questions
You have seen several benefits of using a baitcaster, even so for any angler to get a better grip on how baitcasters work, here are additional questions that will come in handy.
How do I avoid a backlash when throwing my baitcasting reel?
You don’t want any backlash when throwing your baitcaster. As such, you can choose the right equipment for baitcasting. Next, you should adjust the braking system and the spool tension on your baitcaster and then carry out a small test. Also, you can practice doing short distances and, if possible, take advantage of the wind.
Should I get the baitcaster?
Yes. A good baitcasting rod and also reel is very hard to beat. The baitcasters are easier on the arms and will work for an extended fishing expedition. You can easily flick your lure quickly with one hand and save so much energy.
Are Baitcasters only used for bass?
Well, not really. Often, baitcasters will be associated with bass fishing; however, many anglers can utilize baitcasters when going after heavier fish. As such, baitcasters are also ideal for catfish, and both the reel types will offer a variety of benefits under different fishing conditions.
Conclusion
Why use baitcasters? I guess you already have the answer to that. Thanks for this comprehensive post on baitcasting. Nonetheless, for the sake of repetition, baitcasters will enable you to enjoy better line control and also allow for a more accurate fishing cast.
When using baitcasters, I often use the monofilament baits for the topwater fishing experience. This is best for fishing Spooks and Stickbaits. When going for the shallow or mid-depths, this type of bait can also be used. However, for jig fishing, you can use your baitcaster with the fluorocarbon baits. It is easy and quite enjoyable for both newbies and seasoned anglers too. Good luck the next time you are baitcasting.
