I have been a avid fisherman my whole life, just did it as something to relax, never took it real serious. Now i kinda am, i am just learning some things. Why do people fish with baitcasters so much? What is the advantages disadvantages? I grew up on a spin cast and thats what i like but i never see any bigs using them. Why?

baitcaster (or 'conventional' ) reels allow you better line control and can exert more pressure on a fish all other things being equal. There are some spinning reels that can handle alot of punishment as well, but most conventional reels are more powerful.

It might be a better reel, but I'll keep my spinner for those windy days. Nothing like casting and having the wind hold you lure in mid air while the spool keeps going!

My 2 spinning setups are for Corks and Live Bait.

Right now I have Daiwa Tierra 2500 spinning reels both pre-rigged for corks. Tho I am switching to the New Coastal Spinners this summer.

Baitcasters are much lighter but have weaker drags.. Outside of Abu Garcia and their monster 20# revo.

Daiwa baitcasters are generally 8 pounds max drag..
While their Spinning setups are 17+ in some cases.. Makes a difference in the surf when you are catching medium to large bait fish for shark bait..

Like Devildog said.. Windy days are a pain for a BC.

funny, I was just having this debate today with a buddy of mine...

I say one reason I prefer baitcasters for most LAKE fishing here in N Texas is because alot of times, I'm trying to cast right next to something (or in front of). I have trouble casting spinning rods and spincasters real accurately. Once the lure is airborn, there aint alot you can do about where it lands.

On the other hand... with a baitcaster, I can watch the lure in the air, and apply thumb pressure to slow down the lure (via the spool).

All that to say, if you're surf fishing, and you dont care where it lands, you just want to launch that mother into next week, then a spinning reel is pretty hard to beat.

At least, thats my opinion.

shane

There's not only differences in the reel and it's performance, but also, the rods that are traditionally fitted to those two reel types.

Most importantly perhaps, is the set of the guides. Traditional spinning rods have the guides set below the rod, whereas, traditional casting rods are opposite, the guides are atop the rod.

Why does this make a difference? Well, because the guides atop the traditional casting rod tend to make the rod want to roll or torque over when fighting a really big fish. This can lead to fatigue if the fight is long.

With a spinning rod the guides are already on the bottom of the shaft and there's no torque.

But back to the topic, I tend to prefer spinning reels when casting into the wind for obvious reasons, no backlash. But when I want distance I opt for the baitcasters and a longer rod every time, even into the wind. With enough practice one can control the backlashes even if the wind is flat in you face.

When wading I tend to use the baitcasters and just make sure I'm at least quartering the wind if not casting with it right at my back. Seems the farther I am from fish holding structure when I cast the less I tend to disturb the fish and the more I catch.

Bottom line, use both for different circumstances and become expert at both.

LongFisher

AggieAngler was talking about closed face spin cast reels. Once you learn how to cast a bait caster you will understnd the difference. Spin cast reels work pretty well for a while but you always have issues with the line twisting or hanging up, or the pickup doesn't work right, & the drag is weak. After you pass the baitcast learning curve & learn to cast then you will find that baitcasters are really a lot less trouble.

Spinning reels are easier to learn than baitcasters, but both types of reels have their place in the arsenal.

Another drawback to spincast reels is that they really don't handle braided superlines very well. Line capacity is pretty low, too. The drags are typically pretty weak, also.

Baitcasters and spinning reels don't have these problems.

I don't think I would use a spincaster for salt. They usually aren't very corrosion resistant and some even have plastic gears. AND, like is stated above, don't ever put braid on them. That is a headache waiting to happen. Get a decent baitcaster or spinning reel.