Help with Abu 4600 Casting Reel

[bcritch]

I bought an Abu Garcia Casting reel with a Cabelas Fish Eagle II rod in the spring. I spent pretty good money for the setup and I can't use it. I can adjust it so it won't birdsnest on me but I get no distance. Every time I back off on the brake to get some more distance I get a birdsnest. Can anyone give me some pointers or meet me a a local lake to show me the ropes with the setup? At this point I'm ready to sell it on Ebay and take my losses.

[ClifR]

set the spool brake to where, when you press the spool release, the bait you're setting it for falls to the ground and the spool stops when it touches the ground.

That being said, when you cast, you have to watch the lure in flight, and just as it's getting ready to hit the water, you thumb the spool. Not stopping the spool with your thumb is where the bird nests happen. That and casting too hard. If that ain't working for ya, let me know, I'm willing to catch up to you sometime and help you out. (The next two weekends are out; vacation)

[shamoo]

Mr. bcritch shoot me an e-mail

[Vitalsigns]

start off practicing with a 1 1.5 oz weight and cast easy using light pressure with your thumb. I don't use any brake at all and can cast a mile but it took a lot of practice. After you get proficient with the larger weight you can move to a lighter lure. Try to cast with the wind until you get the feel for it.

[Bill Couch]

The worst mistake people make when learning a casting reel, is to not have a smooth start to your cast. The line coming out of your rod tip must stay tight to the lure, no slack. When you move your arm to go back and load up, keep the rod tip moving in a circle so the line is always stretched out, kind of like a cowboy throwing a laso. As your lure is coming around the loop start your cast forward then everything that has been said falls into play. The worst thing you can do is give up and not learn how to use one of these reels.;) Good luck.

[on the hook]

What he said! No slack, and keep trying. I remember way back, when I was a kid, same thing. After 10-15 min of baitcasting, back to the spinner. Seems like, CLICK, thats it! After that, no more birdsnests! Keep trying, you'll get it.

[bcritch]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. After reading the posts and speaking with Shamoo we figured out that I was adjusting the wrong knob. I have two adjustments on the reel. One for letting the lure drop and the second one for the brake. I was adjusting the wrong one for the casting distance. Now that I have the basics down I can practice some more. It was getting difficult to practice when I got a birdsnest after 2 or 3 casts. Thanks again:)

[bcritch]

set the spool brake to where, when you press the spool release, the bait you're setting it for falls to the ground and the spool stops when it touches the ground.

That being said, when you cast, you have to watch the lure in flight, and just as it's getting ready to hit the water, you thumb the spool. Not stopping the spool with your thumb is where the bird nests happen. That and casting too hard. If that ain't working for ya, let me know, I'm willing to catch up to you sometime and help you out. (The next two weekends are out; vacation)

ClifR, thank you for the invite to meet with me to help. I'm going to try the basics and practice and I'll see how I make out.

[ClifR]

no problem. Set it like I explained and practice. Like someone else said a heavier weight helps in learning, but as you get better you can lower the weight and loosen the brake.

Like I said, most importantly for distance don't try casting too hard. Just like a golf swing, or a baseball swing speed is way more important than power.

[little anth]

everyone pretty much said it . i have an ambassador and its an ok reel.