First Baitcaster setup questions.

Have a family member that used to fish a lot of tourneys and was a heavy bass fisherman give me all his stuff (six big boxes full). Tons if it, including twenty plus St Croix rods and a bag full of quality baitcaster reels.

A lot of the reels have old nasty mono on them. I think I have a spool of thirty pound power pro I was going to return to the store (grabbed wrong box). Would it be good to use that on the one or two I want to set up? I’ve never used a baitcaster in my life (besides cheep ones on trolling rods), but figured I would set up two of the rods for some future heavier structure fishing… and give it a try. Any other tips? Thinking for heavier jig n pig (new to me as well), spinners, maybe even crank baits. I’ve always just used my go to lighter spinner set up, and never fished slop, heavy wood or anything like that. Heard baitcasters were the way to go for spinners… so I’m open to learning something new.

Welcome to the dark side.

Spool them up, use your power pro if you like. You will get over-runs when you first start to use that set-up. Practise is the key. Most important thing I can tell you is set the tension on the spool EVERY time you change baits. This will cut down on your backlashes. Tie on your bait and reel it up to within 6″ of the rod tip. Depress the button and see what happens. If the bait goes to the ground by it’s self it’s to loose. Tighten the knob on the side of the reel. When it’s dialed in you should have to shake the rod just a bit to get the line to come out. You are looking for a nice slow fall to the ground.

When casting try to keep your thumb in contact to the spool. Very light pressure is what you want. Not enough to stop the spool but enough to keep it from spinning the line.

Either tie on a weight or a jig to practise with. I like to use a jig. Cut the hook completely off, thread a plastic grub over the straight part of the hook shank. Use some super glue to hold the grub on. Then go outside and find the neighbors cat. Practise throwing it past the cat and retrieving it. It will drive the cat nuts but still let you practise casting.

When I started years ago I would have 4 rods when I started, by the time I was done I had all 4 so full of backlashes that I was done for the day.

When you get the hang of them they are great reels to fish with. Just takes some time and patients to get use to them.

With a Quality Baitcaster you can Throw almost anything today. It just takes some time to get use to them. There is a Brake control that you set for weight of each lure. Make sure to always adjust the brake each time you tie on a new lure. Reel the bait up to the rodtip and push the release tab. Agjust the brake so that the bait falls slow and steady and so that the spool stops spinning almost right away when the bait hits the ground – At first you will want to adjust the brake so that you almost have to shake the bait to make it fall. As you get better you can loosen the brake a little at a time. The more you loose the brake the farther you will be able to cast but the more chance you will have for a backlash. As far power pro I’d fill a few reels for jig and pig fishing for stained water or heavy cover. I’d also spool one up for frog fishing in pads or thick weed cover. Quality Rods and reels for free – can’t beat that. Good luck !!!

Run out 60′-70′ of line and put a piece of tape on the spool. That way if (when) you backlash, you wont birdnest the whole spool. When you get proficient, remove the tape.

Ya – What Dutchboy said !!!!

I love the tips…. thank you!

Looking in the boxes further, he has some big bulk spools of new 12 & 17 pound mono. I may just trash this stuff. Am I good with my braid direction? Do many bass guys use leaders with these directions? On the Power Pro… is 30# good, or if I can swap it, should I look at a different weight? I didn’t see line quantities on the reels… average bait caster, is there a good amount to spool them up with, or a point where you know it is right? Not really sure what a well spooled up one should look like and I don’t know anyone who uses them. Yea, I’m a loner.

I have #30 braid on some of mine for casting cranks. I like heavier braids for flipp’n because of the abrasion factor.
Two more things to remember – 1. the resistance of the spool friction will need to change when your casting with and against the wind. Stop the line with your thumb the moment your bait hit the water. It takes a little time to get accustom to, but then your golden! BTW good quality baitcasters are so much easier to learn on than the cheapy ones. Nice gift!!!

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I love the tips…. thank you!

Looking in the boxes further, he has some big bulk spools of new 12 & 17 pound mono. I may just trash this stuff. Am I good with my braid direction? Do many bass guys use leaders with these directions? On the Power Pro… is 30# good, or if I can swap it, should I look at a different weight? I didn’t see line quantities on the reels… average bait caster, is there a good amount to spool them up with, or a point where you know it is right? Not really sure what a well spooled up one should look like and I don’t know anyone who uses them. Yea, I’m a loner.

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In my opinion larger line (17 to 20 #) is easier to learn with, less likely to spin to deep into the spool when you mess up. I think you are over thinking things here. Your first step is to learn to use the reels. Do this in the back yard for a hour then go fishing. Time on the water will tell you alot. Use a leader with your spinner baits, they tend to catch a bunch of Pike. Spool your reels to within 1/8th inch of the top where the two castings of the reel come together. To much line is worse then to little line. I always would tie directly to the bait with a palomar knot. Then when changing baits I would bite or cut the line 2 to 3′ ABOVE where I tied the bait on. This would always give me fresh un-nicked line to work with.

Take your box of lures & line you were given and keep them. Don’t throw anything away. By your own admission you know nothing about using this gear. So, how can you know what to throw away? Go fishing, learn to cast. Cast, cast, cast some more. When your arms are ready to fall off cast for another hour. Bass are great fun to fish for. There is nothing like hitting a hot day and catching fish on what seems like every cast!

Remember…………Bass are poison, you can’t eat them.

What model reels and rods?… Good info here. I never stopped baitcasting since i was a kid in the 1950s… I only use spin sticks for pitching light walleye jigs, vertical jigging blades (although a short casting rig is fine for this) and drop shotting.
With more info we can help you better…

On the tips… good thought came already, I think I’ll do some practicing with the old spooled up line just to get an understanding of the mechanics, then later worry about how to set them up. All the suggestions will help me even know where to start.

Tom… your writing on using those jigs and such are what got me interested in opening the stuff he passed my way. I fish a lot, but avoid some of the what sounds like fun bass fishing stuff because I wasn’t geared up that way. Baitcaster have always been something I just didn’t want to take on.

There are close to 20 rods, most are either St Croix Avid 7′ med-heavy, or a few Pro Glass 7′ Mediums. There are a few St Croixs with his name on them… and less info about the actual rod weights. Most of the reels are Shimano Bantam Curado CU-201B5.

He was right handed, but almost all of the reels are left handed cranks. I can tell they have been used a lot, but between all the bags, thinking I can pick out some good ones. I found a couple more in the big boxes filled with big jigs and plastics, (Like the style Tom has written about).

Sure appreciate the help… getting excited about the process.

[He was right handed, but almost all of the reels are left handed cranks.

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I am right handed, but like to use left hand bait caster reels. I get a better hook set this way. You also avoid having to switch the rods between hands. This can be a very important aspect when flipping and pitching.

Bait casters are addicting. You have a lot of control with them. I actually use them casting for eyes too.

FDR

I started using baitcasters about 5 years ago and here are a few things I learned:

-Try to use a baitcaster with both a front and rear brake system.
-Avoid braid – it gets fouled up and buried on itself – a lot.
-Never use fluorocarbon – guaranteed blow up.
-I prefer Yozuri Hybrid – very strong, abrasion resistant – and LOW STRETCH.
-Start with the brake tension a little high and loosen.

I would agree with putting the lure on and shaking the rod and the lure should fall. That is the right setup when using a baitcaster. As for the 30# braid you should be fine, I use 40# Suffix for Smallmouth Bass and I don’t seem to caught any less bass using it compared to 8# braided.

Sounds like a great collection of quality equipment!
Remember the longer(than 7′) rods that are popular today were not common 5-6 years ago.
Those are going to be good, versatile bass rigs. I would bring those reels to Johns Reel Repair over the winter for a check over , cleaning and lube.
Braid, flouro and mono all have their applications…I use flouro for jig/craw, swim jigs and Senkos, Braid for Frogs, heavy weedbeds and deep cranks/spinner baits, and quality mono, like Sufix Seige for shallow work with spinnerbaits and top waters.
The Pro Glass rods can be awesome crankbait rods…Lots of good tutorials on YouTube!
The type and weight of the line used is determined by the water clarity, amount of vegetation, and techniques used. I rarely use over 12# flouro or mono…30# braid for deep water Spinnerbaits, and 50# Braid for hollow body frogs…but I am not fishing heavy cover sloughs or punching milfoil.

I just noticed you are in Racine County…If there are any swim jigs, you’ll have a LOT of fun on those millfiol filled lakes

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I just noticed you are in Racine County…If there are any swim jigs, you’ll have a LOT of fun on those millfiol filled lakes

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Scary thing is I had to google swim jigs just to make sure I knew what you were talking about… and yup, found some.

Going to start my learning curve in the yard today when I take a break from work. Thanks Everyone!!