Mastering the Baitcaster....

apexii said:

The brake seems like it's the most relevant adjustment, I am not sure how tight I should have it.

Will having it too tight cause any downside other than not getting the full potential (distance) of the cast? I already learned what not enough does!
From watching the vids, it seems like I want to engage the reel, and adjust until the lure barely falls, should it slowly move or should it be stationary?

Does the drag have any relation to casting? Also, what is the knob on the opposite side of the handle, it has a min and max dial setting?

Can I effectively cast straight by a sidearm cast, or should I force myself for all overhand?

Do I keep thumb tension on the spool the entire cast, or only right before it hits the target?

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-The one piece of helpful advice I can give you in my opinion is that all of this is going to be YOUR personal preference.
-When you get more comfortable with casting fairly passive (tighter brake, etc.) you'll want to fine tune to where you get set your baitcaster more agressively. Yes, it is kind of a rule of thumb that if the bait hits the ground and you don't backlash your set up is good. But when you before more comfortable you can adjust the brakes so it'll fall quicker. You're thumb is also important during the cast for this too. Between how agressively you have your reel set up and your thumb will dictate the distance of your cast. Again, it'll come with personal preference and practice. Typically I barely touch the spool with my thumb, just barely to prevent backlashes and I'll increase tension til it is where I want the bait to be.
-About this min max settings, I'm not sure what kind of baitcaster you have but I'd assume thats regarding the braking system of it. Minimal breaking (higher potential for birdnests) Maximum breaking (lesser potential). Starting out, set it at a happy medium of somewhere in the middle, maybe on the heavier side.
-In regards to casting with a baitcaster. I'd suggest not "Forcing" yourself to cast one way or another but learn different ways to cast (Side armed, over the head) because you may not always get the cast or presentation you want. A spot might allow for a side arm, not overhead or vice versa. Don't force yourself just practice to find a comfort zone. I prefer side armed with a baitcaster but again, practice practice practice and experiment to find a set up that is comfortable and works for you. Hope this helps :thumbsup:

What everyone else said plus two other suggestions. 1) Heavier line makes it easier to pick out the bird's nest when you're just starting out. 2) Just press the button and let the bait fall from the rod tip and tighten up the tension until it just barely falls. Re-adjust that fall for different baits and weights and get used to casting a variety of weights. What BassAssassin8 said about going heavier with the tension to start is great advice. To start, you don't need to cast far as much as you have to cast accurately, so do the bucket toss thing for sure. Same deal goes for lures. It's easier to cast the heavy ones with a lot of tension on the brake until you get the hang of it. Good luck! With the braid and the amount of drag pressure today's spinning reels have, you can always come back from this experiment if you want and there's always the underarm pitch :thumbsup:

Hey Guys, thanks for all of the replies. I have been so busy lately I have not had time to check back in, but I have been practicing more.

I definitely seem to have better luck casting sidearm and slow, but I need to figure out why my casts are shooting hard to the left. I need to release the button at about 3 o'clock to get it to go straight.

The rod and reel combo is a 6'6 berkley lightning rod paired with an abu silvermax. It's a custom setup offered by Dicks I think... It's left hand retrieve, I think that's correct. I hold the rod in my right hand, and reel with the left, drag is on the left side of reel.

Thanks again for the suggestions, I definitely am getting more comfortable with the brake, like I said I had no problem with the sidearm casts, besides when I release the button. I decided to then try an overhand cast- instant nest; which is how it still resides. I read a good tip to make a good cast, then pull out enough line for another cast, and wrap a piece of electrical tape on the spool, so if/when you make a nest it does not take half of the spool with it. I am using 8lb stren at the moment, I had an extra bunch and figured it would all get cut out anyway. I may try some heavier line too.

One thing I am wondering, why are the rod eyes on top instead of bottom?

I picked up that same set-up last summer from there too. I think it's great to start with! Can't beat the price
1st tip is: the best way to avoid really bad/deep birds nest is to pull off 1.5 to 2x the distance your training at (if your target's 30' away give your self 45-60' of line) then put tape on the spool! This way if you get an unmanageable birds nest your not tearing thru a whole spool of line!
2nd tip: just keep at it! Someone on here told me that turning the reel to the side as your casting kinda acts like a natural drag. But why most people give up on baitcasters is they give'em 2 days and exect to be Kevin VanDam.

Some guys may come in here and tell ya to get a better reel but this one is good, Not great but good. Some of the couple hundred dollar reels have auto drag set-ups that can virtually eliminate overcasting! But I can throw a 5inch berkley worm unweighted on this thing now, in not even a year! Just keep at it! If you can grasp this one when you move up you'll be blowing them away!

PS Youtube vids help alot:thumbsup: