BEST BAITCAST FISHING REELS

Baitcast Fishing Reels

Most fishermen start to learn to fish with a spinning reel, or possibly even the most simple to learn spincast reel. But if you are looking to be able to cast a long ways, or quick bass jig flipping action, a baitcasting reel is the way to go. A baitcast reel can be a little intimidating at first, and it takes a little practice to learn how to use it without ending up with a big old birds nest bunch of line that you have to spend an hour to take apart and clean up. With some patience, and some practice, you will quickly see that a baitcasting reel is a fishing reel that you will want to have in your fishing gear.

Why should I use a baitcast reel?

A baitcasting reel gives you further casting, more control, pinpoint accuracy, additional fishing techniques, and has a more ergonomic design.

Baitcast Reel Provides Powerful Casting

A baitcast reel gives you the advantage of haveing more powerful casting, allowing you to cast much farther than a traditional spinning reel. This lets you lob your baits out there where the trophy fish are.

Baitcast Reel Provides You With More Control

Baitcast reels provide you with more control over your cast, and reeling in your line. There are several adjustements on the reel to let fine tune the control as well.

Baitcast Reel Provides You With More Accuracy

A baitcast reel makes it easy to pinpoint exactly where you want your lure to drop, and cast it there with precision. This is really great for flipping lures for bass and striped bass fishing.

Baitcast Reel Provides You With More Fishing Techniques

By adding a baitcast reel to your fishing gear, you will now be able to do pitching and flipping for bass. The unique desing of a baitcast reel makes it possible to fine tune and master these fishing techniques to increase your bass slaying skills.

Baitcast Reels Have a More Ergonomic Design

Another great feature of a baitcast reels is that they have an ergonomic design that makes them more comfortable to hold and use all day while you are fishing, causing less fatigue in your wrists, so you can spend more time fishing.

Baitcast Reels Can Use Heavier Line and Lures

With the open design of baitcast reels, it allows you to use heaver line, and more of it, due to it’s higher capacity. You can also use bigger baits, weights, and lures, for huge trophy fish like sturgeon and big striped bass. They are also great for trolling for trout or stripers too due to the ease to let line run off the wheel smoothly.

Baitcast Reel Sizes

For baitcast fishing reels they have light low profile reels, and heavy duty reels. The lightweight baitcast reels with the low profile are great for flipping for largemouth bass or spotted bass. While the traditional round heavy duty style baitcast reels are great for lobbing your large baits out very far for big sturgeon, and bait fishing for stripers. The heavy duty style is more durable, and can handle the heavy lines, and heavy weights.

Baitcast Reel Drag adjustment

On a baitcast reel, the drag adjustment knob is located on the crank between the handle and the reel. You can use it to set the amount of resistance on your line. You can loosen the drag to allow the fish to pull more line, or you can tighten the drag to make it harder for a fish to pull line off the reel as they run during the fight.

Baitcast Reel Spool Tension and Braking Knobs

On a baitcast reel, one of the most important settings on the reel to learn is the spool tension knob. This knob will make all the difference between having a good cast, or having your line turn into a birds nest on the reel. You can find this knob just behind the crank, to fine tune the drag resistance setting and is set after the drag adjustment is made. You want the spool tension knob adjusted so that your spool won’t do a fast free spin as your cast starts to fall towards the water, if it continues to quickly spin it will spider up your line. Tightening this knob up just a little will prevent the backlash from happening.

Baitcast Reel Crank Ratio

When you are looking at the different baitcast reels to find the one you would like to buy, one of the important numbers to look for is the reel crank ration, which would say something like 5:1, or 5 to 1. This means that the reel will rotate five times for ever one time you crank the reel. The higher the number the faster your line will reel in. This is really important for those really long casts, or really deep drop downs.

Beginner Baitcast Reels

You can pick up an inexpensive baitcast reel for under $40. These are good to learn with, to make sure you like this style of fishing, before you invest in the more expensive mid and high priced reels. This level of reels has lower end components so they won’t last as long as the more expensive reels. But they are great to start with.

Mid Range Baitcast Reels

If you are thinking about getting into fishing with a baitcast reel, a mid range baitcast reel is probably the best bet for you. You can pick one of these reels up for the $100 to $200 price range. Buying a reel in this price range will give you plenty of high quality components, and these reels are durable so they will last you season after season.

Professional Baitcast Reels

If it is in your price range, if you want to splurge on yourself and get a really high quality baitcast reel with all the bells and whistles, the Professional quality baitcast reel would be the way to go. The price range in this catergory goes from $200 to over $400, but the durability, look, style, and quality of these reels are well worth the cost.

Questions About Baitcast Fishing Reels

How much farther can I cast with a baitcaster than another type of

reel?

With a baitcast reel you can increase your casting distance by about 25% on average once you master the casting technique.

How frequently do bird’s nests occur with baitcast reels?

When you first start using a baitcast reel you will probably get a lot of birds nests until you master the braking and spool adjustments needed to prevent the birds nests. Once you master the skill of casting with a baitcast reel you will rarely have a birdsnest, if ever.

Is a Baitcast Reel Harder to Use Than a Spinning Reel?

Yes, at first. A baitcast reel takes a little patience, and practice. But once you learn how to use the baitcast reel, you will quickly switch to use this reel as your primary.

Shimano Antares A Baitcast Reel

Shimano's newest flagship baitcasting reel is the Shimano Antares A Baitcast Reel. They combined an unrivaled casting performance with a uniquely elegant and sophisticated design. Featuring their new MGL III spool, Antares' spool inertia has been reduced by 17% for effortless and accurate casting of both light and heavy fishing rigs. The S3D Spool and Silent Tune minimizes bearing vibration for smooth and silent casts. The magnesium Hagane Body provides you with a lightweight reel that is also durable.

Daiwa Steez SV TWS Baitcast Reel

The flagship reel in the Daiwa reels lineup, and one of the finest baitcasting reels that money can buy, is the Daiwa Steez SV Baitcast Reel. Daiwa’s new compact 70 size is small, fits in your palm and it is very comfortable. It has twelve ball bearings and a roller bearing, making this reel one of the smoothest out there on the market today. It is light, weighing in at 5.3 ounces, and the design incorporates a wide range of their most advanced technologies. The rigid frame and side cover are constructed from Magnesium, which is half the weight of aluminum, yet just as strong. The SV Spool is made from ultralight G1 Aluminum alloy. The revolutionary air brake system virtually eliminates backlashes utilizing centrifugal and magnetic force. The comfortable, 80mm handle comes equipped with soft paddle handles for added comfort. It is available in 6.3 to 1 and 8.1 to 1 gear ratios. It has a state of the art drag system that can apply ten pounds of drag pressure, which is unheard of for a reel of this size. If you want to experience the culmination of 60 years of daiwa’s reel building technology take the Steez CT SV for a spin. You will be quite impressed.

Shimano Calcutta B Round Baitcast Reel

Shimano’s Calcutta Baitcast Reel provides great quality, versatility, dependability and long term value due to their durability. There's a Calcutta reel for almost any application, both in fresh or saltwater. With it’s cross carbon drag and anti rust bearings, the Calcutta will be your most dependable reel for many years of great performance.

Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C4 Classic Round Baitcast Reel

The Abu Garcia Ambassadeur C4 Classic Round Baitcast Reel focuses on better casting performance, yet still maintaining the same durability and dependability that you would expect from Abu Garcia. This Abu Garcia® Ambassadeur® C4 Classic Round Baitcast Reel retains its proven power and performance, but has also been made stronger, lighter, more efficient, and smoother. From it’s 25 percent lighter spool design, to it’s 65 percent lighter aluminum line guide, to it’s bent star and handle for more efficient retrieves and more manageable fish fights, this reel will be your new favorite for trout and striper trolling, or bait fishing them big bass, striper, catfish, walleye, pike, muskie, mackinaw lake trout, salmon, snook, redfish, and more. We also have line counter baitcast reels, and power assist baitcast reels. About The Author Mike Mendenhall is the the founder of Mendenhall Outdoors. This website is an extension of the Mendenhall family’s lifestyle and passion for the great outdoors. Everything that they learn, and experience, along the way that they find may be valuable to our website visitors is on the site for you to enjoy. We highlight products and services that you might find interesting. We frequently receive free products from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. If you click a link on this page, then go on to make a purchase, we might receive a commission – at no extra cost to you, and does not impact the purchase price of any products that you may purchase. The Best Baitcast Fishing Reels Shopping Experience Awaits!