hardcastonly

please this is serious not a joke, some of you more experienced fishermen might think it is,
Ive fished and hunted extensively for 6 plus decades now , but one thing I lack experience with, is
can someone explain why bait casting vs spinning reels..
Ive got a dozen quality spinning reels
PENN, DAIWA,SHIMANO
Ive used several spinning reels,\
and for salt water use only,
a traditional 6/0 PENN
but I can,t seem to master a bait caster for fresh water use.
Ive never seen one allow the distance , or ease of use a Good spinning reel provides

Oldtimr

I rarely use a casting reel any more but when I did it was usually in a big lake or wide body of moving water and was using sinkers and I never had any problem casting as d=far as I wanted to. I suspect you are talking about using lures on both rods and reels. One thing that gives the spinning reel an advantage is that the line comes off the spool by it's self with very little friction to overcome. On the other hand, when you cast with a casting reel the spool must spin in order to allow the line to unwind, the act of the line leaving the reel makes the spool spin so there is friction, additionally if you are using a level wind reel, there is another moving part that can cause friction and slow the spool from turning. Just an observation of what may be the cause.

hardcastonly

yes thats exactly what I found, if your simply letting line out as you drift or your dropping live bait close to you,
why a bait caster reel works fine, but if your using artificial lures, jerk baits, surface plugs,etc. ,
distance and accuracy is easier,
in my experience to achieve with a decent spinning rod or even some fly rod reel designs.
yet if you watch many fishing videos its obvious some people prefer the bait casting style reels

it just occurred to me a few people may not have a clue what were discussing

Ridge Runner

I've used bait casters since the 70's, love them, more capacity, better drags, and way more distance especially for salt water use, my rod I use as an anchor rod for king fishing will put 6 oz. 200 yards out, impossible with a spinner, but spinners have their place.
RR

hubby11

I agree. Other than ease of casting, bait casters are superior in most respects, especially the drags (although spinning reels have come a long way in the last 10 - 20 years). Because the line feeds directly onto the spool without the bend that a bail gives the line in a spinner, bait casters have a much better "feel". You can palm the entire reel and have a much better sense of bite and subsequent pull of a fish. They take more skill to use but are worth it. That being said, I use spinners a lot when I just want to toss light lures for a few hours after work.

Champlain Islander

Now that I fish mostly for pan fish with lite weight lures and jigs I use spinning reels/ rods exclusively. When I was bass fishing out of my bass boat in the past I used mostly bait casters which when matched to the right rod could easily outcast a spinning reel especially with the larger/ heavier lures used for bass. The mechanics of fishing with a bait caster are simpler and when you need to throw out 500 casts a day they offer the most efficient way to do that. The pro bass guys now are starting to use more and more spinning rods and reels but mostly for lite weight finesse patterns and drop shotting. If you want to throw out a top water, jerk bait, swim bait, spinner bait or Carolina rig a bait caster is the way to go. The learning curve for a bait caster is significantly shorter if you use quality well matched equipment. There are 20 to 50 dollar spinning reels that are Ok to use especially for the novice fisherman but one needs to spend 3 times that or more for a decent bait caster.

RaySendero

I like spinning reels for bream, perch and crappie with 1/32, 1/16 up to 1/8 oz jigs.
I like bait casting reels for bass and specs where accuracy is important.
I like spinning reels for 10 to 12' surf rods throwing 2 to 6 oz a long way.

ButchA

I have tried to use baitcasters over the years, back when a good friend of mine used to go fishing a lot with me (solid baitcaster fisherman). I just never got the hang of it, or never understood it at all. I was one of those kids from back in the day, who were born, bred, and raised, a spin caster type of fisherman. It's all I know...

Here's a sentimental video, in case you are wondering. Note all the classic & vintage spin casting rods & reels!

Chuck7

I use both type exclusively...my fartherist caster is a baitcaster at 40 yds//

Open faced spin rods do not consistently cast large crankbaits...as good as baitcasters..

And baitcasters can't cast light baits{ 1/16 and 1/8th} as well as the open faced.

Rubber worm fishing...Open faced gets kinks and memory quicker than baitcasters..unless you use braid..I've taken braid off all my rods but one. They kill the rod tips which can result in cutting your monofilament line/ lost fish..

the 9 1/2 pound bass below was caught on 10 pound test Trilene...