Baitcaster Question

Q So I just bought the Bass Pro Tourney Baitcaster Combo. When cast it I press the button and hold my finger on the spool , then release and when it hits the water, it creates a bird nest.

What can I do to fix this problem. Or what am I doing wrong and how do i do it the correct way.

Thx

A. You need to adjust your brake and tensioner properly.

It looks like this reel has a magnetic brake. Tune it to give you a manageable cast. Then adjust the tension based on the lure you are using.

See more on how to adjust your baitcast reel.

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Feb 05, 2015
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Baitcast reel backlash
by: Bassin Bri

The one thing you are doing wrong here in not "thumbing" the line when then lure hits the water. This is the nature of all baitcast reels. You must "thumb" the spool just when your lure is about to hit the water, simply put, press down on the spool with your thumb to stop the spool from turning. If you don't do this, the spool just keeps turning,and consequently you get overrun or backlash which is what you are experiencing. When your lure is in flight, it is pulling your line offf of the reel spool, and at the same time, keeping tension on your line and preventing backlash. But once your lure hits the water, the lure is no longer keeping that tension on your line but the spool keeps turning, this is where your "bird nest" occurs. When you thumb line and stop the spool, you prevent this from happening. Make sense? After a day on the water using a baitcast reel, you should get what's called "fisherman's thumb", in other words, the outer layer of skin on your thumb will become frayed from the constant thumbing of the line on your spool. If your thumb looks like this at the end of the day, you know you're doing it right! Hope this helps, and good fishing!

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