Casting reel for the inexperienced

Reels are the hottest topic for TackleTour. Everyone wants to know what the latest and greatest is and how they compare to the old guard. What's the best for light stuff, or what's your suggestion for heavy cover. Do we really need different retrieve ratios? It's all in here.
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aaatkr
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Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by aaatkr » Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:47 am

I've fished spinning gear all my life.  The only experience I have with  casting reel was an Ambassador 5500 many years ago.  Backlashes kept me from using that type of reel.   I realize the newer low profile reels make the learning curve much easier.   I'm looking at the  Curado DC,  the Tatula Elite , Tatula SV and Tatula SV TW 103.  I'm unsure of the differences in the various Tatula iterations.   Could someone please enlighten me?  It will most likely be an all purpose reel  for applications unsuitable for my spinning gear.   How much line do I need (in Yards) on a casting reel?  I use 12-20 pound Mono.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks for the help.

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Cal
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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by Cal » Sun Jun 13, 2021 8:59 am

Regardless of which reel you choose to begin your journey with casting reels, my suggestion would be to start with learning how to pitch. This underhand, low speed presentation will help you grow accustomed to using your thumb to control your spool. Once you're able to achieve good distance pitching (say roughly 40 - 50 feet, then you can graduate to some side arm lob casts and keep progressing from there.

This is how I taught my kids. All you need is a half ounce casting plug and a clear area like your driveway or lawn. It's helpful if you have something to stand on like a crate or milk carton, but not absolutely necessary.

In terms of line capacity, all you really need is about 50 - 60 yards of line on a reel. Most will hold much more than that depending on the diameter of line you choose to fish with.

Best of luck on your journey!
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filthyPhil
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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by filthyPhil » Sun Jun 13, 2021 9:17 am

The Curado DC would be a great reel to learn with if you want to spend the money. I would recommend a budget reel from Lews, Shimano, or Daiwa to see if it's something you want to put the time in to learn. Most reels in that range will hold 100-110 yards of 12lb line which is more than enough for most bass techniques. Good luck, it just takes practice.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by Houndfish » Sun Jun 13, 2021 9:33 am

My wife had no fishing experience, other than a few worm-n-bobber stuff as a kid, and I was able to get her to the point of making reasonable casts with few backlash issues in maybe 3-4 hours of instruction.

I set her up with a Alphas SV loaded with 12lb Sniper on a 782c glx. For a lure, I gave her a t-rigged 7" Culprit with enough weight, can't remember exactly how much, to slightly overload the rod. The "plan" being as follows, the spool tension was set as normal but the brakes were turned all the way up. The rod is a smooth caster to start with, but being overloaded a little helps insure the rod loads at least a little, no matter poor the back-cast. The lure will be very snagless and will "work" retrieved any number of ways/speeds. The line will be thick enough to make overruns survivable but still light enough to cast well. I also did a good long cast at home, pulled like 40' more line off, and added a small strip of electricians tape across the spool to prevent a day-ending backlash.

The instruction was mostly a lot of reinforcing the need for small, controlled movements and insuring that she made a real backcast to insure that the rod loads to the midsection. I also stressed the importance of always aiming the cast at a specific spot, even if it's just open water, and stopping the lure "on purpose" with her thumb every time, never letting the lure just run out of gas and fall. I think not having any bad spinning reel habits to unlearn really helped, but within 30-45 minutes she was making reasonable 30-40' casts that went reasonably close to where she was aiming. As she backed the brakes back off her distance got up to about 50-60' feet, which is more than enough for a lot of our local ponds.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by aaatkr » Mon Jun 14, 2021 8:22 pm

Are any of these reels capable of throwing heavier baits? Thanks.
Last edited by aaatkr on Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by SSS » Tue Jun 15, 2021 1:53 am

I would highly suggest you get the Daiwa SS SV. They can be had for cheap (especially in used condition) on ebay, and its high control SV spool will help you learn baitcasters pretty fast. Its also a very light and easy to palm reel, so another plus.
Last edited by SSS on Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by goldrod » Tue Jun 15, 2021 3:46 am

A TDZ reel for sure and you can change the spools as their casting improves!

For a novice caster some sort of SV spool
Intermediate caster it’o r+
Pro caster ZPI PG spool
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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by mark poulson » Tue Jun 15, 2021 5:15 pm

Cal is right. Teaching her to pitch will shorten the learning curve.
Most reel brands' lower priced models are decent, so there's really no need to spend a lot on her first baitcaster.
I would suggest you look for one with externally adjusted centrifugal brakes, load it with 20 lb mono, put it on a med. action rod, tie on a 1/2 oz casting weight, and put the brakes to max. Once she learns how to control the cast with her thumb, you can back the brakes of a bit at a time.
Good luck. I hope you wind up with great fishing partner.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by Polkfish1 » Tue Jun 15, 2021 6:45 pm

I think you’re looking at the right reels to learn with; all of those have properties that make for easier learning than comparable reels from say 10-15 years ago like the tdz. A Tatula SV (any variant really) should be a great beginner reel. Although the DC breaks would do you fine as well, that might require a little more YouTube watching to dial in the breaks. The tatulas will be easy to use in the wind and it will be easy to set up and adjust breaks. Also, they are fine general purpose reels that you’ll probably end up fishing for years unless you’re bit by the enthusiast bug and decide to upgrade or diversity. A general understanding of both breaking systems is good (daiwa style magnetic vs centrifugal with or without DC) as you might find one fits your casting style better than the other. I’ve always felt that the daiwa breaks are like a “baitcasting for dummies” easy and that’s exactly why I’m a daiwa guy.

sarcazmo
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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by sarcazmo » Tue Jun 15, 2021 7:53 pm

I would also vote for a Tatula SV or a shimano slx XT.

I find the XT very beginner friendly with the extra fine tuning you can do with it. The tatula with the SV spool is also quite nice.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by DirtyD64 » Sun Jun 20, 2021 11:27 am

Just do it the classic way, turn the brakes up super high and slowly back them down. My wife caught her first baitcasting fish recently, on my Zillion SVTW, most SV reels are VERY user friendly. She actually learned on an original Zillion TWS, again just by turning the brakes up high. You can also use only a half full spool with heavier line to help casting practice. Whoever all mentioned using a heavier weight is a great idea too...

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TravisNY
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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by TravisNY » Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:04 pm

I’d go a different route.

Go for the top of the heap out of the gate and save the time and waste of money getting there. Make sure whatever offering you choose to throw to learn on matches rod specs (same as your spins). Opting for a rod that loads a bit deeper into the blank will help with release point. Just my opinion.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by new2BC4bass » Sat Jun 26, 2021 9:56 am

Of those 3, my only experience is with an older Tatula SV. I'd guess from what I've read that any of them would work just fine to learn on. However, I would like to offer an alternative. It would be a used reel, tho. Any of the T3 Daiwas (which use the MagForce 3D braking system) are extremely hard to backlash. They aren't popular mainly because many feel they feel 'hollow' because of the Zaion used in its construction.

Reel reviewed here. http://www.tackletour.com/reviewdaiwat3reel.html

As you can see from the review, it was a $429 reel when new. The Ballistic model had a $250 MSRP. Haven't used my like new Ballistic, but am giving it to my brother as he wouldn't mind learning how to use a baitcast reel. You can find a T3 1016 in very good condition for around $130. At least you could awhile ago. Might be higher now due to Covid.

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Re: Casting reel for the inexperienced

Post by whoaSon247 » Thu Jul 01, 2021 3:23 pm

Curado DC and the Tatula SV/SV103 are all great reels, so you cant go wrong. The settings are really simple on either reel and you don't have to remove a sideplate to adjust brakes. You can learn to cast these reels proficiently in just a couple hours. Really it comes down to personal preference when deciding which reel to go with.
The smallest of the 3 in terms of how they feel in hand is the SV. The SV103 has a slightly larger frame and weighs about a half oz more then the SV. The DC system makes the reel a little wider and adds a little weight. The DC do a little better with distance then the SVs. The SVs are better with lighter weights and I prefer them for skipping or pitchin/flippin. The SVs have a brake dial (1-20) which can be fine tuned. The DCs have a dial with just 4 settings, 1-for mono line/calm conditions, 2-for braid, 3-for fluro and 4-for high wind/skipping. That's one of the nicest things about the DCs is that you don't have to adjust the brake settings every time you change a bait.
I would suggest going to a tackle shop to physically handle them if possible and if one feels better in your hands go with it. Good luck.

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