Don't count spincast reels out
Written by Dale Y the Fishin' Guy, Friday February 20 2009
Spincast reels + live bait = EXCITEMENT!
Mostly every lake you go to, you can rarely find a spincast reel being used. Granted, they don’t cast as far as a pure spinning real, and they aren’t as heavy duty as a casting reel. About the only thing they seem good for is as a teaching reel for beginners. Once taught, the spincast reel gets abandoned and is seen nevermore.
Well, lets drag those spincasters out of the mothballs, because I have some very good uses for them.
I own several myself, and I use them virtually every time I fish live bait with a bobber. Throw the plastics out with a spinning reel, throw the crankbaits out with a casting reel, but save the spincast reels for dunking a worm or a minnow. And I’ll even tell you why.
No matter how you fish with a bobber, being careful is the key word. Throwing a live bait out with the force of a crank or plastic lure, and you’ll tear the bait right off. So, right here, we are not talking about maximum distance.
To that end, live bait rigs do not have to be thrown out by heavy duty casting reels either. Live bait rigs need more finesse than brute strength, getting the bait in a hole or landing them near a crib, and that is precisely what a spincast reel will give you.
Quality wise, take your pick. There are stories of 5 year old kids reeling in a Musky or a Pike with a $10 dollar spincast reel, but some spincast reels are just as precision made as some of the finest spinning and casting reels out there. So, being able to reel in a fish any size, is also a good reason to use them for live bait.
My favorite crappie rig is an old Johnson Unispin reel that I got when I was a teenager, and with the proper care I give it, it has never failed me on the water. And to prove how tough it is, I landed a 10 pound, 28 inch walleye with this reel, and although I was sweating the whole time landing it, the reel performed flawlessly.
So, there you have it, keep those spincast reels around and get some use out of them. Keep them rigged for live bait, and you’ll be good to go!
Thanks for Joinin’ me!
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I use spincasters with shallow running crankbaits for bass. The Zebco 733 will handle bigger lures, and 20 # line.