That was pretty good. The only thing I would point out, is that is a left handed reel, and not a right handed one. About 50% of people will prefer to use the non-dominant hand reel. I am right handed and prefer a left handed reel, I like to turn and crank with my non-dominant left hand, and work the rod with my dominant right hand.

I’m hoping to get it all answered in some form or fashion at some point haha! I wouldn’t quite say I’m pin worthy since I don’t include some things past an intermediate fisherman’s taste, but it really does mean a lot to hear that!

Not all bait casting rods have that finger grip on it, it tends to be more for the bigger bait casting rods/ non low profile. However another sign is that the eyelets will be a lot smaller.

Also it’s good to mention the fact that the magnetic brakes are possibly inside the reel panel so just because they don’t see it on the outside doesn’t mean it doesn’t have it.

And it’s good to mention how much line you have spoiled on since it’s a set up video. To get the ideal amount of line you should look at the spool of line and the edge of the spool. The top of the spool / where it begins to bevel off should be about 1/8th of an inch above the line you have spooled on.

Just a few things I thought about while watching the first couple minutes that could be useful to new people

Hey man, literally started baitcast fishing about a month ago and haven’t had many issues.

Try turning your brake up to ~8 (assuming 1-10 ratio) and tightening up your spool tensioner knob until your lure barely falls when you open your thumb bar.

You should be able to let your lure drop and hit the ground without thumbing it and without backlash.

Try that first and loosen it up one minor adjustment at a time.

I picked up a $100 rod and reel combo and have had a lot of success. Good luck!

If it's been two years and u still haven't had progress, it's not the baitcaster. Your technique is seriously flawed in some way. Impossible for us to help u on here without seeing a video of you trying to cast. PM me with a vid if u like

Smooth casting motion and the correct rod for the lure weight.

The lure weight (actual weight) should be around the middle to upper range of the rod rating.

Put the brakes at 75% ish. Adjust the spool tension to just where the spool starts to click side to side.

Smoooth casting motion, don't try to whip it. Make sure the lure loads up the rod. Start with slow casting. Make sure to hover your thumb over the spool barely making very gentle contact and then thumb/stop the spool right as it hits

A typical baitcaster will be mag or centrifugal now days.

Traditional style ambassadeurs are centrifugal, meaning on the spool shaft are a block on each side of a thin rod. Make sure both are on.

Magnetic control (mags) will have a dial. Start at the higher numbers.

Both will have a side tension knob as well. adjust that so the weight you use will slowly drop when in freespool and your thumb not touching the spool. The spool will stop when the weight hits the ground.

Those are your starting points.

Now remove that braid and put a lighter mono, such as 12/15lb on it. Right now your trying to learn and braid isn't beginner friendly for baitcasting.

Practice. If fishing, use an old school rig with sinker and bait to start with. Practice. Or heavier lures such as spoons or bucktails/jigs. Practice! Or use your backyard and put a heavier weight on then you'd typically use.

practice. See the theme!

The heavier weight will let you lob it as right now your main thing is to get accustomed to the feel of the cast and how everything goes and how overruns/backlashes start. Trying to force a light weight to go anywhere without a sudden backlash is difficult when first starting. Thats why i say heavier weight and a lob.

When comfortable, see if you can start casting right by actually casting and not lobbing it anymore.

When comfortable with that, use less weight.

Then remove a block (centrifugal) or dial down a bit to a 6 or about halfway or so on the mag dial.

When good, loosen up the spool tension knob, just to where you feel the spool start to go side to side, but don't let it so stop

Then you can start going for accuracy and distance. Don't rush on that. It may be the most important part for success as far as catching but if you can't control the spool, accuracy and distance won't be important.

You may need to play with the adjustments a bit but by then you'd be good to go with normal weight lures. Anything lightweight and wind resistant, stick to the spinning rods.

Start with weight and lobbing at first.

It won't be long until your using less tension and overrun controls to get accuracy and distance.

Imo your tension knob is more important than the breaks. Tune that so the bait barely falls. I’d have the breaks set mid to high but not all the way tight. Practice short casts before you try bombing it out.

A baitcasting setup is actually much more sensitive than a spinning setup because the guides are smaller and the line is more direct to your hand. No spool tension (hair of side to side movement in the spool), cast with 2'-3' of line hanging from your rod tip (slows down the transfer of energy from your rod to your lure), index finger on the trigger so that you can feather the spool properly.

Spool tension is not needed, it limits your distance and performance. Brakes are enough. Cast with at least two to three feet of line when going for distance. This slows down the transfer of energy from your rod to your lure (think trebuchet). This reduces the initial spool startup speed lowering the chance for backlashes. Cast with your index finger on the trigger so that you can feather the spool properly with your thumb.

Much smaller and lighter too. And they take up less space on the deck of your boat.

Mainly I’m much more accurate with a bait caster and hook sets feel more powerful to me.

I use spinning reels for finess only so I only have 2 and usually just carry 1 for drop shot. The other ones a backup.

Just a little to add on to points 2 and 4 :

Set your knob to where the bait doesn’t move until you twitch the end of your pole, if it’s falling as soon as you hit the release you have your weight knob set too light. It should fall about 6-8 inches per second after twitching. Keep your thumb near the spool when casting, and right before it hits the water, slow it down by applying pressure with your thumb. Most backlash is caused when the speed of the lure slows down after hitting the water, since the spool is still putting out line but the lure isn’t going any further.

Your line doesn’t have to be braided, I use mono on all of my baitcasters, just make sure you’re using a test that matches the reel and rod. Get a bait caster with a line guide, as these are specifically made for casting and put the line on the spool in tight loops as opposed to doing it with your finger where you may cross over to each side too fast and make it harder to get the line off the spool when casting. This one mostly applies to larger casters though.

I have the black max and love it. Especially for heavier lures. Casts a mile.

Here's how I set up my reels. I tie on my chosen lure. Tighten the tension knob a little bit. Hold the rod with the tip at about head height. Depress the thumb bar and let the lure free fall. If it doesn't fall, loosen the tension knob. When the lure hits the ground, I watch the spool. It should only do about half a turn after the lure hits the ground. If it keeps turning, the tension is too loose. Repeat a couple of times until you get it down. When you're just beginning, it may help to set it where the spool stops as soon as the lure contacts the ground.

Next, I go ahead and turn the brakes all the way up. Magnetic brakes max them out. If you have centrifugal brakes, make sure all the pins are free to move. Now it's time to make your first cast. You said your lure was just going to the left, so I assume you may be trying a sidearm cast. Some people dont recommend it, but I say start out with an overhead cast. A gentle one.

Hold the rod out with your thumb pointing to the inside of your body, so your whole rod and reel is rolled about 90 degrees instead of the reel being straight up. Lift the rod up to about vertical or just slightly past and without pausing, flick it forward with your wrist. Release the line with your thumb as you flick. Watch your lure, and as it's about to make contact with the ground, stop the spool with your thumb.

Here's where you need to pay attention to your spool. If you didn't have any backlash, you could back the brakes off some. You can continue to do that each cast until you start to have a bit of overun. If the overrun happens at the beginning of a cast, you need more brakes. If everything is fine, but the end of the cast results in an overrun, you need more spool tension.

It takes some practice to learn when to release your thumb and cast. Start out in your yard with the brake kinda tight but not overly tight. Push the button and it should fall to the ground kinda slow but be free to fall. Make short cast till you're better, then start easing off on the brake a little at a time. Do not whip the rod. Cast smooth.

Practice, You'll get it.

Not sure what videos you watched but give this one a shot, it’s my favorite and the most accurate and helpful one I’ve come across: https://youtu.be/4XI23wQmxkU?si=4x38d1I20mA5KTOs

Is the over run happening at the end or the beginning of the cast? If it starts already at the start of the cast, then the tension knob is too loose. You can also look for side to side wobble in the spool. When beginning or new to baitcasting I recommend no side to side play. That makes the tension tighter so less casting distance but will help tremendously with casting.

If midcast or toward the end then it’s braking and thumb control. You can up the brakes to help, but thumb control is very important too. For this, I always suggest taking a 1/2oz jig, without a hook or with one, and practing just letting it free fall and thumbing it so it hits the floor without backlashing. This will help learn feathering the spool with your thumb, and helps learn to loosen the tension knob as well until you start over spinning just from free fall.

Another thing to consider is lure weight. Heavier lures work better when starting, and blade baits like spinners catch air and tend to backlash. So keep that in mind too.

They both have their place. A lot of it is personal preference.

I prefer spinning for finesse... Ned rigs, weightless soft plastic, drop shot, etc. smoother drag on spinning reels. These can all be done on casting gear with the right setup... I just prefer spinning.

I am pretty evenly split. I use spinning for ned rigs, drop shots, small underspins, senkos, hair jigs, etc. I use baitcasters for jerkbaits, crank baits, jigs, topwaters, spinnerbaits, etc.

Each lure has a very specific rod that will work best. Thing is, most of us don't have the money or space to bring a technique specific rod for everything we own, so its really up to the user to determine what works best for you with what you have.

If you struggle with a baitcaster and don't enjoy using it, then a heavier action spinning rod will work just fine for your jigs. If you love baitcasters, you'll have better casting accuracy and sensitivity when working the jig. This pretty much goes for all techniques.

Spinning. What i learned early and don't want to bird nest my reel to learn a new technique. Basically I'm old and don't wanna learn a new trick.

I'm not a good enough fisherman for it to make a difference!

I prefer to never have to fuck with a rats nest in my reel. Does that answer your question?

How far are you expecting to cast? Typical casts are usually 25-30yds. I don't know how much further you're going to be able to achieve with a 3/8oz lure.

Baitcasters for me as a mostly bank fisherman are purely situational. If you’re looking for distance I’d go with a spinning reel. If you’re sticking with your baitcaster tho assuming your brake settings and stuff are all correct, increase the weight of your lure and maybe try a different type and size line. The smaller the better

i have the same rod with a cheap reel baitcaster lews. I cast in the 30-40 yards most probably, 1/4oz is enough for me. Im on a 20lbs braid and 10lbs fluoro leader. make sure you dont brute force your cast, the smoother the further.

With a j8 Rapala I can get about 40 yards max if the stars align on a cast and I really give it. Something like a mepps #5 I can cast 55ish yards. Maybe even farther. Weight makes a big difference. Something as simple as a slightly bigger jig head can add 10 yards to you max range.

Switching to 20 or 30 lb braid will probably get you some additional distance. Most of your challenge is just learning the technique. If your prior experience is with a spinning reel, baitcaster's reward a cast that has more acceleration to a stop than what you may have learned with a spin reel.

Bird-nesting is a fact of life for casting baitcasters. But you can reduce the frequency by tuning the baitcaster correctly. It's good practice to do this whenever you tie on a new lure, and it only takes a few seconds once you get the hang of it.

First, tie on the lure of choice. Second, hold the rod tip up at a high angle and click the release. Let the lure fall and hit the ground. The spool should stop spinning or should only overspin just a touch. If it DOES continue to spin, the brake on the baitcaster is set too low. Tighten the brake just a little, then repeat the process until you get the desired result. This should give you a lot more control over your cast and should reduce your birdsnest frequency (unless you snag your lure in a tree over your head or something).

If you're unsure of where the brake is, it's the small knob on the same side as the handle. It works like a screw. Many baitcasters will also have a dial on the side opposite the handle. That serves to more finely tune the brake after you get the main brake adjusted. I usually just set that dial to "7", or whatever is between medium and high, and leave it, and do most of my adjustments on the main brake.

Don't mistake the brake for the drag (common misconception). The drag is the star-shaped piece on the handle between the handle and the body of the reel. Turning that away from you increases the drag. turning it toward you decreases it.

Stop the spool before the bait hits the water. Give it a few months to get used to. And then give it a few more for the touch and feel to use it in the dark!

Get decent braid. 30lb 8 strand. Use a heavyish lure. In open water. Overhead cast thumb the spool before the bait hits water. Spend a day doing this and younwill be fine

Just my two cents, if you've put new mono line on it, put a lead swivel on the end and case out as far as you can about 10 times, this will let the line uncoil and reduce your birdnesting.

I tried for months to learn how to use a bait caster. No matter what adjustments I would make I just kept back lashing. I just ended up wishing I had gotten a higher end spinning reel.

For beginners you definitely want to use a bit of spool tension while you get used to it. You'll lose distance yes, but that's part of learning.

Baitcaster can have a few niche advantages over spinning.

1. Baitcasters / conventional reels tend to have more power than spinning reels. Won't apply to most fisheries (imo).
2. Baitcasters can allow you to cast more quickly, since you don't need to set up your index finger.
3. Baitcasters don't get wind knots (but you'll get birdnests which are far worse)
4. Baitcasters / conventional reels are safer for launching heavy jigs. Braided line can slice your finger.
5. Baitcaster distance isn't affected by line thickness to the degree that it is for spinning reels.
6. Baitcasters make a better fidget toy than spinning reels.
7. Subjective, but baitcasters can feel more fun to cast and retrieve.

There are quite a few downsides though.

Do you need a baitcaster? Not really. Can you catch all species on a spinning setup? Yes, absolutely.

Casting far should not be more difficult. You’re not setup correctly or have a crappy reel.

I tried a bait caster. Not worth it. Birdnests are just a huge pain in the ass to deal with. My last fishing trip I limited out with my spinning reel while my friend got skunked with his bait caster.

Biggest benefit is being able to quickly cast and recast to cover a lot of water. I use my new baitcaster for reactionary baits (spinnerbaits, crankbaits, whopper ploppers, chatterbaits, ect). Basically baits you cast out and reel in and recast out again and again.

My spinning reel, on the other hand, is for slower more finesse techniques like texas rigs, wacky rigs, drop shots, ect. You're not casting these as often and it's a lot slower retrieves.

That is the biggest benefit imo after using my first baitcaster for about 2 months now. I love it.