Either I am a complete idiot, or these baitcasting reels are hard to figure out. 
Would anyone be interested in taking me out on the river, and teaching me a few things. Would be greatly appreciated. I need to diversify my Repitwa. We can take my boat or yours, PM me if you would be interested in helping. Thanks in advance.
Practice, practice and practice. I through a rubber plug in the yard every chance I got. That was the only thing that helped me. It is all in the thumb. Don’t give up. It will come.
Good luck fishing 
Funny you should mention that, and this may sound weird to some, but I have to practice in the reverse! I pretty much use baitcasters all the time and rarely use a spinning reel. Well, I just got a new one with plans of dropshotting and finess fishing with it. Problem is I can’t even hit water if I cast it out of a boat. I agree….practice plugs, right in front yard!!!!
baitcasters ain’t that hard to figure out…so that leaves one thing left 
Quote:
baitcasters ain’t that hard to figure out…so that leaves one thing left
That’s kind of what I was thinking. The baitcaster that I have is rather large, and was wondering if it would be easier to learn with one of the low profile reels.
Read the post titled, “Open seat Saturday?” 
Here is a tip that may help. When you get a backlash pull on the line till it stops. (not hard) Then if you take two fingers and just pinch the lose line what it stops and pull up on it then pull softly again on the line till stops and repeat. That will get out your bird nest rather quickly. Good luck Adam.
I have to agree with Bret, practice will be about the only thing that wii truly help. One thing to try though, release earlier than youi would for a spinning reel. The spool has a certain amount of resistance in it that doesn’t allow the line to come out the same.(obviously) This requires you to release the line a little bit sooner. This is the exact opposite for the people going from baitcasting to spinning. That is why their casts go staight up in the air on an overhead cast. Good luck with the baitcaster, I think you will grow to like it more than spinning reels, especially for certain applications.
Bassman
Another thing i haven’t seen mentioned….BETTER made baitcasters are easier to use.
I have two trees in my front yard w/plastic rings around the base of each. I spend countless times flippin’ and pitchin’ into each of them…People drive by and I wave 
The best trick is not to try and kill it!!!!
To many people on bait caster look like they are trying to beat a dead horse with their “swing”. Gentle, even cast will send most lures a great distance.
So, with that said……
Just like baseball and golf………just a gentle full swing and you are in the money!!!
Another thing I do, when musky fishing…..is that I thumb the side of the spool, next to the frame. When casting with big reels, it is difficult to apply pressure for a beginner evenly on the center of the spool. So, when I cast, I have my thumb at the side of the spool, also resting against the frame. The allows me to apply “just the right amount” of pressure to the spool, while “balancing” my thumb against the side of the frame. (Make sense????)
And don’t try it out in a tight place. Go to an open field or wide open water. Don’t try to cast at any targets right off. Just cast to get the hang of it.
Most reels have the cast control button on the right side of the reel and the magnetic one on the left side of the reel. Turn both so it barely casts. Then slowly turn both back so it casts farther until you get the hang of it. The cast control button should be set up so that the lure slowly falls as you release the push button. And there should be no backlash when it hits the ground. The magetic cast control is for fishing into the wind. The more the wind the more you need to crank it up. Also don’t use anything lighter than a 3/8 oz lure. And if you can use a 1/2 for practicing. The lighter the bait the harder it is to cast. And try to use 14lbs test or heavier line up to about 20lbs test. That will depending water clarity but 14lbs test seems to be the best all around choice for line test.
Hope all this helps. 
My 4 year old had it down in an afternoon… Took me an entire summer……
jc
MNfish said it all.
If you read Gary’s and mnfish post you will do fine with alittle practice. I think they both hit it right on the numbers. Slop is right about the reel. If you have a old reel you would be better off with the newer ones. I carry over 20 rods in my boat and everyone is a bait caster.there great once you figure them out.
I agree with all the above- one tip given to me long ago when i learned this was to aim very high in the air (45 degrees up) and watch your lure as it falls toward the water/ground. This gives you a little more time to thumb it and learn how to avoid backlashes. Set the magnets kind of tight and loosen as you get better. good luck.
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