Bait cast reel vs a Spinning reel

[Ironworker]

Why buy one over the other if it is a bait cast reel vs. a spinning reel? Lake/river fishing

 

[DirtySteve]

Have you used a bait caster? I get bird nests.. Have used a Spinning reel all my life..

 

[Rsadams]

I prefer the casting reel but if you get the bird nest and can't master it the spinner will save you a lot of time clearing tangles....

 

[JLT]

The casting reel requires some practice. Maybe a lot. I learned on an old Ambassador 5000 which is not very forgiving. More recent designs are a piece of cake. I think it's worth it. I can cast more accurately with a casting reel than with a spinning reel. Either one can catch fish, so pick what floats your boat.

 

[jackieschmidt]

I have a 7 acre lake behind my house, and it is full of fish, including lots of bass. Not really large one, but they do fight.

I prefer a bait casting reel for heavier baits such as flukes, surface baits, divers, and worms with a nose sinker. I can cast much more accurately with a bait casting setup.

For really light baits and fishing for Crappy and Pan Fish, I prefer a spinning real.

 

[JFrank]

Bait caster seems to prefer a touch more drag.

 

[Ranger188]

To make it simple, bait casters are generally for a heavier bait and or conditions
compared to spinning gear. You can use spinning gear with a heavier
bait, but generally, spinning rods are of a lighter power rating than bait casters.
You can use a very light bait with a spinning reel with no fear of
a backlash. With a bait casters you can use a light bait but need to
know what your doing.

 

[Bc'z]

Both

 

[Ranger188]

Both

As Bc'z said, if you fish enough you'll need both.
You have to pick the right tool for the job.
Just like using a smaller caliber light bullet for varmint hunting and
a bigger caliber with a heavier bullet for bigger game.

If you've never fished or not going to fish much, then go for the spinning gear.
Much easier for the beginner to learn on, then as your experience grows you
can add a bait caster to your arsenal.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

I have a 7 acre lake behind my house, and it is full of fish, including lots of bass. Not really large one, but they do fight.

I prefer a bait casting reel for heavier baits such as flukes, surface baits, divers, and worms with a nose sinker. I can cast much more accurately with a bait casting setup.

For really light baits and fishing for Crappy and Pan Fish, I prefer a View attachment 1573220spinning real.

What Jackie said basically, BC for heavy stuff and Spinning for the lighter stuff

With 30LB braid and a 7F rod you can really get a heavy bait out far on a bait caster and you you will pull big fish out of heavy cover, there is a learning curve but nothing a 7year old wont be able to manage on a Saturday. The better BC reels casts easier then youd think

If you already have a rod that you want to use the rod will dictate what reel you need, BC rods and Spinning rods aren't the same

 

[v63800]

The casting reel requires some practice. Maybe a lot. I learned on an old Ambassador 5000 which is not very forgiving. More recent designs are a piece of cake. I think it's worth it. I can cast more accurately with a casting reel than with a spinning reel. Either one can catch fish, so pick what floats your boat.

Have got a few Abu 5000's 30 years old, still in use for heavier casting. Great Reel

 

[Hino895]

Been using bait casters since I was 16 starting with an ambassador 5500c.
Used a mitchell 300 for years too.
Several years swinging a fly rod and recently started using one again.
Whichever you use practice, practice in the back yard and get good at hitting a 5 gallon bucket at 50’.
If you have children or grandchildren get them involved, it’s fun to practice together.
Spool up your spinning reels with some braid, no more springy mono jumping off your reel.
I use both equally now with the advent of braid.

 

[1shot]

I use both. Spinning reels for lighter bait, casting reels for the heavier stuff. If your getting birds nests with your casting reel, you don't have it set up correctly.
Lloyd

 

[CJ6]

I much prefer spinning reels for big pike and muskies.

 

[Skedaddle Shooter]

Why buy one over the other if it is a bait cast reel vs. a spinning reel? Lake/river fishing

If you’re going to do any trolling or jigging a bait basting reel is a must.

 

[Fuj]

Being on the lakes, I grew up with Shakespeare bait casters. Yeah,
a bird' nest now and then would happen, but it's what you had to
deal with if you screwed up.......I got a little older and the local bait
shop got in a new Mitchell 300. I quickly learned that this type of
reel could seriously mess up also.....LOL. I liked to fish the creeks,
and would prefer though the newer type open face, for more pin
point casts. Still have a short Fenwick with a baby Garcia for hitting
them holes and shaded shale shelf's.....

 

[afret]

I use bait casters for heavier lines and spinning reels for light lines. Heavy nylon lines seem to have a lot of memory and son't like to stay on the spinning reel spools too well. I used to fish a lot in the past and I have a bunch of both types.

 

[joshb]

They both work well. For smaller freshwater fish and trolling saltwater monsters, I prefer a baitcaster. Casting all day for bigger fish? I’ll take a spinning reel.
Now…….if you want to be a REAL fisherman……….learn the fly rod!

 

[284winner]

Why buy one over the other if it is a bait cast reel vs. a spinning reel? Lake/river fishing

Bait cast reels don't get the line twist that spinning reels get. The line comes off the spool level and not looped. Bait cast reels are heavier duty and offer much higher gear ratios for retrieving artificial baits at faster speeds for various action. Spinning outfits tend to be lighter to medium duty in most cases and level winds are med to heavy duty. Spinning set ups allow lighter line and finesse fishing is something you can't really do with a bait tasting outfit. 3/16 oz weight is about the lightest a bait caster would function with ideally with minimal bird nests or backlashes. The newest bait casters are incredible but still not a light line/light lure weight outfit. Also don't discard bait casters because of the known birdnest scenario. Most of that is user error because they didn't tune the reel to the bait weight. Adjustment is necessary based on the lure weight. Hope all this helps

 

[LuvDog]

Just like rifles/bullets there are different tools for different tasks.