I recently purchased a new Shimano Stradic and so far I really like it. The only other spinningreel I have is a shimano with the self centering trigger style that makes it really nice to flip the bail and grab the line with your finger. My question is, what is the best habit to get into with the Stradic since it doesn't have a self center. Do you use your left hand to rotate the spool to where it is easier to grab the line with your finger? I am sure once you get used it, it becomes second nature. Any advice is appreciated.

A stradic is a first class spinning reel!! I always physically rotate the bale around to the top and open it with my left hand when casting...also you should always manually close the bale with your hand..Fyi,in here folks call the push button reels like zebco 33s a spin cast reel.

Thanks, I edited the post to read spinning reel instead of spin caster. I do have a Zebco 33 in the boat for when my wife decides she wants to make a couple casts. 2 or 3 casts and no fish usually puts her back to reading her book.

This is a great question! I do "what I do" so naturally, I had to think about it to even share it.

First, I'm a lefty with my Stradic set up with a right hand sided handle, two fingers of my left hand forward and two back of the reel post. As I reel my line up from the prior cast, looking for the desired hang length of the lure off the rod tip, I slow down a bit, drop my index finger down and reel into it. The line literally catches on my finger, I open the bail and make a cast.

Until your question, and I consider myself very well educated in spinning reel usage, it had never occurred to me until I was thinking it through that a spinning reel for right-handed anglers with the handle on the left side, that they can't do this since the line would come around and hit them on the back of their extended index finger on their right hand. Changing the handle side doesn't change the direction the line spools up line.

Did I just find an example of where a lefty has a distinct advantage? I didn't think I'd live that long. Well, this, and baseball I guess. Ha!

I learned something today.

Brad

Brad,

Thanks for your reply and maybe you did just figure out where a southpaw catches a break. For me I am sure it will just take time in my hands to figure out the best method. On another note, the first fish I caught with it was a 6.14# LM that fell victim to a trick worm. A few casts later I caught a 4.5#, how's that for a good start?? Thanks again for your reply.

Terry

Ha! Then for you, Terry, just keep whatever the heck you are doing, just do it more often!

I love spinning tackle, prefer it, prefer finesse fishing, too, so that explains part of it. If you have time to take a primer on most essential elements of proper usage, go over to YouTube and search for Capt. Chris Myers and watch his half dozen or so videos. It'll likely change how you use your gear!

Brad

Thanks Brad , I will watch the videos.

Interestingly, as a righty, I do exactly as Troy on the casting method, but I put the crank handle on the right side. I learned to fish with zebcos and Abu Garcia�s, so it is natural for me to crank with my right hand. In fact, until the manufacturers made the spinners with dual sided handle options, I refused to use them at all.

And like Troy, I always close the bail with my hands...Also, I never used the �trigger feature� on reels that had them. No need to wear out a reel before it�s time...

I fish a spinning reel in my right hand and crank with my left. I pick up the line with my right index finger, open the bail with my left hand. Deliver the lure, and close the bail with my left hand.

Why is it correct to close the bail with your hand? I used an old Garcia 300 for decades with no damage. I figured, if the manufacturers have it setup to close when you start reeling, didn�t they expect us to do that? I also have Stradics as my go to reel and it�s a great reel. My son tells me hand closing lessens the chances of line twisting and bird nests. Would really like to know. I posted this previously but didn�t get any interest

This is a good question... personally, i was always taught to close the bail manually ... I think it is a matter of mechanics, the force/leverage required to turn the knob is increased throughout the drive system untill the release in the bail is triggered... eventually somthing is going to wear and fail. So i always close manually... there are physics somehow involved in the process that cause line twist but im not smart enough to understand all that...