[Louie]

OK so there must be a bit of skill needed. I went out this morning to wally world and bought a shakespere baitcasting SPK 2000 reel , a Med Hvy Berkley 7' pole. 20 pound test. Came home put line on the spool and headed out to try catch a few cats.
Set up my other rods then baited the new one and first cast ...Bad backlash.. got that straight ....second cast ........backlash.........third .....backlash....fourth ...well you get the picture. Needless to say I spend the majority of my day learning to cast. I have gotten alot better but 3 out of five cast have some degree of backlash. Is there some thing I am doing wrong. I am keeping my thumb on the spool and I set the reel up according to the instructions. Are all the baitcasting conventional reels ABU, Penn's the same way or is it because I have a wally world Shakespere ?
I have no problems catching cats with my spinning reels but I really want a baitcasting type set up for hooking up with the big boy's. Any one have any tips ?
Thanks in advance .
Louie

 

[rspd507]

Dave,
There should be a knob on the side of it. This is a brake for the spool. Id try tightening this down more and see if it helps. Then as you get better at casting, start backing the brke off more and more for further casts. rspd507

 

[JERMSQUIRM]

louie. i had that reel and its fine. here lies the problem. your spool it to loose. there is a drag for it on the right side. should explain a bit in your manuel. heres a little advise in setting it up for a beginner. take the setup, hold it out straight in front of you with weight and all on it before you cast. hit the release. when the bait falls and hits dry land if the spool backlashes your way to loose. if is spins once or more a little loose. tighten just a little bit at a time. like 1/8 turn. do this untill the weight hits and the spool immed stops. for beginners i suggest taking it 1/4 turn tighter after you reach this point. that will almost eliminate backlash. after you get the feel its easy. i can launch mine like a rocket and dont have to even put a finger near the reel.

and i also got me an ambassedaur tournement rod for $17 on clearence tonight. $10 off. we hooo.

 

[river scum]

i have one of those reels, its tempermental at best good luck. it seams to adjust itself after a cast or two. the best way to get used to a baitcaster is heavy wieght and tight setting on the spool tention. other reels are easier to use from my experience though.

 

[Louie]

Thanks for the replies . I will practice with it. I just wasn't sure if it was me or the reel. I should have figured it was operator error. What # line are you guys using in yours ?

 

[FS Driver]

i have a used one from ebay and it has its times when it will be trickey to get it adjusted properly .
meaning lets say i'm fishing with a 2 ounce sinker on the bottom and its set for that weight , then i go and re rig my pole for a slip bobber set up .
ok i get it all tied up and do like jeremy said ..push button and check how the spool reacts . tighten it up enough to where when you hold your pole out in front of you and hit the release button the rig should just move with a very slow drop and maybe even with a bit of coaxing by twitching your wrist to get it to start to drop .
well SOMETIMES mine would cast fine and other times it might try and overspool (birdnest) so i tweak it again and it usually does fine .
there are some on here that will discourage your choice of a reel you picked ,
i have one and might not buy another but for the price i paid i will use it till it breaks or falls aparts . the drag seems to be weak on mine , but it is a used reel so who knows for sure . i have caught up to 6 lb channels on it and it works fine .
i like useing it for slip bobber fishing on a little catfish rod its my beater set up .
practice practice practice you'll get the hang of it .
practice in the backyard or in an open field not out fishing ,
wait till you master it before takeing it with you to the water .
good luck and let us know how your doing with it .

 

[brother hilljack]

Until you get the hang of it try this. Loosen the drag up until the the sinker will fall to the ground by itself. Then turn ON the clicker and cast it that way without releasing the spool. It will keep enough pressure on the spool to prevent most backlash. This tech is not TOO hard on the reel and will get you comfortable. It will shorten your cast some though.

 

[beagle1963]

Try throwing your baitcaster with the handle up. This is how I was taught to use a baitcaster. Of course, if your left handed, throw with the handle down. Its like a hand shaking motion. Gravity seems to slow the spool down with it on its side. I have a couple of those reels and like them also.

 

[xringer3]

It's been on here before, but here's the easiest way to set it up to cast:

Reel your weight up to the tip.

Hold the rod tip at 45 degrees from the ground.

Tighten the spool tension knob so that when you activate the spool release, the weight doesn't move.

Now, start backing off the spool tension knob until the weight starts dropping.

Let the weight fall to the ground. If the spool stops as soon as the weight touches the ground, then you've got it set up so it won't backlash, or as some of us call it, a "professional over-ride".

Once it's set up like this, it won't backlash, but also won't get the most distance either. Practice with this until you get your timing down with your thumb to stop the spool with your thumb as the sinker hits the ground or water on your cast. After you get your timing down, you can back off the spool tension knob a little at a time to get more distance but make sure your thumb stops the spool as the sinker hits the water.

I like riding my thumb on the side edge of the spool, not on the line. I like to keep my skin on my thumb pad!LOL

Hope this works on your reel, and good luck!:wink:

 

[tailfin]

hay man they are telling you the right things to do .i have a abu and a penn real and some days good some days not so good when i go to cast everybody else clears the bank i have been fishing with these for about two years the thing is don't give up it will come to you :smile2:

 

[plainsman]

Keep practicing, adjust it like they said. When I was a kid, real young, I could cast one, then I was given a spin caster, when I got another bait caster, it was a cheap one, I could cast it ok then, but I still have difficulty now. I got a Penn monofil 25 that I was playin with last fall, got to where I could cast about 80 yds, and then got a backlash. I reeled it in, had a 3 oz sinker on it, and gave it a heave. well, somethin wasn't right, but I sent that sinker far enough that anyone would be proud. problem was my bobber was layin on the bank about 5 feet in front of me. I'm plannin on more practice soon.

 

[flathunter]

These guys have given you some great info...Dont give up, I have been using baitcasters for years and the reel you have I would get backlashes..If you ever want to upgrade a little get a abu 6000 for around 60 bucks it will cast better..It took me a whole season to get used to baitcasters when I first started.

 

[catfishcrazy256]

hang in there ,just more pratice :wink:

 

[iceman]

ALL my reels are shakspere tidewater. to me these reels work great and really winch in the fish. one thing i had problems with was trying too hard. smooth is the key. if you get that reel spinning fast it will birdnest as soon as the weight starts to slow down. i cast mine with no brake and feather it with my thumb. it does take practice but what doesn't!
GOOD LUCK!!

GARY

 

[ozzy]

Bait casters are the way to go. Dont give up on them, 10 minutes a day for 2 weeks and ya will never go back to spinners, well for the most part. I still use a few.

 

[FS Driver]

try heavier mono line 20-30 # test
walk out in the yard field park etc
(have some electrical tape in pocket)
tie end of line to a solid object and walk away pulling enough line out to make a moderate cast 30-50-yards . be sure line is nice and wound evenly .
if it isnt go ahead and walk far enough back to run out of line then wind
it back evenly/snugly till you get back to the point we were at 30-50yards
away from where you tied off to.
now take a piece of electrical tape and place a slice over the remaining line wrapped tight on spool to keep this from over-spooling / bird-nesting .
now reel up the 30-50yards untie the end of line and put a sinker , i guess you could start out light and work your way heavier adjusting the brake accordingly. the heavy line and electrical tape should help you not birdnest
it will be like training wheels till you get better at it .
practice useing the thumb to gently ride on edge of spool or across coils of line ( you will be the only one to know what is comfortable for you )
practice till you get the hang of it brother .
dont feel bad if one way dont work . i was shown by 2 different people how to cast a net for bait , and failed miserably . Kutter here on the BOC took me and my brotherinlaw and son out on carlyle lake and showed me how he did it and i successfully learned doing it his way. THANKS BROTHER KUTTER!
everyone is different and we all have to find our own groove utilizeing different techniques . thats the beauty of this place there are so many members and all of us can contribute . you might find one thing i say and one thing someone else says and put them together and come up with your own way . just dont give up .
good luck!!

 

[CountryHart]

All these replys are good sound advise. I know nothing about the reel you have. I used 5500c ambassadors for years bass fishing. Bought a 6500 today actually. Reel Magic seems to help also with all reels. Wally world carry's it in aerosol can. Main trick is get it adjusted and try to wear it out. You'll figure it out quicker than ya think.

 

[Louie]

Thanks for all the help, I see ABU Garcia sells a Anti-backlash reel. Might just be worth trying :wink:

 

[xringer3]

Thanks for all the help, I see ABU Garcia sells a Anti-backlash reel. Might just be worth trying :wink:

Don't waste your money on the "anti-backlash" reels made by Abu Garcia. They never did work right. There are some people that have some kind of conversion kit that makes them work better, but it's more money than they're worth.

The regular Abu Garcias if adjusted properly are already anti-backlash. Just stick with them and practice a little. A 6000/6500 properly adjusted and an afternoon of practice will get you going in the right direction.

 

[brinley45cal]

I dont like to call it backlash myself i prefer the term professional overthrow. :wink: