Baitcasting fishing reels are the workhorse of all modern-day reels. They are essentially a mini winch when it comes to raw power. This type reel is the most difficult for beginners to master. Even experienced anglers occasionally have the dreaded backlash which can be very frustrating and costly if you can’t get the snarls out and have to cut the mess away and re-line. There are a few tricks to learn to dial your reel in for smooth casts if you’ll get in the habit of checking your reel when situations change. For instance, you may be dialed in for casting a topwater bait but the wind begins to blow. Another example would be if you change lures on the same rod and there is a significant difference in weight or surface wind resistance.
Here are the basic mechanics for dialing in your reel.
Take the rod and reel with the bait you will be using and let out about 12 inches of line with your rod in the 2 o’clock position. We will set the tension knob first to set the right friction on the spool for the desired bait. Press the thumbar release and watch the lure begin to fall. If it falls too fast you will already see the tension knob is too loose. Turn the tension knob on the handle side of the reel either clockwise or counter-clockwise so that the bait is s-l-o-w-l-y falling.
Most all reels have some sort of mechanical or centrifugal brakes. The brakes are small devices that spin outward during the cast to create a physical drag on the spinning spool. The more contact the less the spool will rend to over spin. Just about every reel out there requires the user to REMOVE the side plate to manually adjust these brakes in or out. The new Bruin ELS gives the unique ability to adjust these brakes on the outside of the reel without opening the reel. That is a huge time saver as well as eliminating the possibility of losing a side plate or other parts over the side of a boat. In either case, it is best for beginners to start with the brakes fully activated. Then as you gain confidence and control decrease brakes for longer casts.
The addition of magnets are available on all upper end reels which gives an extra layer of control. The magnets are adjustable in their distance from the spool or shaft. The magnetic influence really aids in fine tuning the control above the tension resistance and brake settings. Again we recommend setting the magnets at the highest setting to start with and slowly backing off as you gain control. The Bruin ELS with its industry leading Dual External Cast control gives an incredible 80 points of cast control among the highest in the industry.
By utilizing the three controls, tension, mechanical and magnets you should be able fine tune for every situation during a fishing day.
