I’d imagine that many of you started fishing on either spinning gear or an old spincast setup. If you’re anything like me, the thought of using a baitcaster was alluring but almost scary when you were first starting. After all, baitcasters have a well-earned reputation for being difficult to use and prone to backlash. I certainly wouldn’t blame you if you asked the question, “is a baitcaster worth it?”
A baitcaster is worth it to purchase and learn to use if you are actually interested in fishing to the extent that you’re going to buy several combos and devote considerable time to the sport. If you’re just a weekend angler or want to have some fun with your kids, you’re not really missing out on much by sticking with spinning gear. While baitcasters do have some advantages in terms of the size of lures they can throw, their casting accuracy, and their winching power, none of these are so great over spinning gear to make the headaches worth it unless you are an avid angler.
Let’s look at some of the reasons a baitcaster can be worth it (and also why spinning gear is probably just fine for most people).
Some Advantages of Baitcasters That May Make Them “Worth It”
Baitcasters have some advantages over spinning reels. They are able to accommodate larger line that spinning reels, with all that implies. A baitcaster can toss heavier lures. They are probably the better choice for several fishing techniques, such as frogging. Finally, they offer more precise casting than most spinning gear, at least to the average angler.
While I’ll go into each of these, don’t worry – I’m not going to try and sell you on a baitcaster. I’ll also explain exactly why that old spinning rod you have in your garage can also do a passable job just fine.
Ability to Accommodate Larger Line
Most spinning reels can only accommodate a narrow range of line sizes before you need to upgrade to something bigger. This isn’t even a question on most baitcasters as you can just put on whatever will fit, for the most part. This allows you to get used to the same reel but use copies of it for many different tasks. You might throw spinnerbaits on some 17lb fluorocarbon on one while using 65lb braid frogging on another. This range and adaptability simply isn’t something most spinning reels can do. In fact, to use the heavier line on a spinning reel, the reel itself is going to be a monster.
With that said, you’re still going to be limited by what size line the rod can throw, so it’s not like this is the be all end all. Still, you do have a wider range than spinning gear, if matters to you.
Why Spinning Gear is Fine: If you’re a weekend angler, its very doubtful you’re going to use enough techniques to need the kind of reel that can handle multiple line sizes. Unless you have a very specific need, a size 30-35 spinning reel will be just fine. Go to a 40-50 if you’re targeting large species like catfish.
Baitcasters Can Toss Heavier Lures Easier
With the ability to use larger line comes the ability to toss heavier lures. This can really make a baitcaster worth it if you’re after fish like musky. You’d be hard-pressed to find spinning gear large enough to throw the largest musky lures. If you’re trying to throw something truly ungainly and intend to do it for any length of time, a baitcaster is going to be your best bet.
Why Spinning Gear is Fine: While it’s true that you’d need a giant spinning reel to toss most musky lures or other giants, do you really need to toss those to catch most fish? No. Most fish are perfectly catchable on lures in the 1/2 to 1 oz. size that reasonably beefy spinning reels and rods can handle. While they can’t do it as well as a baitcaster and wouldn’t be my top choice, you shouldn’t feel like you can’t be successful if all you have is spinning gear.
The Preferred Choice for Techniques like Frogging
If you’re heavy into techniques like frogging, or punching through thick weedy mats, a baitcaster is worth its weight in gold. All of the benefits of stronger line are going to come to the forefront here, and the baitcasters winching action is going to allow you drag monsters out from the thickest cover. Most professional bass fishermen use 65lb braid on beefy frog baitcasting rods for these techniques. To use spinning gear in this situation would put one more variable in the fishes favor on with a technique that’s already stacked their way.
Why Spinning Gear is Fine: To be honest, it is and it isn’t here. There are some brands of spinning rods (like the St. Croix premier) that come in heavy power/fast action and can handle decently sized braided line and frogs. My son used one of these for his frogs for a few years and, yes, he caught fish. On the other hand, we never really tested it in the thickest weeds possible. I think he’d have had a hard time reeling in any fish of size in true slop with one of these. Honestly, we enjoy frogging so much that this is one technique where I’ll tell you, yes, you can “get by” with spinning gear, but a baitcaster is definitely worth it.
Casting Accuracy
Whenever the topic of “is a baitcaster worth it” comes up on a fishing forum, one of the go to responses is “yes, because they’re better for casting accurately.” Well, this is probably going to be true for most of us. Baitcasters make it very easy to cut a cast as short as you need it to, just by thumbing the spool. It’s possible to be very precise using one, and what’s more, there are techniques like flipping and pitching that allow your lure to enter the water with pinpoint accuracy quietly. If I had money riding on my ability to put a lure in a particular spot, I’d want to use a baitcast reel all day long.
Why Spinning Gear is Fine: All of the above comes with one big caveat: there ARE people out there who have practiced so much with spinning reels that they too can put lures pretty much anywhere they’d like. It’s certainly possible to pitch and flip with a spinning reel and also quite possible to have a quiet entry into the water with your lure. It’s just going to take more practice and isn’t as easy to pull off.
Should You Buy An Expensive Baitcaster?
Many of a baitcasters disadvantages can be mitigated somewhat when you purchase a quality reel. I once wrote an entire article on why expensive fishing reels are worth it, and there’s a lot of information about baitcasters there. In short, pricier baitcasters tend to come with options that are going to reduce the number of backlashes, or at least how bad they are. They tend to have better braking systems, often of a dual design, and are able to be tuned better. I would definitely splurge a bit on a baitcasting reel and not go for the cheapest one out there. Luckily, my favorite reel, the Bass Pro Pro Qualifier, is often on sale for far less than $100.
Conclusion: Yes, a Baitcaster is Worth it, to an Extent
As with any other hobby, you get out of fishing what you put into it. If you’re really in love with the sport, you’re going to love your baitcaster once you get used to it. However, if you’re just someone who wants to take the kids out now and then, a baitcaster is totally unnecessary. You can do anything you can do with a baitcaster with spinning gear, just not quite as well. Don’t feel like you need to keep up with your neighbors and buy one of these unless you really see the benefit.
I hope this article was helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.
Thanks,
John Paxton
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